The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-09

very start the bridge company was a sue
cess, and the business grew to such an
extent that he resigned his office with
the Pennsylvania Railroad to devote all
his time to his new enterprise. At this
period of his life Andrew Carne gle may
h" ad to have fairly entered upon his
career.
4Alls~ng his ventures was the purchase
in connection with syndicate, of the
Story farm on Oil creek in the days of
the oil excitement The price pad was
$4,000 but in one year dividend of
over 100000 in cash was realized. Mr.
Carnegie later became interested in the
establishment of rolling mills and this
formed the nucleus of the great interests
which he eventually built up, including
blast furnaces and steel mills, turning
out raw and finished product of almost
every conceivable nature He realized the
value of holding onto markets once secur-
ed, at any cost.
Worked Up.
Mr.. Carnegie worked up from the ranks.
He had worked at the humblest occupa-
tons. He was good judge of human
nature, and knew what IL was to he a
laborer. When he arose to a position OF
wealth and power, employing thousands
of men, he came in contact with the labor
unions. He knew the injurious effect of
strikes in general, and he is credited with
having done much toward their preven-
ton, but at his Plant in Homestead one
of the greatest and most sanguinary
struggles which ever took place in Amer
lea, between capital and labor, occurred
in 1892. When Mr.. Carnegie once took
stand he was well nigh immovable. He
rebelled at the idea of being dictated TO
by his employees. These fights with labor
were costly Sometimes he won and
sometimes he lost, but the relations be-
tween him and his men were never sat
isfactorily defined. A number OF men
were killed during the Homestead strike.
and thousands of families were evicted
from company houses. The whole coun-
try viewed the contest with alarm, and to
this may be attributed the fact that Mr..
Carnegie was never the idol of the lapor-
ing classes in spite of his philanthropy.
The struggle nearly cost C. H. Prick his
life, and it is still costing the latter's as
sailapt his liberty.
Andrew Carnegie never held public Of
flee and he takes little or no interest in
politics. When any great national issue
arises he is ready to express his opinion,
but he does it in an bipartisan manner,
condemning or commencing whatever
pleases him in any platform. Many at
tempts have been made in recent years
to get him to affiliate more closely with
one or the other of the two great politi-
cal parties but beyond expressing his
views In a general way he has done moth
ing to meet their overtures He has never
been known as the especial friend of any
politician He was not man to get out
and work for votes lie preferred 10
compete for markets.
Politics interest him only so far as they
affect the industrial world. 1t would be
hard to conhne him to any platform.
He is like his father. William Carnegie,
when at the old home town in Scotland,
a Radical. His genius for organization
and his executive ability would have well
adapted him for political leadership even
IL not for craftsmanship. He was never
an orator and public speaking always has
seemed the greatest effort to him. Yet
as a boy 1t had been his ambition to talk
at public meetings as his father did At
Durnfernline When he has anything
practical to say he delivers II In an or
binary conversational tone, without any
flourish or attempt at rhetorical PERIODS
Inspired Others.
Mr., Carnegie tells of an incident in his
early life connected with his first invest
ment, the 10 shares of Adams Express
Company stock. 1t paid ! per cent.
month as has been stated, and when ne
received his first dividend of $40, with
great air of Importance, he showed II 10
his companions. He was posing as cap
ttalist He says that every one OF the
bows present declared their intention or
becoming capitalists also, and, strange as
n NAV SEEM seven of the number fulfill
ed their VOWS. Some Of tSenI were IN att
or life associated with Mr.. Carnegie in
business.
He used TO jokingly tell how ne was the
third man wounded in the war. lie was
riding on an engine from Elbrdge juno
tion to Washington, when he discovered
why the Confederates had pinned down
telegraph wire, grounding It. He jumped
down and released it, but the wire new
nm and cut a cash in his cheek.
He once said: Concentration Is my
motto-hrst honesty, then industry. then
concentration. He believed that the best
investment any man could make was In
buying a home. Stock speculation on mar
Gins was the sheerest folly, in his opin-
ion. He was never a great traveller, but
he frequently went from this country. to
Scotland Although he endowed many
music halls he had no talent for music
He was fond of music, and even sang
Scotch ballads when a boy, but he could
play no musical instrument except
Jewsharn as was once facetiously said of
him.
His near relatives are few besides his
little daughter, an only child in whom
he takes the greatest pride. He has a
number of cousins and nephews and the
more distant relatives who settled In this
locality before his father emigrated. In
his sixty-hve years he has led busy life.
overlooking with material successes. He
never trusted to luck, but to good manage
ment.
CREEK MIHAELE-WORfE