The Dickinson press., 1885-02-14
a OF 8. 8, MERRILL.

ia OF d. B,
he 8reathed His Last on Sunday Morning
characteristics Of Man Who Rose
from Brakeman to General Manager.
sherburne 8. Merrill died in Milwa ukee at
l2So last Sunday morning, aged sixty-seven
years. He suffered . third paralytic stroke
last Tuesday, and his death since that
time has been almost hourly expected.
10 the thirty thousand or more employees
Of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Rail
way company, General Manager Merrill was
commonly known as @The Old Man," The
sobriquet was an indication of the character
of the great manager, not of his age;
Tor the appellation originated in a
general and remarkable regard, which
the term itself indicates was flial in it's char
acter. Probably no commander of troops
ever welded an equal army of men SO thor
oughly loyal to a single individual. In proof
Of this, it may be noted that strikes have
been entirely unknown to the experience of
the railway company which Mr.. Merrill has
developed from insignificant beginnings into
the greatest corporation of its kind on the
continent Only those who have had personal
acquaintance or often contact with Mr.. Mer-
rni can fully comprehend the degree of
4 to"NA NAASA NC SOulo CAS4ClSo ONSI oGllC1
men, or bodies Of men, at his will.
The faculty was not based upon
diplomacy, for few men were more candidin
any sort of negotiations; it was not the result
OF oratory or manners, for he was careless Of
speech, and abrupt ut all times; it did not
come from studied effort, for conscious
strength of will and mind were Unborn in the
man 1t was due wholly to his always evil
dent determination, as indicated In
the straightforward-looking gray eye, the
! Hrrol~ NoHSyr, 1{~r 1-1 @,,>.% L.
was built in straight lines-to be just to him
self rs well as Others. Strength OF purpose
was always noticeable iu every line of face,
glance OF eye and gesture of person, no
matter how trivial the business at hand
might be. He lacked grace or dignity. suit
These wore elements which compelled re-
spect, but they do not wholly account for the
veneratlon in which he was held by all of his
subordinates. Back of al his mind and
will power was a natural adaptibility, so to
speak, to persons. In his presence the new
est brakeman on the line would be relieved
OF all OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES if "the old man"
was venting his rage Mt some dereliction of
duty-for there was always a subtle some
ah1ai IN the great managers manner
own responsibility and be a man, is
all l ask Of you!" In other words, without
the slightest tendency to familiarity, he
naturally treated every ma in his employ as
though he considered him as good as a king
If he was good enough to occupy a place or
his own level-for the time being, at least
instead of descending to theirs; and 1t made
him the idol he was. Mr.. Merrilrs
SUCCESS IN PREVENTING STRIKES"
has long been noted, has been striven for
by other large employers, but has not been
achieved And it is equally well known that
he has never been compelled to grant speci-
he'd conditions when trouble has threatened.
During the great railway strikes of q few
years ago Mr.. Melrills management was
Ing four or five hundred men marched
out OF the Chicago, Milwaukee & st.
Paul shops in Milwaukee, gathered at
their guild hall on Wisconsin street,
held q sec1et meeting and resolved to
follow the example of their Chicago broth
were changed to meet the demands of other
strikers Mr.. Merrill was, of course, appraised
Immediately of what was going on. ooh"
said he. "the boys are all right. and will go
back to work after they have appointed a
Soon the commlttee-for of course one was
appointed-waited upon the manager. A
number of persons were in Mr.. Merrill's
office when the committee arrived, and ali
were requested to leave, Mr.. Merrill
saying: my boys always like to
see me alone at our family gatherings"
The committee, composed of five men, was
met Mt the doorway by the manager, who adj
dressed each and every by his sirname, aud
invited them IN with the remark: "Wo must
hurry through this meeting, 80 that you can
get back to work at ] o'clock, implying. of
course, that a strike was not among the pos
sibilities. In about ten minutes the COM
mittee came out, returned to their hall and
reported that there was no use of thinking
about striking, "for the Old Man wouldn't
hear to it nohow."
Does he agree to the demands Of the resoIu-
NO. He wouldn't agree to anything, only
that he should expect US all to be AT work when
he drives up that way this afternoon"
In the discussion that followed the COM
mittee could not give any clear idea of the
why or wherefore, but unanimously argued
that they knew it would be best to return to
work, because the Old Man said so.o And
that 3whatever the Old Man said was best.
was always true" the meeting adjourned
and the men returned to work, cCAtident
that in some way MIR. Merrill would set
things right, In his own good time and pleas
ure. This is a fair illustration of the begin
ming and end of all slabor troubles" between
Mr.. Merrill and his men.
HIS RELATIONS WITH NEWSPAPER MEN.
1t required time, a reputation for accuracy
and a favorable reputation generally on the
ress could be made toward the good graces
OF Mr.. Merrill When John G. Gault was his
assistant the Interviewer was invariably
turned over to that gentleman's genial
capacity for talking long and famil-
larly without letting any news es-
cape. Later B.. g. Lennox, who has long
been a sort Of good right hand to the
great manager, has pretty etfectually barred
the way between Merrill and reportorial In
QUESTION. But when it did happen that Mr..
Merrill was favorably disposed toward a par
ucular reporter, he would take a good deal
OF personal pleasure in affording that ndivid-
ual opportunities for scoops" being one of
the few human beings who have existed out
side the pale of journalism and yet have been
able to comprehend the importance of first
place in the race for news. Generally, he was
considered by newspaper men about as hard
to corner as Ben Butler OF Vanderbilt How
ever, MI. Merrill fully appreciated the power
out which related to the concerns of his
company he was painstaking in giving the
to reporters, that even slightest
errors in statement might be avoided At
such times he invariably expressed his
thanks to the reporter, seeming to appreciate
sion that many railway magnates always fail
to arrive at
j. B. Olcott expresses the opinion that going
hungry to bed is poor business for 8 dyspep-
tic If ne can command fresh air in q sleeping
room, by himself, and can get the food that al
ways satisfies his reasonable appetite. That
ought to make q man sleep as all animals sleep
when they are well fed
Wealth in Banana Culture.
From the New York Commercial Advertiser.
Honduras is rapidly assuming importance
among the larger countries in Central America