Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-06-04
FAMED AS PROMOTER
TEXAN BUILT RAILROAD. ON A
"SHOESTRING.
Colonel Uriah Lott Developed the
Country and at the Same Time
Made Fortune for himself
His Achievements.

The recent death at Kingsville, Tex,
of Col Uriah Lott removed from the
industrial life Of South Texas one of
the most remarkable railroad pro-
moters who ever invaded Wall street
with a financial proposition, says the
Kansas City Star. He is said to have
built more miles Of railroad on a
"shoestring" than any man in the
country. About thirty-five years ago
Colonel Lott found himself broke in
the little town of Beeville, down in the
Gulf Coast region of Texas, many
miles off railroad. Strictly speaking,
he was not exactly strapped of money,
for he had enough in his pocket to
pay his stage fare back to San An
tonic.
He tossed up a 50-cent piece to de-
termine whether he should remain in
Beeville or hunt a new job elsewhere.
The new job" proposition won the
toss. He returned to San Antonio and
few weeks later he began the con-
struction of the San Antonio & Aran-
sas Pass railroad. His entire borrowed
capital when he started that project
was $50. He got hold of a few miles
of old iron rails on credit, got enough
money and land bonuses along the
route to the proposed road to float the
scheme, laid the secondhand rails on
a makeshift roadbed and went to New
York to complete the financial ar
engagements for constructing the road.
He bonded the first few miles of
the road for $4,000 a mile and sold
the bonds to Wall street interests.
With the proceeds received from these
bonds the road was extended, and as
fast as finished the bonding process
was repeated. To make a long story
short, Colonel Lott constructed sys-
tenn of railroads more than seven hun
dred miles long, extending from San
Antonio to Corpus Christi and Rock
port on the coast, with other lines
running to Houston, to Waco and to
Kerrville. He came out of the deal a
wealthy man. Along about the same
time he constructed the TeXas-MeXi-
can railroad that runs between Corpus
Christi and Laredo, 161 miles. This
road is now a part of the National
Railways of Mexico.
With the wealth that he had ac-
cumulated by his railroad building op-
erations, Colonel Lott went to New
York and opened an Office on Wall
street. He had a fine home on the
Hudson river and was ranked well up
among the men of finance. His New
York experiences, however. were dis
astrous from a financial standpoint
and in few years he returned to
South Texas, making his home in
Brownsville.
1t was Colonel Lott who "discov.
cred" B. F. Yoakum, who has risen to
a high position in the railroad affairs
of the country. When the Sar An.
tonic e Arkansas Pass railroad was
under construction Yoakum was given
the position of general manager OF
the property. He afterwards served
as one of its receivers. When Yoakum
became the head of the st. Louis &
San Francisco he employed Colonel
Lott to look after the preliminary
work of building the st. Louis
Brownsville & Mexico. This line was
originally an independent proposition
but later became part of the Frisco
system.
In the latter years of his life Colo
mel Lott attempted to put through
two or three railroad building schemes
but he found conditions so different
from the old days that he was unable
to consummate his plans.