PAST IHSIE
MAGAZINE
AGES OXE TO FOCX
The Omaha Sunday Bee
PAST THBEE
MAGAZINE
PAGES ORE TO FOUS
VOL. XLI-NO. 38.
, OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 10, 1912.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
Men Who Have Climbed High by Means of Pothooks
V'
l V li' ' i b'r """ to wlft the sewing on of bU fe .
' - in ' 1 v J4" Hodge, chief clerk in the general msa- V.' ;' :
'Mr s office of the Burlington In Omaha, bad been Xtf'f.r I
XK. f 'AV hut a brief time out from Scotland when he landed V. r,. : JJ
v VA In the office of Mr. Holdrege. back In 1881. He JkV'Y
,--( .f b tnck t0 bis work like a major and woa hit V ' Jf-U II
Y ' l y wa bTli' f1Ul'u! wort H Glasgow C ;
fcr BUi end despite this dignity attaching to that LV' VV '
'JJr 'act. be is quite approachable, being knowa famll- "
iarlv aa "Jim." '
XPLANATIOS of wbr railroads and
some other big corporations are giv
ing to men exclusively the positions
of responsibility where a knowledge
of stenography Is necessary can be
found In the fact that In these posl-
" tions the clover men get a chance to
show their ability to handle more important duties.
Many of the pioneers In the field of stenography
are today holding high positions with corporations
and concerns In whose employ they have worked
themselves up from the taking of dictation to the
point where they not only dictate themselves, but
take a large part In framing the policies of the com
panies with which they are identified.
In sending out notices of civil service examina
tions the United States now specifically sets forth
a preference for male stenographers In, nearly every
department Possibly the shining examples of Cor
telyou, Loeb and others now high in the business
world have bad something to do with this attitude
of the government. At least, it is true that the
beads of government departments find men stenog
raphers more useful and to be trusted with heavier
responsibilities than women. Students of psychol
ogy have offered explanationa to account for this,
but the fact remains that women stenographers can
hold good Jobs, can be trusted with confidential
correspondence, and sometimes reach a fairly high
place so far as pay is concernedbut they remain
stenographers .to the end of the chapter. On the
other hand, any man of good ability, who makes
bis mark as a faithful, accurate and reliable
amanuensis, can feel pretty sure of being advanced
to something better. 'There is always room at the
top" applies, la this case, almost exclusively to men.
The history of railroading and other big busi
ness In Omaha Is full of Instances of men who were
once stenographers who hare been advanced In
duties and responsibilities steadily from the mo
ment they gave evidence of capacity.
"Tom" Orr, now assistant to President Mohler,
learned to "serve and obey orders" the first rule
of every real railroad a fairly long spell ago. He
was then the secretary and stenographer for Gen- f
eral Manager Callaway, and that must have been
before G rover Cleveland ran for president the first
time. , Elnca those dsys Mr. Orr has attended
Strictly to bis knitting, gaining fine experience,
tceumnlatlDg knowledge, absorbing wisdom and,
all combined, properly need, tave brought htm to '
a ruling desk in a nice, comfortable office, where
lie can work as hard as he wants to without any
body ordering him off on a vacation for his health,
and where be can, if the spirit moves, do a little
dictating himself.
George W. Loom is, now assistant general man
ager of the Burlington, operated as a stenographer
Iiere In Omaha in the office of G. W. Holdrege;
that was almost a quarter of a century ago, and.',
like others who traveled -far along the lino of
promotion, he had a keen realization of the oppor
tunities for training in system and accuracy offered
by bis position. This training has been put to
good use in the greatly enlarged responsibilities he )
now shoulders.
