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W. L. EL.KINS.
(Copyright. 1908. by Thomas O. Vlsk.)
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IITHIN the last decade a new king
has sprung; up the street rail
way kins;. He Is always Amerl-
LfSjj can and altrost Invariably he has
been evolved from a poor boy. He
Is the practical roan to whom American
cities are looking for solutions of thrir
transportation problems, and he is the
man who la spending millions upon millions
tn his efforts to meet the demands of con
tinually Increasing centers of population.
Representative of his clam are H. H. Vree
land of New York, Charles T. Yerkes of
Chicago. Murray Vomer and Judge J.
Widener and William U Elkins of Phil
adelphia. But although the transportation problem
Is far from solved In this country the
American street railway king is already
reaching out into foreign fields. Charles
T. Yerkes Is going to give London a mod
ern underground system; Murray Vomer
is laying electric railways In the capital
of the czar, St. Vetersburg. and nearly
every European city that can boast or up-to-date
systems of transportation has to
acknoweldge that American money and
American brains have figured largely In
the consummation.
Mr. Vrrner Is typical of the American
railway magnate abroad. Like the major
ity of his fellows, be started with nothing
except an Indomitable determination to
amount to somebody some day. It was this
ambition that-sent klm from his father's
farm in Western Pennsylvania to Pitts
burg, whre. after knocking around for
several weeks looking for a Job, 'he seized
on an opportunity to become a horse car
driver. His knowledge, of horses, gained
on the farm, stood him In good stead, and
It was soon noticed that his car waa hardly
ever behind ita schedule and his. horses
always In good . condition. This led to
youns Verner's transfer to the car barns
as stable boss. Hers he remained for sev
eral years, saving his employers thousands
of dollars in horseflesh.
As a reward for this piece of business
he wan graduated into a more responsible
position, where, in the xords of one of his
old employers, 'Murray did the work of
two men in half the time they would have
taken to do it." Then, gradually, step by
step, he advanced until finally he became
superintendent of the line. He was still
young when this happened, but he had
'not been In bis new position twelve months
before the road was placed on a paying
basis, something that former superintend
ents tad strlved' in vain to do for years.
Mr. Verner had made the road a good
Investment simply because ho had learned
the business from A to , and it was not
long before this tact was recognized.
Then, when the era of the trolley car
came, men of capital Interested themselves
In Mr. Verner, and pretty soon were found
to be backing him In hin purchases and
electrification of rundowu street rllwars
throughout the central states.
In every case Mr. Verner gave the lines
personal attention, with toe rest It that
they were transformed into profitable prop
erties with almost lightning-like rapidity.
After he had amassed a fortune of
U.OOO.COO from Ibis sort of work Mr. Ver
ner concluded that he would see what could
bo douo toward giving European cities
better transportation facilities. With this
object in view he went abroad. After
looking over Tarts, Berlin and several
other continental cities, he traveled to St.
Petersburg to visit a friend, who took him
borne in one of the rattle-trap trim cars
that have been fixtures of the czar's capital
for generations. Mr. Verner was so dis
gusted with that mode of getting around
that he said. Jokingly, to bis companion:
"I've half a notion to come to this town
and give It electric railways."
The friend took the remark seriously.
"If you can get the proper concessions
from the authorities," he said, "you'll
make a mint of money."
That remark made Mr. Verner prick up
his ears, and, whereas he bad planned to
remain in Bt. Petersburg scarcely a week,
he stayed two months making investiga
tions and talking to officials. When he
departed he carried back to Pittsburg an
agreement between himself and the czar's
representative for modern transportation
Street Railway
P. A. B. WIDENER.
lines In the Russian seat of government.
The men who had backed him before were
only too willing to back him again, and ho,
today, a former Yankee horse car driver
Is the street railway king if Russia.
Another Pittsburg man who has recently
become widely known at a street railway
power Is Judge J. H. Reed. His prom
inence and his fortune of $8,000,000 have
com to him only within tbe last lew years,
but both are the direct result of years of
study of corporation law during spare mo
ments. When a young man Judge Reed went
from a neighboring town to PlMs'mrx,
where he read law In the office tn which
he earned his bread and butter by tran
scription. He stayed there until he was
admitted to the bar and then he rented a
dingy Utile room and hung out his ehlngle.
An he had precious few clients to repre
sent for tbe Drst tew years of his legal ex
perience, he took the opportunity to verse
himself thoroughly in corporation law. of
which he had been extremely fond as a
student. Some years later, while he was
prosecuting a case in court against a rail
road, that property's officials became aware
of the fart that he was more than a match
for their attorneys, and some time after
the case had been disposed of they made
Mr.. Reed their legal representative in
Pittsburg.
