Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/119

Rh of the Willamette River, where it is now constructed from Portland to Corvallis.

About this time appeared Mr. S. G. Elliot of California, referred to above. Mr. Elliot had been a county surveyor, and wasa man of great energy and ambition, but was not a civil engineer or constructor of railroads, and was not troubled with any scruples about plans or methods of business. He had a large scheme for the construction of this Oregon railroad, and at once laid it before I. R. Moores and others of Salem. His scheme was to get control of the company already incorporated, and, in default of that, to organize a new company which should execute a power of attorney to S. G. Elliot authorizing him to let a contract to build a railroad to the California line, and that such company should issue two million dollars of unassessable stock to certain Californians for their good will in the matter, and then these Californians would transfer back to the Oregonians getting up this company one million dollars of the unassessable stock for their services in organizing the company. Gaston was invited to go into this scheme and offered an office in such new company and some unassessable stock if he would throw away the papers of the original company. This he declined, but offered to submit their scheme to the incorporators of the Oregon Central Company and if they approved, Mr. Elliot could use their organization to advance his scheme. But upon submitting the Elliot scheme to the incorporators supporting Gaston, every one of them opposed it. Accordingly, Elliot and his Salem friends, on April 22, 1867, incorporated the Oregon Central Railroad Company of Salem, the incorporators being S. A. Clarke, John H. Moores, George L. Woods, and I. R. Moores. The articles of incorporation of this company provided for a capital