"Bob" Smith, the hesd of the advertising" de
partment of the Union Pacific railroad, also some
colonizer for the western garden of plenty, is s
Jaunty, ever-smiling youth today. Those who were
i n Omaha when the world Tras a quarter century
younger assert that Robert A. Smith waa even then
. stenographer of. well established reputation,
Which would seem to put Mr. Smith in the class of
those who cultivate perennial youth along other
lines than those sought by Ponce de Leon. Com
mon report has It that the 8mlth boy, In those
, happy days of youth, took dictation so acceptably,
and showed such an Intelligent grasp of fhe duties
Imposed on blm, that he Just naturally had to be
pushed along the line of promotion. With the in
creased responsibilities he became an increasingly
valuable man, but he has never grown fat He was
private stenographer to E. L. Lomax for several
years; '
The only man of prominence in Omaha, prob
ably, who never "sat" for a photograph Is "BUly""
Whlttaker of the Union Pacific law department He
boasts of this fact with such a grin of triumph that
someone ought to make It a point of honor to get
him. Whlttaker came to Omaha straight from De
troit In the year 1890. He brought with him street
car fare and a trifle to spare, and having devoted
some attention to shorthand In his father's office
and after school hours at home, on arrival here be
picked out W. N. Babcock, then general western
agent of the Northwestern railway, and said In a
confident voice, "You're It." The gueas was good,
for Whlttaker got the Job be needed and has been
working ever since. "Not on your tintype" Is his
favorite expreesion when unduly excited, and the
only thing he dodges la a photographer. He dodged
even on his wedding day, not only the camera, but
the rice throwers as well. He was then working
for the late Judge Kelley, end before that had been
the stenographer for John M. Thurston. Now be
is an important maa in the law department of the
Union Pacific, but still feels he Is cousin germane to
the hentrack craft
"The stenographers of Omaha were and are a
great bunch," ssid Mr. Whittsker. "They are as
faithful as the day Is long, and very naturally the
confidence repoeed in them begets a high sense of
responsibility. In their work, too, they acquire a
knowledge of direction and management of large
concerns that proves exceedingly valuable and
equips them for much more Important duties later
on. Some day I may have a picture taken, but the
occasion will have to b quite Important I assure
you."
It was reported. In the course of the talk with,
some old-timers, that "Ike" Miner, secretary of the
Elks' club, used to be a stenographer which, it
true, would make him the oldest in the world, very
likely. It took Miner only a moment or two to
disabuse the Inquirer's mind of this impression.
"No. sir." he said, "all the good speeches I wrote
for various people as a reporter were done In long
band, but so cleverly that lots of people undoubt
edly thought I was a shorthand man. Even today I
do all my best work by main strength, with a pen
and a large sheet of paper. The only man who
wrote larger than myself In those days was Glllsn,
now manager of the Auditorium. He could some
times get six or nine words on an ordinary sheet of
paper, but not always." '
- T. H. Smith, in his younger days kaown as
"Tom" he Is a brother of the Tnlon Pacific offi-.
clal used to be a stenographer for the Northwest
ern railroad In Omaha in the days of W. N. Bab
cock's rale as general agent. Afterward he went
to the Nebraska Central as stenographer and pri
vate secretary to J. H. Dumont. , He quit that sort
of work a good many years ago, and Is now con
ducting a prosperous manufacturers' agency in the
Brandeis Theater building. He Insists that as to
sge many men take precedence over blm In the
pioneer line, .although admitting that he entered
the field a long time ago.
W. H. Murray, assistant general passenger sgent
of the Union Pacific, was wont to exercise his hand
and brain over the mysterious notes of the shorthand
guild in his youthful days. . He laaored thus In the
office of Mr. Lomax when that gentleman was with
the B. M., and afterward transferred his valuable
assistance to the Union Psciflc la a similar capacity.
He Is of the tall and raftgy. class of men who can
see a good ways ahead, and today is realizing the
visions be used to have about the attraction of
travel, the Investigation of new scenery and the
close inspection of hills that looked green far away.
His present business calls him to all parts of the
country, and the past week he got home from a
sprint on the rails that took him to- Kentucky, to
Washington,, to Massachusetts and to Toronto in
Canada. "Bilt" Murray listens well, keeps his
eyes open, and still mikes notes of things worth
remembering.
Still another of the Lomax school of stenog
raphers Is Fred Philpott now chief clerk of the
Union Pacific advertising department He la a
native of the state where men will fight for their
"dawgs," having been . baptized and raised in the
fear of the Lord at or near Moberly, Mo. When
yon want Mr.' Philpott to really believe anything,
show it to him first for he will Insist that you do,
anyway.' He Is of the class that eschews mere
beauty to cultivate the Inner graces, and win proba
bly marry late In life, when the sewing on of bis
own buttons becomes really tiresome.