Along In the '90s the railroad got Info
a suit In which a million or two was at
stake, and William K. Vanderbllt. who, by
flat time, owned a majority of tho stock,
summoned all of the road's attorneys to
New York for a consultation as to the best
method of defending the case. A score of
lawyers were present and nineteen gave
lengthy and Involved reasons why the suit
should be defended this way or that. When
the nineteenth man had finished, tbe twen
tieth, who had been sitting quietly in a
corner .'of the room, arose.
"Mr. Vanderbllt," hv said, "the Pennsyl
vania supreme court will never take any of
those views o' the case."
"It won't, eh?" Inquired Mr. Vanderbllt.
"Why won't It?"
In a few brief sentences the speaker told
why his colleagues' arguments would not
ha considered good law, and then, as suc
cinctly, he outlined the position which he
believed tho court would take.
Mr. Vanderbllt was on his feet the in
stant the attorney finished. '
"You're right," he almost shouted; "we'll
make the caae your way, and you'ro to
prescnt.it."
The supreme court took the view that
Judge Reed said It would and, as an Im
mediate result. Judge Reed was made pres
ident of tho Pittsburg, Bessemer & I.ake
Erie railroad.
A year or so ago whin eighteen corpora
tions, representing the street railway and
gas . Interests of Pittsburg were consoli
dated. Judge Reed was chosen president o
this $104,000,000 combine and all because
he bad made himself faiuilinr with corpora
tion law while waiting for clients and after
office hours.
Two of the controlling factors In tbe
corporation of which Judge Reed Is the
head are P. A. B. Widener and William L.
Elkins. These two men operate more miles
of street railways in more American cities
and towns than any other two men in the
business. They have intdc an enormous
checker board of Philadelphia with their
properties; theirs are Important voices
In tbe management of New York's sur
face lines; they have no competition
in a score of towns In th? Interior of Penn
sylvania; the people of Chicago and Cin
cinnati travel by railways largely under
their control, and many surhurban and lu
terborough trolley systems In Connecticut
and the central states, especially Ohio, are
operated by them.
The story of their rlae goes back to the
'70s, when Mr. Widener was a butcher and
Mr. Elkins an oil dealer In Philadelphia.
Of the two Mr. Widener was heard of
first in that city. Besides looking after
his butcher shops, he dabbled in politics
and one day he found himself a power In
his ward. After that he chose to have him
self elected to the city council, and while
pcrv'ng in that capacity he made the ac
quaintance of many of the Quaker City's
prominent citizens. Among these was Rob-
Kings of America
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JUDGE J. H. REED.
ert Mackey, president of the Continental
line of horse cars, which ran by the old city
hall Independence hall and therefore was
much used by politicians. Judges and law
yers. Mackey, who was a power In municipal
and state politics, saw In Widener what he
HHid was the making of a fine politician,
and he interested himself In the young
man. During the course of the lessons
that Mackey gave Widener In things polit
ical the latter also gleaned from his teacher
home Interesting data about tbe profitable
ness of the street railway business.
Some years later Mr. Widener becamo
treasurer of Philadelphia. At that time
the office paid Its holder, besides a liberal
sulary, about $20. C00 a year In fees. When
Mr. Widener began receiving this money
he cast about for a way to Invest it, and
then It was that be recalled Robert Mack
ey's statement that a good street car line
was equal to a big vein gold mine for re
turns. Mr. Widener decided to buy street
railway stock, hut when he went Into the
market he found that the People's company
controlled nearly all the paying lines, and
that so gilt-edged was their paper that no
one wanted to part with his holdings.
The People's properties were in the cen
ter and built-up portions of the city. Sur
rounding them were other lines, all op
erated independently and all near bank.tipt
for the same reason scarcity of population
along their routes. Thwarted In his nt
tempt to get Into People's, Mr. Widener
began a careful Investigation of these rail
ways, with the result lie became con
vinced that several of them would be good
Investment In a few yars when the city
had grown more. As his treasurer's fees
were ."velvet" to hhn, Ms business bring
ing him an income sufficient to live on,
he decided to get control, If possible, of
the mcst promising of these outlying
lines. This proved to be the old Union,
whose terminals were In tho open country
to the north and south.
In figuring up the situation Mr. Widener
discovered that. If the amount of his sur
plus capital were doubled by some one else,
the road could be secured. Right here ho
thought of his friend, William U Elkins.
At that time Mr. Elkins was a pros
perous oil dealer in that part of the town
through which the Union line ran, and
which ho used to get to ills business. On
that route also, Mr. Widener had his most
tm&artant butcher shop, and it chanced
that frequently the two men met In tho
cars. This led to a nodding acquaintance,
after a while to a speaking acquaintance,
and gradually Into friendship, so that when
Mr. Widener was thinking of going Into
street railways the Intimacy had become
marked and warm.
