The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-27
SKETCH OF FIVE
MESSENGER: BOYS.
Carnegie, Oliver, Pitcairn. MCCargO and
MOrGland in One Office.
They Took the Opposite of Other Boys and
Spent Their Time in Learning Lessons
That We're Useful to Them.

The story OF i've messenger boys begins In
the early days of telegraphy. In dingy Office
In Pittsburg, about 1913, Andrew Carnegie,
Henry w. Oliver. Robert Pitcairn, Major
William c. Moreland and David McCargo
were messengers. 1t Is said that they took
The opposite of other boys, and spent their
spare moments In learning useful lessons.
Andrew Carnegie is the oldest Of the lot,
and he was the smartest, leading all in learn
ing how to telegraph. lie was one of the first
operators in the country to learn to take the
Morse system by sound, which in those days
was considered a remarkable achievement.
1t did not take Thomas A. Scott long to
snatch Mr.. Carnegie from the telegraph office
in Pittsburg into his Office as private secre-
tary when the great railroad genius took
charge of the Pittsburg end of the
road. The education the young Scotchman
received from a greater mind lifted him
from secretary's seat into the place Of
division superintendent when Mr.. Scott
was made Vice-President of the railroad.
The industry, the subtle cunning and
watching faith of Scott taught him to lay
his lines in other directions than watching
the divisions of a railroad, and Scott helped
him. His place gave him the opp0r tunity
10 look into other lines of industry, and he
drove drift into an iron MIL His plckaX
was not large, but his cunning and thrift
made up for the size of his ak. j. Edgar
Thompson, who was the President OF the
Pennsylvania Railroad, then gave great
name and money TO the works now d0mi-
mated by Mr.. Carnegie. At that time
Colonel Scott was power in the nation, as
well as the railroad, and Carnegie began to
gather wealth.
'' My ambition in those days." he said. re-
Gently, " was to write for newspapers.
took in material in that direction whenever
1t Was possible. l
HAUNTED THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
In Allegheny and caught on to the fact that
distinction was made by the attendants
between the poor boys aud the sons of we'll
TODD parents. 1t made me indignant. I
wrote my first public letter to the Board of
Control, and change was ordered. This
result more than ever resolved me 10 follow
journalism, but an accident drifted me else
where, and became manufacturer"
Thrift and industry were the derrcks
which lifted Harry W. Oliver out of the
telegraph chair next to Mr.. Carnegie, and
made him clerk for a big iron trnl. lie is
an Irishman. with head full of cunning
about the business economies of life. 1t
did not take long for him to realize the pos
slbiltieS Of the iron trade, and one day a
slick-working block and tackle hoisted him
out of his seat at the desk in the big firms
workshop and landed him in a business
that has since grown to be one of the great
est concerns in the world. He has grown
very rich, and one railroad and seven manu-
featuring concerns now feel the touch of
his hand. he lives ill the finest house in
the West, but he works too hard to enjoy
himself. He must be about 50 years Of age.
and few nOtches lower than Mr. Carnegie in
the scale Of years He once came near
being United States Senator. lie was the
brains of the Tariff Commission, which,
Senator Sherman says. framed the best and
fareSt bill ever presented to Congress.
Another Scotchman of the famous five is
Robert Pitcairn, who sits in the seat once
occupied by Colonel Tom Scott and Mr..
Carnegie. He went from Telegraph chair
into the railroad business, and he has been
master in all the best conditions of railroad
life. He is many times ii millionaire, but lie
lives for his railroad, although interested,
Ike MIR. oliver, III many large manufacture
ing enterprises. He does the work of about
three men every day, and takes recreation
only when he wants to talk with q big friend
or indulge with his cOuntrymen in the mel
odles of Scotland. He has denied himself
PROMOTION
Many times because he likes to cling to the
location where he began as a messenger
boy and has had so many triumphs.
The fourth member of the group is David
McCergo, the general manager Of the a lie
ghauy Railroad. His strong Scotch charac-
ter lifted him into big railway concerns
early. He left the telegraph Office soon after
the other boys and took place on the rail-
way:
Think of it," said Major William P.
Moreland, the last, but not least, of the
famous i've, II stood at the key with Car
nege, Oliver, Pitcairn, McCargo, and heard
the first message pass over the wires that
was sent between the North and South
James d. Reid. who was general superin-
tendent, David Brooks, now living in Phila-
delphla, and jackson Duncan of Cincinnati
had charge of the experiment. We had to
work on short circuits In those days, and
yruS INN ssih
message to New York from New Orleans
Brooks and Reid walked over and Inspected
the line from the Crescent City TO Pitts
burg. After arriving here and assuring
themselves that the line was perfect, the
effort was ordered, aud every telegraph
operator on the line, and, in fact the whole
country, was waiting in suspense to know
the success or failure of the effort.
Every magnet was adjusted, and every
electrician on the line stood at his key listen
ing for the result. At the signal New York
called Philadelphia, the Quaker City sig
nailed Harrisburg and then in quick sue
cession Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louis Vile
and New Orleans were opened to the me-
tr0poiis. No one drew a breath scarcely
until the tick came, and In minute an I'M
broken message was sent between the North
and South. That may seem primitive in
these days when there is no measuring cleo
trio power, but then it was the talk of the
nation. This is bit of untold history, but
L shall never forget that hour.
Mr.. Carnegie never forgets the old boys,
and We shall never forget celebrating his
twenty-first birthday. He was Scotts con-
fdential clerk then. and he invited his FORM
er companions in the telegraph Office to his
home in Allegheny, where his mother and
brother lived. We had a good time. and
parted with mutual wishes for each others
success, think there are no regrets among
us, except that we cannot live always. N
Y. Sun.