The record-union., 1898-04-03

spirit of California Pacific Railroad
crazy" and who We're laughed at for
their hare-brained scheme, pushed
ahead, threw their money, their time.
their energy and their faith into the
| undertaking, until finally, on May 10,
1869, a historic gathering of sturdy men
on the plains of Utah witnessed the.lriv
ing of the last spike which completed the
iron bands of transcontinental com
merce and heralded the dawn of a vast
empire. -
In the light of this great achieve
ment the glory. of Mr.. Huntington's
subsequent undertakings, great though
they have been, almost seem to pale,
not because they were unworthy of the
brain which devised and the spirit
which carried out the formidable en-
terprise of earlier years, but because
the way had now been made compare
lively easy by the hard-won expert
encS of tn sixties.
The history of the construction of the
Southern Pacific Railroad from San
Francisco eastward through Los An
geles, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
is full of interest. Huntington and his
associates did not stop until they had
continuous line of track from Port
land, Or, to New Orleans, 300 miles
in length. InnumeTable branches Were
built from time to time, and other lines
in Texas, in old Mexico, and in Guate-
mala were constructed, until at the end
OF 1896 total had been reached of over
5000 miles of track, and twenty-six
corporations had been merged in one
great parent organization known as the
Southern Pacific Company.
While these huge enterprises were be-
ing carried through in the West Mr.
Huntington was evolving a vast scheme
in the East independently of his asso-
ciates. The State of Virginia had been
trying to finish the Chesapeake and
Ohio Road and several sets of con-
tractors had been ruined in the at
tempt. Huntington completed it, and
then went on building westward
through West Virginia, Kentucky, Ten
Enessee and Mississippi, until at last he
had the unique satisfaction of riding
in his private car over his own tracks
from the gateway of the Old Dominion
on the Atlantic to the Golden Gate on
the Pacific Coast
"a 80
He is the only man in America who
| has accomplished that remarkable
feat, the magnitude of which can be
realized when it is remembered that #
the total mileage owned or largely
controlled at one time by Mr. Hunting
ton We're put into a continuous track it
Would reach over the surface of the
earth from the north pole to the south
pole.
1t would seem as if these outlets for
the activity of the hardware merchant
ought to have sufficed, but we see him
in other roles of a very different char
acter. He is the founder of the CITY
of Newport News, Va, and the owner
and builder of a huge shipyard there,
which employs nearly 1900 men and
at which three battleships are now
under construction. In building it he
has taken advantage of all the ec1no-
mics of wealth, and everything is on a
gigantic scale
The spirit which animated the founder
is seen in his endeavor to improve the
condition of the workmen by provid-
ing them with comfortable houses and
in inducing them to own their homes
He has maintained for years a full
graded school free to the children of his
employees. He has from the first en-
ployed only home talent and home ma
chinery, and his shipyard is American
throughout. He makes no distinction
between race and creed, and the negro
under him has full chance The we'll
known Huntington Industrial Works at
Hampton, Va, are an example of his
practical belief that the hand should be
educated as well as the head.
+ A Characteristic story is told of the
building of the International Railroad
in Mexico. The company opened some
coal mines, and Mr.. Huntington or
dered that in employing labor the
preference should be given to native
Mexicans. At the end of the first year
the Superintendent reported that he
had tried the native labor thoroughly,
and that it would not do at ALL Hunt
ington replied: .e''
Have patience with them. Show
them our ways, and try them twenty
years longer"
Two years later the superintendent
sent this message: Tell Mr.. Hunting
ton that I have not tried the Mexicans
twenty years. but long enough to find
that they make some of the best work.
men we have" 81 7tC3 ~ ~
ha OF course Mr.. Huntington has enc
mics, for he is a successful man. and
success has disagreed bic parasites; but
he is serenely indifferent to. the shafts
which are aimed at him by envy and
malice This enmity, boiled down,
crystallizes into a small but indescrib-
ably noisy group of people, whose
voices reverberate among the columns
of particular newspapers.
OF them Mr.. Huntington has said
81 am rather proud of the enemies |
have made. All 1 ask is that they do
not praise me, for then my friends
would say: What the d has Hunt
ington been doing now, that such fell
lows should praise him?'" Yet it is
doubtful if there is a single one of those
who abuse him whom he would net
greet aniiably if fate made them meet,
for ill-humor is not in his composition.
An incident that occurred in q com
mittee-room at the Capitol where he
had been giving Testimony greatly
amused his friends When the hearing
ended for the day one OF the newspaper
correspondents who had been especially
bitter started TO leave the room. AS he
passed Mr. Huntington the latter said
genially: How are you, B.. ?''
Everybody stared, and B. looked non
plused, but in moment he angrily
crowded past and disappeared.
What possessed you to speak tie
him?" was asked of Huntington, whose
great shoulders were shaking with
laughter.
Il just thought 7 would said he u
wanted to see how big he was. ] know
now