Telegram-herald., 1889-11-03


Va Al the railway station was an az
qlainIance, Capt W. w. O'Brien, OneOf
tns prominent bankers Of ths town and
nov q rlch Eaah. SAID hes ~On your sAy
east over tie mountains you viii see
soms of the railroads ex senator Davis
and his sOn-in-L4w. Mr. Elzins. are build
Ing Perhaps you ~il be interested a.
knowing something Ok SIR. DAVIS AID Ais
enterprises Thirty years ago l ~as .
poFtsf wheeling a truck along this plat
form Asre. Sly pay VS. 81. 30 dAy, and
I thought 1 vas getting rich. because be-
fore that l had been getting bus ninety
hve cents a lay working Ia the nail mil
over there. / remember very distinctly
the day tic frsE tram GA ths baltimore
and Ohio railroad crossed Wheeling creek
into thls station
-'Ihs conductor u the train was Davis
now the uil .onaire ex-senator. Before
that hs had been freight brakeman.
Davis always had way u saving up
money. Before be left the road as con
ductor hs had saved up snug httle SUM.
ali hs didn't take 10 from the company
either AT . litIls town up in the noun
talas he started a country store with his
savings. j. was not much bigger az first
than a freight car. and. il / mistake not
his start was made by throwing a coun-
ter across one end 81 a wrecked and
abandoned cattle car. which he boarded
up and swung a door on for his uses
After a time he started a bank IN one end
OF his store. invested in lands and mines
anI began % grow rich.
III ex Senator Davis lives ten or ff-
teen years continued Capt. O'Brien,
che wil be Ons or the richest men in
America. tie and his son-in-law are
constantly buying timber and mineral
lands in the interior Of West Virginia
&c astoni5hingiy low prices. They have
bought thousands and tens Of thousands
OF acres OF beautiful timber lands at
dollar or two an acre-lands which VIII
D. worth twenty-five or fifty times as
much a. soon IS a railroad reaches near
enough % them 70 develop their re
sources DAVIS and Elkins are building
their own railways, thus bringing out
tho value Of their immense landed pos
sessions.
..Ihs Davise5 are taking the place of
the CARROTS IS the richest and most i'm
portans family in this section Of the
country. While the CARROTS have been
having nothing but bad luck, the Davises
have gon3 right along. adding millions
20 millions The Baltimore and Ohio
road has not paid a dividend for three'
years. but the Davis enterprises have all
h1urished Actually, the Baltimore and
Ohio IS now being supplanted in sections
OF ,ai5 state BY the Davis roads on ac-
count Of better management. Davis
himself. who us-l % be freight brake
man on the Us. more and Ohio, i5 q
richer man than Garrett ever was.
People may think there is luck IN
this" added Capt. OBrien, but can
see something better than luck. see a
fundamental difference in the principles
governing ths two families. The Gar
retts wer9 brought up as votaries Of
fashion and pleasure. They were not
trained % busiuc 70 railroading, 20
the uauagement of large enterprises.
It is ve'i known shat Robert Garrett
lost his reason through excesses in the
pursuit of pleasure. Queer that this
great family should finally have all is
property come under tho control OF a
woman. was IN this very station in
which we are now talking, = few weeks
ago. when a special car rolled in. From
u stepped a beautiful young woman, q
blonde, attired IN plain travelling COS
tune. Her eve appeared quickly 70 take
in everything station. the tracks.
the condition Of the railway property in
general She made inquiries of the men
who accompanied her. and gave some
directions. I asked who she was. and
WIS toil Miss Mary Garrett. the boss
Of the p. and o. railroad She was on
a tour of inspection. It Is said she has
actual and active control Of the vast in
terests ~ the Garrett family, and that
under her management the property is
now IN better shape than it has been at
any time during the last five years.
Vow, ex-senator Davis has no sons.
bat De- IS determined that lis race shall
not run out. and that the great property
BE- IS building UP sa1l not pass under the
control % strangers after his death
Several years ago. Dee brought his son-in-
law, Eians, back from the west and ir-
tsrested him in che Davis enterprises. lt
Is rot necessary % se7 th1s Elsins has
b~c1 a vau1li3 Lieutenant. He is one
Of the keencSt business men in America.
a marvel of energy and resources. A
curious fs-t is that the ex-senator and
his sen-in-'lw keep no books rs between
f.ewe alr-s. and tle extent of individual