The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-24
A PARADOXICAL YOUTH
HE Is AN ELEVATOR BOY AND ALSO
PRESIDENT OF A RAILROAD.
Worked Out His Plan While Carrying
Passengers from Floor to Floor
Part of the Road Built.
Chicago Chronicle.

Elevator boy and president of railroad
at the same time That sounds a bit incon-
gruous. Nevertheless it's an actual combi-
nation. 1t is an instance where a youth
hardly out of his teens found time while
letting passengers on and off an elevator
to plan the countless details of organizing
railroad and to attend to the business in
cidental to its construction. Possibly the
queerest phase of the incident is that the
young promoter expects to manipulate the
elevator lever the same as usual and at
tend to his duties as president in odd mo-
ments.
The person who has the remarkable dis
tinction of being at once an elevator con-
ductor and the chief executive of full
fiedged Western railroad is Ambrose Ell
lington, of Omaha, Neb. The road is the Da-
kota, Nebraska & Southern Ellington
spent Saturday in Chicago searching for a
location for an Eastern office.
As the effect of the new line in traffic
circles is far reaching not few local rail-
road men have interested themselves as
much in its success as in the promoters
singular personality. To coterie of these
officials down town Ellington told how his
undertaking became an assured fact. He
talked also about his plans for the immedi-
ate future, one or two remarks in this con-
nection being peculiarly characteristic.
Il intend to be an elevator conductor
some time longer" he said. ''Of course it s
pleasure to project schemes that will sur
prise people who underrate ones ability
and shock others whose interests are af-
fected, but, as matter of fact, like my
present work best. Then, another thing, L
don't want Ii to appear that l stopped
working as soon as success came my way"
Young Ellingtons unique career has been
q theme OF pungent interest to railrOaderS
and business men all over the West A
year ago he presided at the lever of an
elevator in the Daily Bee building at
Omaha at a salary of $40 week AS far
as anybody knows he without pros
pect of lettering his condition. But Filing
ton is schemer. While plotting people
from one floor to another in the big news
paper building he busted his brain evolving
projects that later were to bring him rec
oognition and fortune. To-day the elevator
boy is president of a railroad extending
from Grand Island, Neb., to Napier, Boyd
county, South Dakota. a distance of three
hundred miles. His first years salary will
be $1,000.
The amazing part of it all is that Filing
ton hit upon the idea of the railroad him
self, earned the money needed in getting
the hrst plans under way and then inter-
nsg
adequate backing and having himself APP
pointed to a position with exclusive con-
troll and direction of the corporation.
Ellington says it is the easiest thing i'm
the world to become the owner of "A rail-
road, providing the promoter is willing to
do lots of hard work. This sounds para
doxical. He explains it by saying that the
man who counts work a hardship will
never win success. In the following mar
rative some of the means which the ele-
vator boy employed in building his line
are mentioned:
THE idea of the railroad came to me
when at work in the elevator. / often
overheard conversations by bankers, bust
ness men and farmers going TO and from
the editorial floor. Once ii was mentioned
that there was a section of Nebraska
which needed an outlet by rail. That set
me to thinking. An investigation convinced
me that road between Nebraska and Da-
kota would pay big. The money to de-
fray the cost of preliminary surveys and
other work was raised by starting a let
ter-writing agency. Soon there was work
enough TO keep twenty stenographers busy
and the profits answered all needs
Towns along the prospective line agreed
tc make cash donations and grants of land
An estimate showed that these were suf-
tcient to Offset the cost of the line Then
| interested some of my friends who were
capitalists. They agreed to give me the
money needed if / would consult Attorney
James M. Curr, of New York. on legal mat
tiers. l consented to his appointment as
S6nerdi cOunSel Tor the new road.
THE big Western trunk lines were drawn
on for heads of the engineering depart
ments. Henry w. Bean, of Omaha was
taken from the Union Pacific corps and
George s. Oliver, of Cheyenne, from the
Burlington. Both were veteran engineers
They had supervision of the SURVEYS. The
grading contract was let to III. II. Wade,
of Creston, Wyo., who formerly had charge
OF the large contracts along the Union Pa
cific in the mountainous districts of Wy
oming.
1.-THE road Is now completed from Cedar
Rapids to the Niobrara river. Ties and Fails
have been scattered along the bed the rest
OF the way, ard we expect to have trains
work was going On very few knew who
was behind the enterprise. Some of the
newspapers pretended to have informa ton
that the line was an extension of the Bur-
lngton, others that ii would be incorpor-
ated into the Northern Pacific system Per-
haps you think the people weren't surprised
when Ii became known that the owners of
the line were only three in number, and
they a mechanic, an elevator boy and a
bookkeeper.
1.-The discovery was made when we were
compelled to file with the clerk of Douglas
county at Omaha articles of incorporation
for the Manhattan Promotion Company, in
whose name the road as built and the
Nebraska Land and Townsite Company.
which had supervision of the land grants
Each concern was capitalized at 81 600 O0O
1 was one of the directors; Ernest Stark
mechanic in the Bee building, was an
other, and the third was w. G. Mack, a
bookkeeper in the Standard Sewing Ma
chine offices at Cleveland, o.
Other lines have already made PROPOSE
tons to buy us out. They have offered
pretty big sums, but we have decided not
TO sell. 1t was an easy thing to build that
road. The secret is hard work and making
friends"
Before Ellington projected the railroad he
had many other irons in the fire. He was
prime mover in organizing the National
Confederation Of Elevator Conductors and
was its first president.