Los Angeles County

Biographies

 

 

 

FRANKLIN HELM

 

 

     HELM, FRANKLIN, Contractor, Los Angeles, California, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, November 22, 1862, the son of Henry and Catharine Helm.  He married Miss Perlie Eugene Goldthwaite in New York City on March 19, 1894. 

     Mr. Helm received his primary training in the public schools of Indianapolis, later attended Bryant and Stratton’s Business College at Chicago and Butler University.

     Entering into partnership with his father in 1884, Mr. Helm was in the General Contracting business at Indianapolis for about a year and in 1885 went into the field on his own account.  He immediately became active in railway construction, his first line, in 1885, being a part of the Indiana Coal Road, extending from Chicago, Illinois, to Brazil, Indiana.  The following year he constructed a part of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Railway in Ohio.  He next operated on the Santa Fe Railway, constructing part of the line from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri.

     In 1888, Mr. Helm constructed a branch line for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad to Findlay, Ohio, and also built a part of the Findlay Water Works system.  During the same year and in 1889, he, in connection with James N. Young, of Chicago, and A. G. Yates, former President of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway, organized and financed the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway and purchased the Brantford, Waterloo & Lake Erie Railway.  Mr. Helm was the leading spirit in these enterprises and later, when the properties were sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the New York Central, who now control them jointly, he personally negotiated the sale.  In the case of the New York Central contract he dealt with Cornelius Vanderbilt, of the New York Central, Charles F. Fox, Vice President of the Canada Southern, and Mr. Ledyard, President of the Michigan Central Railway.   

     From this time down to date Mr. Helm has been one of the leading figures in railway, financial and development circles.  In 1892 he financed some of the contractors on the Ohio River Railway, and, during the same year, purchased the control of the Columbus, Lima & Southwestern Railway in Ohio, later disposing of the property.

     In 1893 and 1894 Mr. Helm aided in financing a large tract of coal and iron property in Tennessee, and, later, furnished the capital for the construction of a railroad through the property. In 1895 he turned his attention to railway operations in Old Mexico and financed several contractors engaged in work on subsidiary lines of the Mexican Central Railway.  This held his attention for two years, or until the end of 1896, and in the early part of the next year he aided the owners of the Cape Cod Canal project on Massachusetts, making possible the successful construction of this waterway.

     This same year the news of the gold strike in the Klondyke country reached the United States and Mr. Helm financed a number of parties interested in the territory contiguous to Dawson City, Alaska.

     In 1898, Mr. Helm gave up his operations in the United States temporarily and sailed for England, where he made his home until 1901.  During this period he was just as active as he had been previously in the United States, being associated with one of the wealthy coal operators of Wales in financing several properties in Spain, Italy and South Africa.

     Shortly after his return to America, Mr. Helm became interested with James McDonald, the New York contractor, in the Westchester Electric Railway out of New York, and which was later sold to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway.

     In 1902, while still interested in this project, Mr. Helm became associated with General A. W. Greely,

U. S. A., famous as the leader of the Greely Arctic Expedition, and went with him to Alaska.  General Greely was at one time engaged in the location and installation of the longest wireless system in the world and Mr. Helm spent parts of the years 1902 and 1903 with him while he was engaged in this work.

     Upon his return from the far North, Mr. Helm again became interested in Mexico and during the years of 1904, 1905 and 1906 spent a great deal of time in that country.  He furnished the capital for several parties largely interested in development enterprises there; among others was one of the contractors who had the contract for the construction of the Tampico Sewer.  He made frequent trips to Mexico City, and through the aid of President Diaz and Senor Meriscal, the Mexican Foreign Minister, together with the governors of several Mexican States, the business enterprises with which he was connected were terminated successfully.

     Continuing his activity, Mr. Helm, upon the completion of the Mexican enterprises in which he was interested, engaged in several in the State of Nevada.  He furnished the capital to several friends having large properties in Nevada and lent his aid to their development.   The same year he was in partnership with R. T. McCabe, of New York, who built a part of the system of railways on Long Island, and with him organized and did the preliminary financing of the high speed electric railway project from Boston to Salem, Massachusetts.

