OCR

Their neighbors worked for them, and when the company collected, the neighbors got paid. During this period it was a continuous struggle to keep the company going. Most of the Corey brothers, including G. L. Corey, dropped out of the company in the 90's. In 1900 new people came into the company to con- tribute working capital, and the firm was incorporated in Utah under the new name, "Utah Construction Company". W. H. Wattis became vice president and general manager of Utah, while James Pingree came in as the company's first secretary-treasurer. Thomas Dee was elected the first president. In 1900 Utah Construction Company's total capital was $25, 000. By 1905 when the company won the Western Pacific Railroad contract for 700 miles of track stretching across the desert from Salt Lake City to Oroville, they had added another $300, 000 by subscription of the owners in the company at that time. David Eccles, prominent financier of early-day Utah and one of the hardy Western pioneers who worked his way from poverty to wealth, came into the company in 1900. A. H. Christensen, father of A. D. Christensen, later a president of Utah, came into the company about 1903 by consolidation of his own company with Utah. Additional owners coming in during the early 1900's included such prominent westerners as Joseph Scewcroft and Joseph Clark, and the gun inven- ting and manufacturing brothers, John and Matthew Browning. It is interesting to note that before Utah could win the Western Pacific contract of 1905, Eccles and other prominent financiers of the day had to give their personal guarantee that the company would be able to per- form the contract competently. In building this railroad line from Salt Lake City to Oroville, they had desert country, mountainous ter- rain, and the rugged Feather River Canyon. Officials of the company had to scour the whole western part of the United States to interest anyone in the Western Pacific contract. Some of those that came in were reasonably well-financed, and the contract was performed to a great extent by sub-contractors. 1905 During this period Utah finished the main line railroad track from Salt Lake City to Barstow, California, for Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad Company. This contract amounted to $20, 000, 000. (If there is any validity to this, it is the writer's opinion that Utah played a small part in this overall contract.)