The Denver Jewish news. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-1925, 1922-02-15
THE JEWS AS AMERICAN RAIL.
ROAD ETNANCIERS.

Jewish Historical Society.
Editorial writer's. stock market re-
porters and financial experts whose
columns of the daily press. are prone
to say that the railroads are the back
bone of this country and that with
out them our national prosperity
would not exist. our industry become
hut shadow of itself and our natural
resources die at the root Much truth
snbsists behind this assertion. for the
railroads are absolutely requisite to-
maintain this great country at its
present high state of material wealth.
The progress of the United States in
the last one hundred years which COW
or the beginning of the railroad de-
vclopmcnt to tic present time. has
been truly remarkable. and it would
never have resulted had we not had
the railroads to knit all the outlying
parts of the land somewhat closely
together.
The history of American railroads
is fascinating topic of investigation
which may he tackled from many diff
fercnt angles and which has not re-
ceiveh the adequate attention II de
mands and deserves. In this paper we
shall deal only with the part the Jews
of America played in the financing OF
railroads. leaving for anotlNr time
their contributions to railroad build
ing, in which they figured rs en-
eineers. and their role rs railroa0 cS-
ecutives. where number OF Amcn-
can Jews proved themsclvcs worthy
to stand with the biggest captains of
industry in American life.
ON the side of railroad finance She
Jews OF America through such of their
:,.,,.l,er as controlled large "in"irs
CO., rpriscs. w al - - ''Ii>'
much of significant value for the ear
ricrs Naturally not every banker is
a railroad linancicr. consequently we
| shall expect TO find but very few
members of the community engaged in
this important and valuable branch
of national development
And we may premise that one hank
ing house of New York City alone. all
| the partners of which are members or
the community. was able to assist ma
tcrIally in the construction of more
| than twenty thousand miles of II vast
railway system through which the
western part of the United states WAS
spfcndidly developed and where n
great amount of wealth wns secured
not only for the railway directors,
| their bankers and financial advisors.
as well as those who were partici-
pants with them through Stockhoid-
ings in the fortunes of this system
but the people of the territories which
this system served. who thus built up
and developed in all directions a vast
and fertile country.
The firm to which we nave alluded
Is. of course. Kuhn. Loeb & Company.
| of New York. the head of which was
the late Jacob H. Schifi' for more than
four momentous decades in American
financial life, and the railway system
| in question was that known as th'
Hartman lines. comprising the Unio'
Pacific Railway company and til
Southern Pacific company, with is sui
Sidiary the Central Pacific Company
| In any such sketch As this Jaco,
considerati ton, for he did more thai.
any other individual American Je"
| to further American railroad de-
vclOpmCnt on its financial side. In
deed. he won his spurs in this fiel0
years ago, when the late james j.
Hill Il great empire builder if evei
there was such, laid the foundation OF
what afterwards became the vas
Great Northern Railway. The fore
runner of that system, the st. Paul
x Pacific, had experienced one period
of stress after another. despite the
aid granted by foreign capitalists and
despite the fact that the country after
the Civil War began TO enter upon n
lew prosperous stage of its develop
ment. Hill organized the st. Paul,
Minneapolis & Manitoba Hallway COM
pany. the immediate predecessor of the
Great Northern, and was enabled to
extend its lines from st. Paul ana
Minneapolis clear through to the Paci-
fjc by the financial help accorded him
by group of New York bankers
headed by the late John Stewart Ken
nedy. a notable member of which was
Jacob H. Schiff. The bonds floated
by the Hill road struck Il new sound
in American railway finance. They
We're issued for what they actually