Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-07
Life Sketch of the Man at
the Head of the Amalga-
mated Association.
BORN OF POOR PARENTS.
Compelled at the Tender Age Of
Eleven 10 Earn His Living.
GLAsSWORKER AND IRON PUDDLER
One of the Original Members Of the Great
Iron Organization.
FOR NINE YEARS ITS ABLE PRESIDENT

William Weihe, the big, broad, conserv-
ative President of the Amalgamated Asso.
citation, was born in 1915 in what is now the
Thirteenth ward. HIS parents were Ger.
man. When he was child the family re-
moved to the Southside, and there William
was sent to the common schools. The pa
rents were poor, and the young man was not
given very much time to pick up book
learning He got along pretty we'll in the
spelling book and the readers, and secured
q fair knowledge of arithmetic with touch
OF grammar.
At the age of II he was compelled to 60
to work to aid in the maintenance of the
family. He secured place in Ihmsen's
glass factory, and there worked, in one
position and another, until he was 20 years
old. At that age he decided to change his
trade, and secured work in the great mill
of Jones and Laughlin's at Brownstown.
He worked first around the furnaces and
rolls, and then entered the pudding depart
ment.
First in the Amalgamated.
MI. Weihe was'one of the early members
of the Amalgamated Association, entering
it when it was organized in 1874. In the
lodge councils he soon secured recognition
as man of excellent Judgment, whose ad-
vice was always valuable, and he rose
rapidly in the association. From the occu-
pancy of official positions in his local lodge,
he became Secretary of the District
Board, and held that position for
one year. Then he was for five
years a member of the Advisory
Board, and there mis- work was so effective
that in 1888 he was elected Presi-
dent of the Amalgamated Association.
He has continuously held the office since
that time He has been compelled on ae-
count of the duties of that Office occupying
all his time to give up his trade. Feeling
that he had fairly served his time at the
head of the great iron and steel organiza-
tion, and desiring to engage in private
business he at the recent June convention
of the Association declined to be candi-
date for reelection. This refusal was
announced early in the sessions of the con-
rention, but there was an almost unani-
nous demand made upon him by the dele
gates to withdraw his declination. This he
refused to do, and accordingly Assistant
President NJ. NJ Garland was elected TO
the Presidency and will assume the office in
October.
His Efficient Administration,
In the highly responsible Office of Presi-
dent Mr.. Weihe has displayed remarkable
executive ability. He has been careful and
conservative in all his acts, and his word
came to be unquestioned law because his as
sociates and subordinates recognized his ad-
vice as being guided by wisdom and expert
ence. He has seen the Amalgamated Asso-
citation of Iron and Steel Workers grow into
the most powerful labor organization in the
world. He has guided it safely over the
shoals of many difficulties, and in the pres
ent crisis may be depended upon to give
safe counsel. Whether his advice will pre-
vail with the workmen in their present ex-
cited condition, remains to be seen.
Mr.. Weihe is feet So inches tall, and
built broad and sturdy all the way up. He
is giant in body as well as in mind He
is of dark complexion, with large, broad
head and strong features. He is an agree
able and fluent talker when he wishes to
sneak, but fully appreciates the times when
silence is golden. He is exceedingly popu-
lar with his brother officers, who look upon
him as not only their superior, but their
friend. In politics he is Democrat