The Washington herald., 1915-10-16
HISTORY BUILDERS.
Raising Money to Build the Atchison,
Written Expressly for The Washington Her,ld
By DIR. e. ]. EDWARDS.

Written Expressly for The Washington Herald
By DIR. E. J. EDWARDS.
How trifiing is the knowledge OF
Americans of the present generation
respecting the difficulties which faced
the mon who undertook to build lines
extending from the Mississippi River
on the Great Lakes to the Pacific
when 1t came to a question Of rails
ing money" said Asa A. Potter, for
merly a Boston banker, to me recently
when speaking Of some of the earlier
attempts to finance the construction of
railroad systems. particularly those in
the West
Nowadays the public is accustomed d
to hear of great financing in behalf of
railroads carried on even by banking
houses. The public has learned to
think in millions SO far as railroad
financing is concerned. But in the
early days those who undertook to
build railroads were content to obtain
here and there a few thousand dol
lars, sometimes relying upon land
grants or aid from the government
which Congress justified giving on the
ground that it was a military and po-
litical necessity to bind the continent
together from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific with steel rails.
Il remember distinctly the strenu-
Gus efforts of those who had in con-
temptation the construction of rail-
roads from Chicago across Missouri
and Kansas to Colorado and then by
way of the Santa Fe trail to the Pa
cific Coast. These promoters went to
Boston very likely because Boston was
the only city in the East in those early
days which took much interest in Pa
cfic railroad development. They came
in touch with Joseph Nickerson. about
the last man so far as his own busi-
ness was concerned who would be
thought likely to take an interest in
Pacific railroad proposition. Nick
erson was born and brought up on
Cape Cod. and he was practically self
taught. He engaged in the fish busi-
ness. and with his brother established
in Boston a fish-pa cking house which
prospered until 1t was the lea6ing
house in that business. Nickerson gain
ed an excellent reputation for busi-
ness integrity and for honorable busi-
ness conduct. He was one of the
largest men physically I ever saw, so
big that 1t Was necessary to build a
carriage of peculiar construction so
that he could conveniently get into
and out Of 1t. In some way, he be-
came interested in tho Atchison rail-
road proposition. and he undertook to
raise some money IN Boston Business
men used to see him going around
from bank to bank every day and al
ways between eleven and two o'clock.
They were curious TO know what his
was and at last learned that
he was endeavorinG TO hypothecate ee-
curities Of various kinds issued by
the Atchison. He was glad enough to
get an advance OF $1,000 secured by
bonds from one bank and perhaps
twenty-five hundred more from an
other.
AT last he was called as a wit
ness in some case and when he was
asked what his business was he re-
piled in loud voice, Borrowing
money! He was then asked II he was
borrowing 1t for himself or for some
one else. He replied that he was
borrowing it for the Atchison rail-
road.
That answer attracted general at
tention and it proved to be an excel
lent advertisement for the Atchison.
rhe proposition gained favor speedily
and within a short time one Of the
great banking houses of Boston an
aounced that it had become the agent
and representative in tho Atchison !
oan. After that II was comparative
y easy sailing financially for the
Atchison."
Copyright. Isls. BY z. J. Edwards An rishts - |
seved)