The Winnipeg, Salina and Gulf Railway: Harry Leone Miller's north-south railroad.

Abstract

From 1909 through 1912, Harry Leone Miller promoted a north-south railroad through central Kansas. the Winnipeg. Salina and Gulf Railway. He claimed to have the financial backing of a syndicate of English investors formed by a friend of his, London financier Samuel R. MacLean. The syndicate was ready to purchase the railroad's bonds (covering the cost of construction plus some rolling stock) after Miller completed certain preliminary work, such as making surveys and obtaining an American trustee for the foreign funds. In order to pay for this preliminary work, Miller sold stock in his railway company and in a construction company that he formed to build the road. Miller focused his promotion to match the interests of his strongest backers at the time. Unfortunately, he was unable to remain associated with any group long enough to complete the bond sale to the English syndicate. He would make some progress with his associates, have a falling out with them, and then work on another aspect of his proposition with new supporters. He had his greatest success during his association with the Brindley Company, a New York City construction firm. At one point during his association with the firm it appeared that the bonds might be sold in Europe and that actual construction might begin. Before this could occur the Brindley Company filed a lawsuit to recover the funds it had expended on the project. The court put the railway into receivership and dissolved the company in late 1912. Miller encountered other legal difficulties that grew from the railroad promotion, including arrests for mail fraud, perjury, and mailing obscene letters. The mail fraud charge was dropped, and the perjury trial ended in a hung jury. The obscene letters charge, however, brought a conviction and a sentence of eighteen months in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth. The Winnipeg, Salina and Gulf Railway was destined to remain a paper railroad. Miller simply lacked the necessary funds to complete such a project. While certain personal characteristics helped him win support for the road, others prevented any significant, sustained progress. The times were also against Miller. The grand trunk railroads were already established, and the golden age of railroading had passed. Miller's proposition belonged in an earlier era that was unfettered by the regulatory legislation brought by Progressivism.