     It was about this time that Mr. Helm saw an opportunity to accomplish a great public work in South America, and in 1908 purchased the Colombian Railway Concession.  He then organized a syndicate to complete the building of the line and had started operations thereon, when a political eruption occurred, causing President Reyes to flee the country, and the entanglements which followed have held the enterprise in check from the year 1909, with the outlook for continuing uncertain.

     Mr. Helm still retains control of the railway concession, however, and intends, at some future time when conditions are more stable, to return to Colombia and carry his plans to completion.

     In 1910, Mr. Helm financed the operations of several large coal and oil properties, and in 1911, began the consideration of the far West as a field for development.  He spent the greater part of that year traveling through Northwest Canada and the Pacific Coast states, looking over the field.  The result of these observations was his location in Los Angeles, from which point he is now directing several large improvement projects.

     In 1912, Mr. Helm organized the Southern California Utilities Company, incorporated under the laws of California, with bonds and share capital of twenty million dollars - a bond issue having been sanctioned by the Utility Commission.  This company was authorized to engage in the building and operation of railroads and other utilities, to issue ten million dollars’ worth of bonds and to make investments, and Mr. Helm and his associates are now engaged in the construction of the company’s first project.

     Simultaneous with the organization of the Southern California Utilities Company, Mr. Helm formed the California Riverside Land Company, with a capital of ten million dollars, and the Riverside-Redlands Interurban Railway, capitalized at two and a half million dollars, both of which are incorporated under the laws of California.  This railroad, as proposed, would traverse an unusually rich section of Southern California and will join together more closely two of the section’s most prosperous towns.

     Mr. Helm has organized a group of his French and English friends to finance these projects, operating through the Universal Construction & Investment Company, a two-million dollar corporation in which he serves as Director, member of the Executive Committee and General Manager.

     These various operations which Mr. Helm has started will play a large part in the development of the resources of Southern California, where for several years past investors from all parts of the world have been working and receiving large rewards.  Los Angeles, the metropolis of the section, has, within a few years, been transformed from a town of small buildings to a great city of skyscrapers and commercial importance which make her a source of wonder to the outside world, and the completion of Mr. Helm’s projects in this field, it is believed, will add greatly to her already strong position.

     In addition to his Southern California work, Mr. Helm is interested in mining and other lines of investment in Mexico, one of these stated to be a rich silver property which he and associates intend to operate on a large scale.

     The foregoing statements regarding the operations of Mr. Helm in various parts of the United States and in other countries tell inadequately of his contribution to the general upbuilding of the sections in which he has worked, but serve, however, to show the man as a progressive, enterprising American of the type that has helped the country to attain its present position among the nations.  His chief characteristic is courage, as shown by his willingness to lend his able support to so many and varied development enterprises.

     He is associated, in his California enterprises, with a group of financiers who have been engaged for several years in the development of oil lands and other lines in that section and who still are planning for the future of the country.  Mr. Helm has been extremely active in the various companies with which he is connected, being in personal charge of many details connected with the organization and initiation of work on these projects.

     Mr. Helm has been too busy to take part in politics in California, but during the days of his activity in the Dominion of Canada, covering that period from 1888 to 1890, took considerable interest in the political affairs of the country, especially in the Province of Ontario, and he aided largely in the election to high position of various friends and associates who attained prominence.  Among these were several cabinet officers and members of the Ontario Parliament.

     Mr. Helm also took a keen interest in political and military affairs during his residence in the State of Indiana.  He was at one time a Lieutenant in the National Guard of Indiana and at a later period, served as Major on the Staff of the Honorable Isaac P. Gray, when the latter was Governor of the State.  These, however, were the only positions outside of the business world that he ever held.

     Since locating in Southern California, where his interests will keep him for several years to come, Mr. Helm has purchased a home at Ocean Park, one of the attractive seashore suburbs adjacent to the city of Los Angeles, and he intends to make his home there permanently.

     Mr. Helm formerly was a member of several clubs in Eastern cities, but resigned his memberships upon his removal to California, and his only affiliation there is with the Los Angeles Athletic Club.         

      

 

 

Transcribed by Bill Simpkins.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I,  Page 849-850, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.  1913.

© 2011 Bill Simpkins.

 

 

 

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