One of its directors came to me saying
that they must raise in some way a sum of six hundred thousand dollars
(equal to many millions to-day) to carry them through a crisis; and
some friends who knew me and were on the executive committee of that
road had suggested that I might be able to obtain the money and at the
same time get for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company virtual control of
that important Western line. I believe Mr. Pullman came with the
director, or perhaps it was Mr. Pullman himself who first came to me
on the subject.
I took up the matter, and it occurred to me that if the directors of
the Union Pacific Railway would be willing to elect to its board of
directors a few such men as the Pennsylvania Railroad would nominate,
the traffic to be thus obtained for the Pennsylvania would justify
that company in helping the Union Pacific. I went to Philadelphia and
laid the subject before President Thomson. I suggested that if the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company would trust me with securities upon
which the Union Pacific could borrow money in New York, we could
control the Union Pacific in the interests of the Pennsylvania. Among
many marks of Mr. Thomson's confidence this was up to that time the
greatest. He was much more conservative when handling the money of the
railroad company than his own, but the prize offered was too great to
be missed.
Pages:
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224