Jsmes Hodge, chief clerk in the general man
'iter's office of the Burlington in Omaha, had been
but a brief time out from Scotland when ha landed
in the office of Mr. Holdrege, back In 1811. He
has stack to his work like a major and woa his
way t, nurd, Ultliful work. He Is a Glasgow
man, and despite this dignity attaching to that
fact, be Is quite approachable, being known famil
iarly as "Jim."
J. M. Birr, now general manager of the Chi
cago Belt Line railway, back in the 'Jus, waa a
stenogrspher in the office of General Freight Agent
Miller of the Burlington. He gained a substantial
reputstton In his chosen field long before be left
Omaha. "
"Jack" Francis, general passenger sgent of the
Burlington, has held that position so long that only
those who knew htm In the old days can recall that
he was once a crack stenogrspher. That was
prior to 1880, when he was confidential secretary
to D. E. Thompson at Lincoln, and before that he
had held a job as stenographer in Omaha. He
shone as general passenger agent in Omaha before
going to Chicago, where be bas been located for a
good many years.
James Dewsr you all know "Jim," who was
assistant superintendent of the Union station for
so msny years wss stenographer f or C. L. Mellen,
Thomas L. Kimball, Ed Dickenson, Horace G. Burt
"Tom" Orr and Vice President and General
Manager Holcomb, aa late as 1888. He
wanted 'a change from making notes and sought
work in a branch of railroad work where be could
get more exercise. He hss now graduated Into
the field of fuel, with the Havens-White Coal com
pany, and assists other people to burn up their
money instead of letting It all go for railroad
travel.
H. M. Waring, "Hank," long a successful court
reporter In Omaha, has taken up bis home la
Denver, where he Is vice president of a growing
fraternal Insurance company. Another old-time
shorthand man who has moved west Is "Bill" Mos
aics, now in the automobile repair business at Los
Angeles.
"Jimmy Haynes worked with pencil and note
book as a reporter in the courts several years be
fore taking op newspaper work with The Bee. ' Ha
gave op this strenuous avocation a dozes years ago
to become a promoter of publicity.
H. B. Boyles. familiarly pokes of as "Billy"
by the older generation of court reporters, was a
master hand at the stenographer trade for ft good
N3C"SlIITii
many years. He quit court reporting to start ft
school, which has developed Into Boyles college.
: Its growth sod Increasing success bss made Mr,
Boyles a man who bas money to cultivate automo
biles and draw a goodly Income from rente.
A. C. Van Santas a typical pioneer who saw the
opportunity for business schools and established
a successful one. - He is now living in retirement
Fred Sanborn of the Standard Stock Food com
pany used to do stenographic work at the Burling'
ton headquarters In the early '80, bit be pined
for wider fields of effort Now he ships to all
parts of the world a product that is helping to sus
tain the fame of Omaha as a growing center of
trade and commerce. He is understood to be
making money enough to prevent much worry
about next winter's coal.
"Joe" Megeatb, now- living in Salt Lake City
and counted In the- millionaire clasa as a mine
owner, used to be a shorthand shark la Omaha In
1885-88. He went west to grow op with the coun
try about 1888.
"Joe" Sykes and "Gene" Duval are two active
railroad men who were wont in the old days, to
sit and Imbibe language from the dictation of other
men some years ago, and then transcribe the same
with accuracy and dispatch. Duval ' is now as
sistant general western agent of the Milwaukee
railroad, with headquarters la Omaha, and Syk
holds a' responsible position In the head office of
the Union Padfle. ' -
W. H. Hatterotb, now practicing law here, was
a stenographer with the Union Pacific law depart'
meat np to about ten years ago. Others of the
craft who took np tbe law were Silas Cobb, now
practicing In Kentucky, and Ovsndo Cowles, who la
now devoting bis whole attention to sclentiOa
farming in Valley precinct Douglas county. Deputy
United States Marshal Nickerson, who administers
law to some extent acted as stenographer for th
lata Ben White for several jar ,