The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-09-21
X. II. CABLE.
The Career OF the President OF the
Great Rock Island Route as
Sketched by a Chicago
Journalist.

Under the title of Something about r.
r. Cable" the Chicago Herald produces
the following interesting and spicy &C
count of that official, whom Rock Island
is justly proud of:
Il. r. Cable is, perhaps. the brightes
financial railroad man in the west. He
has become rich, of course, very rich
and no one begrldges il him. Somebody
once said that there are only two fami>
lies of Gables in the United States-one
came over in the Mayflower and lande d
at Plymouth Rock, and the other came
up the Mississippi and landed at Rock
Island. The Rock Island branch is the
one which begot the Rock Island presi>
dent. Tradition has it that he was u poor
boy-a very poor boy-but he had an
uncle at Rock Island, who being man
of affairs and pioneer in every form OF
western energy, had riches in which to
place his kin. The youngster soon be-
came officer, director, president and evs
erything else on all the little jerk water
1
which fed the chief lines. That Peoria
road was one in which the youthful X. r.
shone with an effulgence equalled, if not
surpassed, by the tail of lightning bug.
His head was great He even began to
graft himself upon the parent stem.
One day old Hugh Riddle, then presi-
dent of the Rock Island proper, sent
| a hn al, / rn1
if 4. r. Gable could be sent TO he1dquar
ters He wanted TO see him This was
somewhere about ten years ago. The
proposition was To become assistant to
the president" which is, by the way, a
favorite title now in railway circles where
ambiguity is needed to throttle jealousy.
Mr.. Cable came. He was then in his
youthful ardor and prime, and the great
world was all before him. From assist
ant TO the president to vice president
and manager was but a step across a
brook to u man with head.
Mr. Cable reached that, and in 1888
became president, general manager over
all hands of the whole great Rock Island
system. Two years have elapsed and
|
tilted his own ambition and the hopes OF
his friends. He has done won lers foI
Rock Island He helped H. H Porter
on the lannon's Omaha fight which kept
the Northwestern out of st. Paul. except
on disadvantage terms. He brought the
Minneapolis Il st. Louis road into the
Albert Lea route, to the Northwest anG
finally knocked out Vanderbilt in the lat
ter's effort as Il minority stakeholder Il
GUST him from Rock Island management
Cable is gray, but it is the silver OF
early years He Is rOtund, which means
burgundy and terrapin, seasoned witt
good nature He wears a smooth upper
7 lip, which means combatlveness, and :
steel blue eve. which looks kindly or moi
as it chooses, His friends say he is
ID of good fellow, but he eau
freeze out An unwelcOme caller with al
arctic GOODNESS He is usually to b,
. found around the Grand Pacific at al
hours, and he and General Solicitor
Withrow of the Rock Island are nearly
always together They usually luncl
in company, and when lunch is ovel
. they make for the Rock Island depot
each with a cigar in his mouth that fill
the corridors with steam.
As it has been said Mr. Gable is yer,
a rich He has more money than an,
Y working railway man in the northwest
He Is now building lovely MANSION a
the corner of Cass and Erie streets. an,
one of these days will perhaps retire.