It did not tako Mr, Widener long to con
vince Mr. Elkins that the Union line would
be a good Investment in a few years. They
pooled their capital and experienced no
rt'tfleulty In securing a controlling inter
est, for the stockholders were only too
willing to sell what they considered hope
less property. To years later, owing to
economies and the spread of population,
dividends were declared.
This more than hoped for success en
couraged Mr. Widener and Mr. Elkins to
branch out, and they bought up a connect
ing line, two miles in length, whose equip
ment was exactly four cars and eight
horses, and which penetrated still farther
into the country to the south. And pretty
soon that paid, too. ,
Then It was that tho plan was con
ceived of getting hold of all the Independ
ent lines surrounding the People's system,
which grldlroned the business section of
the city. The partners, keeping In the
background, quietly set to work and when
ever an opportunity offered bought blocks
of stock, no matter how largo or bow
small, through agents. This thing kept up
for several years, until even the strong and
Important Continental line bad been largely
absorbed, Widener and Elkins, In the mean
time not showing their hands and manipu
lating everything so unostentatiously that
the public did not dream of what was
going on.
Neither did the powerful corporation, the
People's, until one day Its members awak
ened to the fact that some unknown parties
had got hold of their connecting lines
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MURRAY VERNER.
seemingly over night and were eavortly
threatening to parallel some of their best
dividend-paying properties. Here was a
pretty bow-de-do, and the People's fear
ing that the threat might be carried nut,
proclaimed to the agents of their oppo
nents, who bad hinted at such a move, that
it waa willing to consider a proposition for
the merging of the two Interests for their
mutual benefit. Then Mr. Widener and
Mr. Elkins rrme suddenly out Into tho
open and met ihe People's rer-resentat Ives,
convinced the latter that they were mas
ters of the situation and made them n
proposition. The upshot of the whole mut
ter was that a few weeks later Phlladelph
ians found that tbe all-powerful People's
had been taken over by two men whom they
had never dreamed of being street railway
powers, and one of whom Mr. Elkins they
had never heard of.
All of this happened some years before
the advent of the trolley car, and ever
since then Elktna and Widener have been
the Quaker City transportation magnates.
Such, In brief. Is the history of the first
of their many notable street railway dea!s.
About Noted People
IN HIS childhood days Senator Mor
gan of Alabama played a great
deal with the children of Chero
kee braves. Willie making a
speech about Indians in the senato
lost week he told In simple but most affect
ing fashion how he and Arkccihc. one of his
red-skinned plnymates, went blackberrying.
The Indian boy was bitten by a rattlesnake
and died. None of tbe Indians thought tho
reptile hated Arkeeche, who was bitten,
they declared, because tho Greit Spirit
wanted him.
Senator Alger tells this story of W. H.
Vanderbllt, who owned Maud S. He had
purchased a horse from Mr. Vanderbllt
about the time the latter had sold the
famous mare and auked tho millionaire:
"Why did you part with such a notable
animal?"
Mr. Vanderbllt replied: "When 1 drovo
her along the street the people used to say,
'There goes Maud S.' They never thought
of saying, "There goes Vanderbllt.' I
could'nt play second fldd'e to a mare even
such a mare."
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Bishop Tugwell of western equatorial
Africa Is often asked when In England,
"What Is Ihe size of your diocese?"
"I generally answer," he says, ."by say
ing, 'You could put England an! Wales,
Ireland and Scotland, Holland and Bel
gium, France and Germany Into my diocese
and st;il have room to spare.' "
The area is estimated at 700,000 sou are
mil and It Includes the Gold Coast colony,
Ashantl, Lagos, Southern Nigeria, the city
of Benin, Northern Nigeria and Hausa and
Bornu states.
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Representative Champ Clark has a new
sobriquet for General Groevenor, which ho
has applied In debate before the hottsa.
"Out in Ohio," says Mr. Clark, "t.id even
beyond the confines of that state my friend
bears the sobriquet of 'Old Klggers.' Tho
other day I happened to be standing down
In the hall by the postofflce. An old em
ploye of the house was talking to a 'tender
foot.' The general swept by In his majesty,
tenderly fondling hla prophet's beard, and
the old employe said to the newcomer:
There goes the stud bug of arithmetic.'"
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Harry Wads worth, assistant clerk of tho
senate committee on claims, is a great ex
pert on Indian sign language. He Is cred
ited with being able to converse with all
kinds of red men. Recently be was ap
pointed Indian agent for the Shoshone res
ervation In Wyoming. Seeing a band cf
Nes Perces Indians the other day on a
street car, on which he was also a pas
senger. Wads worth commenced to attract
their attention by hla signs. They eyed
bim suspiciously, but one, more friendly
than the others, . eventually crossed over
to tbe new Indian . agent's seat. "I am
sorry," said h very apologetically for a
red man, "but I never learned tho sign
language. I can only speak English."
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