River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-02-12
DEATH OF s. $. MErRrrr.
He Breathed His Last on Sunday Morning
Characteristics of Man Who Rose
from brakeman TO General Manager.


characteristics of Man Who Rose
from Brakeman TO General Manager.
sherburne S. Merrill died in Milwa ukee at
l2.2o last Sunday morning, aged sixty-seyen
years. He suffered third paralyhc stroke
last Tuesday, and his death since that
time has been almost hourly expected.
To the thirty thousand or more employees
OF the Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul Rail-
way company, General Manager Merrill was
commonly known as sThe 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 filial in its 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-
TILL can fully comprehend the degree of
power which he could exercise over other
men, or bodies of men, at his win.
The faculty was not based upon
diplomacy, for few men were more candid in
any sort of negotiations; it was not the result
OF oratory or manners, for he was careless of
speech, and abrupt at 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, indicated IN
the straightforwardlooking gray eye, the
firmly drawn lips and erect posture-he
was built in straight hnes-to be just to him.
self as well as others SUren 9Th 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 but
made up for it tenfold by force of dignity
These were elements which compelled re-
spect, but they do not wholly account for the
veneration in which he was held by all of his
/ suboniinates. Back of all 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 EN- barrassment-even if the old man"
was venting his rage at some dereliction of
duty-for there was always a subtle some
thing in the great managers manner
which seemed to saw stand ON your
own responsibility and be a man, is
all / ask of youl" In other words, without
the slightest tendency to familiarity, he
naturally treated every man in his employ as
though he considered him as good as king
if he was good enough to occupy place or
position with him. He elevated his men to
bis own level-for the time being, at least
instead of descending TO theirs; and it made
him the idol he was. Mr.. Merrills
SUCCESS IN PREVENTING STRIKES"
has long been noted, has been striven for
by other large employers, but has not been
achieved. And 1t is equally well known that
he has never been compelled to grant speci-
ted conditions when trouble has threatened
During the great railway strikes of few
years ago Mr.. Merrilfs management was
put to the test: Early one August morn
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 secIet meeting and resolved to
follow the example of their Chicago breth-
rem unless certain conditions of time or pay
were changed to meet the demands of other
strikers Mr. Merrill was, of course, apprised
Immediately of what was going on. sob"
said he, "the Boys are all right, and will go
back to work after they have appointed a
committee to come and see the Old Man. "
Soon the COMMUNICATION of course one was
appointed--waited upon the manager A
number of persons were in Mr.. Merrill 8
office when the committee arrived, and all
saving: "My boys always like to
see me alone at our family gatherings
The committee, composed of five men, was
met at the doorway by the manager, who adj
dressed each and every by his sirname, and
invited them in with the remark: I'VE must
Z y
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 3nd
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 resolu-
tion?" inquired one.
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 thew knew il would be best to return to
work, because the Old Man said So" And
after two or three speakers had admitted
that "whatever the Old Man said was best,
was always true" the meeting adjourned
and the men returned TO work, confident
chat in some way Mr.. 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 "labor troubles" between
Mr. Merrill and his men.
HIS RELATIONS WITH NEWSPAPER MEN
1t required time, a reputation for accuracy
and favorable reputation generally on the
part of a newspaper man, before much prog
ress could be made toward the good graces
of Mr. Merrill. When John G. Gault was his
assistant the interviewer was invariably
capacity for talking long and famil-
arly 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 par
ticular reporter he would take good dea
of personal pleasure in affording that individ.
ual opportunities for scoops" being one OF
the few human beings who have existed out
side the pale of Journalism and yet have been
NJ, 70 hn fT11na n
place in the race for news Generally, he was
considered by newspaper men about as hard
to corner as Ben Butler or Vanderbilt. How
ever, Mr.. Merrill fully appreciated the power
of the press, and when he had news to give
out which related TO the concerns of his
company he was painstaking in giving the
information 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
that his company was the debtor, conclu-
sion that many railway magnates always fail
to arrive at