The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-01-26

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4 s,iSTi.ss siis a"iu.i. well; .,NUARY 26,
-'sock. La this waSe
Z on eTs species i.------ -
'oS tFssshen v4D RAILROAD KING
Though the death of Mr.. Vandds
lshss been long looked for, it AsAsbeen re-
portsd 50 many times thatit came at last
as something of surprise. He was a
.dsyigorous fghtessand beat whoever was
hanfortunate enough to contend with him,
&nd his wrestle with the last great enemy
i sias a long one, and it almost seemed for
that death would be thrown.
anderbilt was one of the strongest
this community, and his remark
q - Ass was due quite as much to
& lEihal vigor of his nature as to the
eSaf its direction and the excep-
4 fSScircumstances of the time in
he: :sf7sd. For sheer, downright T..
4 of IRGxsse he had few equals and no
ssriors among his contemporaries. He
80 one Of the Carlylean heroes in his
y-oRx of those aboriginal facts that
rI1gt te-csls sd pf. in ille clEsls Alszs
which he moved for the fast twenty +
years he was the event He made no
secret of his methods, claimed no genius, 0
pretended to no exceptional qualities, o
and never had his head turned by craze t
of any sort he simply kept his strong b
hand on the long end OF the lever, and t
every advantage he gained was used to
give him better purchase, He worked d
for one end, and gained it by system o
attic and energetic concentration of him Q
self upon it. 1t was Napoleonism in bu- 81
siness-the whole force thrown irresisti- >;
bly, on one point. His rivals yielded. Al
He has ploughed his name into the rail, fe
roadway system Of this country b
in a furrow which cannot be W
levelled. He belongs to TIE system, and W
its evils and benefits, its defects and d,
merits are due to some extent to his tt
mind. He found the community anx- CT
ious for means of Communication and of
unprotected against monopoly: he fur Ii
nishod the railways and took possessioniof fr
the open field and held it for his own gr
profit against all competitors His vast in
power and property were the legitimate til
results of the old democratic notion that gi
everybody should be allowed to do any ac
thing short of direct robbery or murder tr
without let or hindrance from the gov N,
ernment, and if he ran his railways and or
steamers directly into his own pockets, tn
without regard to the interests of any II
body save as those interests furtlkNd his ms
own, it was because the community gave in.
him the right to do so and encouraged "A
nim in the doing. It was the individual acl
On the make. He was the natural off pls
ipring of the old theory, and nobody has wi
4 right TO complain. He managed his toy
property well so well that its accumu- ua
alton made no disturbance and his death
produced scarcely ripple on the street
lie set an example of sobriety, steadi-
less, and industry, and his cool, clear,
evel head at eighty showed to the fever -
sh and fast young men of the time the SUI
way power gained and kept He ~
made few gifts, considering his vast -ei :.
means; his symPathies were not afiluent, WI
hough he had freaks of generosity. He "i
aust bsjudged as a whole by the light 'ici
f the time he lived in and the methods "A
" which his business was done. But
7hatever the final verdict NAV be he ina
yill be remembered as a great personal Iii,l u
1rce in the business, and especially in
he railway development, of the coun- 'ne
Gr0Dhic 'lie