The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-20


school education, rounded out with sew
eral years of academical study. There
was nothing in the school life of the
lad to indicate the possession of the |
remarkable business ability which has
since characterized his life.
His first venture in business was In
the general store of a relative in Mount
Pleasant. While he was attending the
academy at Mount Pleasant, and part
of the time while he was taking his
first steps in his business career, he
lived with his uncle, Christian s. over
holt, then the leading merchant and
banker of southern Westmoreland
county. The old Overholt home at
Mount Pleasant still stands as a relic
Of the beautiful village of thirty years
ago, before the town became encircled
with q belt of fire from blazing ovens
and the atmosphere discolored with the
SCOT of coke smoke. After brief SER
vice as clerk in his uncle's store young
Frick was installed as bookkeeper In
the office of his grandfather at Broad
ford, Fayette county.
At this time the Connellsville coke
field was Of very limited area In
commercial sense. The product OF It's
ovens was just beginning to be appre-
ciated by the ironmasters of the con-
tiguous states. The Boyles. Hazlets,
Cochrans and Tinstmans were then the
leading operators. An opportunity was
presented to Mr.. Frick to study the
possibilities of coke making while oc-
cupied as bookkeeper. Then chance
came to acquire n limited interest In
a plant near Bradford, and he took
advantage of it. Out of the profits OF
this venture he gradually acquired
other holdings in lands and ovens.
The insight and experience thus gained
prepared the young operator for his
grand stroke a few years later.
FORESIGHT.
The expansion of the coke trade be-
tween 1870 and 1876 and the ambitious
projects of some of the operators,
among them Tinstman e. Co., resulted
| in a financial crash in 1876. Foresee-
| ing the demand that must come for
| Connellsville coke, Mr.. Frick purchased
| at sheriif's sale several large tracts of
| valuable coke land which ultimately
! fed his miles of coke ovens and are to-
| day a source of wealth. From this
dates the rise of Mr.. Frick. The great
! Morewood works were built three
years later, in 1879: then the Standard
| property was purchased, and Walter
and e. NJ. Ferguson, Fayette county
capitalists, and the Melons bankers
| of Pittsburg, became interested as
| partners in the expanding enterprises
! of the young operator. In 1882 the firm
was merged into the II. c. Frick Coke
company, and among the largest pur-
chasers of stock were Carnegie Bros.
& Co. CLimited). Today the Frick Coke
| company is one of the great factors
! in the Carnegie interests. 1t is the
largest coke manufacturing concern in
the world. it owns nearly 10000 acres
of coal and $1,000 coke ovens. Its daily
capacity when running full is about
2j00O tons of coke, in the manufac-
ture of which 1000 persons are en-
gagged. 1t embraces not only miles of
ovens, but also railroads, waterworks
and carshops.
one of the elements OF Mr. Frick' S
early success was i'll the selection of
his lieutenants. Young, active and
ambitious men with executive ability
were chosen as his superintendents.
Thomas M. Lynch, president of the
II. C. Frick Coke company today, be-
gan as clerk in the Frick store at
Summit Mines twenty-five years ago,
and this example holds good through
all other departments. A system of
civil service promotion exists through
out the Frick interests.
FRICK AND CARNEGIE.
. When Thomas NJ. Carnegie died, IN
October, 1856 the direction of the Car
negie interests practically devolved on
J the surviving brother, Andrew Car
t negie. Their interests in the coke
) business brought Andrew Carnegie and
! H. c. Frick into close and confidential
business relations. In many ways
, there was a similarity of ability and
l business foresight in them. Andrew
= Carnegie was constantly looking foI
, young men of ability, and that is why
today, with two or three exceptions
the Carnegie association is composed
5 of comparatively young men. With
increasing years, Andrew Carnegie
/ gradually relinquished the active man.
t agement of his allied interests. Young
[ er men took the helm, but for a dozeT
t years almost, while other names have
!, appeared on letter sheet and office sigr
as the official head of the Carnegie
interests in their entirety, the brair
that has planned ana the hand thai
has directed We're those of the quiet
, reserved man upon whose office dool
appeared the name in inconspicuou:
=, gilt letters, MIR. Frick."
= The event that brought Mr. Fricl
; into national prominence was tht
o trouble at Homestead in 1892. Mr.
Frick and his partners have Away!
maintained that the causes which LEI
/, | to the Homestead strike were neVe
| properly understood, at least until af
> terward. 1t was a presidential year
. and public feeling ran high, The tariff
was the leading issue and discussion
took wider range than it would hav,
done at any other time. For severa
years prior to the strike costly labo
saving machinery intended to increas
the product and tighten labor had beel
introduced in many OF the Homestead
departments. As a result a numbe
Of men, skilled workmen, known a
tonnage men," because they were pai,
at certain fixed rates by the ton 0
product, were enabled to increase thei
earning from 70 TO 100 per cent beyonr
what was contemplated when the wag
d scale was adopted, three years before
, Mr.. Frick maintained that these wage
. were out of proportion to the wage
a of other men in the mill and greatl
4 beyond the wages paid by competing
e mills
It labor TROUBLES.
! After conferences between the Car
l. negie officials and the officers OF tn
y labor organizations concerning a neN
IS | N of 4