Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-12
Col. William NJ. MadIeT.

The lateness Of the hour at which we
received the announcement of the sud-
den death of Col. William NJ Wadley
Thursday night. prevented the prepare
ton of anything more than the brief and
hurriedly written tribute TO his sterling
worth, which appeared in these columns
Yesterday morning We therefore pre-
sent to-day an extended sketch of his
life aud successful career, more in accord
ance with his well deserved fame and
acknowledged merit.
Col. Wadley was, we believe, born in
New Hampshire, and came to Georgia
with the force brought out by the Gene
raj Government 70 assist in the cOnstruc-
ton of Fort Pulaski Il is related Of
him that while engaged upon this work
he found small blacksmith shop in his
way. Without waiting for permission,
he Immediately demolished the building
in order that he might have room
in which to complete the work entrusted
to him in a proper manner after
which he set TO. and soon completed
another shop upon the site of the old
one. Ii was thought at the time that
he would receive a rebuke from the
engineer in charge of the work for
his temerity To the surprise of all,
however, Mr.. Wadley received common
Iaffor for rrhaf M had doua bonarea Of
the energy and appreciation OF the situa-
ton which he displayed. This is a
trifing incident, but it serves to
strikingly illustrate the nerve. will
power and ssgacity of the man-three
qualities which elevated him to his high
position in after life.
After finishing his work at Fort Pu-
laski, Mr.. Wadley opened small black
smith shop on the canal, in this city,
where he carried on for some time his
trade But the native qualities of such
a man were too strong for him to be long
kept in the obscurity of such life. The
opportunity for entering the service of
the Central Railroad as contractor soon
presented itself, and he was prompt to
avail himself of it. In this line OF
business he, among other work,
built the first bridge over the
OcOnee river. 1t was while carrying
out his contract for this work that the
financial troubles of 81 occurred, and
the Board Of Directors passed a resolu-
ton to pay off their contracts in the bills
of the Central Bank of Georgia, then at
heavy discount, the result of which
was that Mr.. WadleY sustained a serious
loss. He completed his contract, how
ever, but it took him several years to
recover from the losses he thus sus-
tanned.
In these early days of railroads it was
customary to let out contracts for keep
ing the tracks and rOsdways in good
condition, and Mr.. Wadley secured one
of these contracts. Defective super
structures and the old flat rails then in
vogue were the causes of many accidents,
trains sometimes becoming detained,
and days would elapse before traffic
could be resumed. Young Wadley's
energy soon made itself felt all along the
line, and whenever mishaps occurred,
whether within his Jurisdiction or not,
he was sent for, and his promptness,
energy and mechanical skill were main
ly relied on to set matters Alright This
gave him reputation that he never lost,
and he rapidly rose in the estimation
and regard of his employers. He was
the first to call attention to the loose way
of attending to such an important item
in railroad management, and. he was
soon offered the post as first supervisor
of the line From this he speedily ad
vanced from one post to another until
he became Superintendent of the road.
1t was also through his influence
that the first. steam saw null was
erected on the line of the road, by which
it could be supplied with necessary lum-
Der at a less cost than by the old plan of
hewing it out or saving it by hand
This innovation raised a great hue and
cry against him-as many other of his
greater and far seeing projects have done
in later days-as it was claimed that he
would ruin all the wood cutters. His
ideas were adopted, however, and
while the wood cutters were not ruined,
the road was immensely benefited.
By this time Mr.. Wadley's fame as a
manager had spread over the State, and
he was invited by Governor Howell
Cobb to take the SUPPLEMENTARY of the
Western and Atlantic (State) Railroad.
Here his practical sense suggested many
improvements, and he introduced radi-
cal change in its management-innOva-
tons which occasioned an cutlery from all
sides, and which led to his resignation
The wisdom of his policy in taking
the road out of the control of politicians
has, however, been fully proven by the
success it has achieved in the hands of
the present lessees, since, freed from
everything like the dictation of office
hunters and their friends, it has made
money both for the State and for its
managers.
After brief respite from his Tabors,
Colonel Wsdley was. like CIncinnstus,
called from his retirement to
active service in the work he
loved, and as superintendent of
the Central, which position he was ten
dered and accepted. he pushed that then
young enterprise to partial fulfllment
of its great destiny. Under his superin-
tendency the influence of the Central
was given to the completion of other
connecting roads, and before he left it
again he had the satisfaction of seeing
the whole system of Georgia railroads
working together, not always in perfect
harmony, it is true, but still sufficiently
so to demonstrate what could be done
1t was under his management that the
extensive machine shops and ware