The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-01
A RETICENT MAN.
Sketch of Horace G. Burt of the
Union Pacific.
lOnnaha Zee

Omaha Bee.)
As BELTS man who is at the head of
a business which represents an invest
ment of an hundred odd millions. and in
whose operation some thousands of
men are employed, Horace g. Burt
Keeps very much to himself His reti-
cence has won for him the name of be-
ing hard man to interview. In reality
ne is one of the easiest, fOE he inVari-
ably tells the reporter he has nothing
70 say, and the interview is over. so far
as Mr. Burt is concerned. On such mat
ters as the public IS, in his opinion. en-
titled to be Informed, Mr.. Burt talks
briefly but plainly; but he never takes
the reporter into his confidence con-
corning his plans or the plans of his
employers in the management of the
great railroad of which he is the execu-
tive head. He is probably the hardest
worker ON the Union Pacific payroll,
and finds very little time from his du-
ties to devote to discussion of the
affairs of the road forfhe edification of
outsiders.
Horace G. Burt began his railroad
career a member of a surveying
party which was running a line for
branch of the Chicago & Northwestern
road over in Iowa. He soon left the
pioneer party to become superintendent
of the construction work. Advance was
steady and rapid, and he was success
fully made assistant superintendent
and superintendent of the northern
Iowa lines of the Chicago & North
the whole system 1t was while acting
in this latter capacity that he first
came into general notice as a railroad
man.. He laid out the Great Northern
switch yards in Chicago, an achieve
ment which attracted great deal of
attention in the railroad world
g q q
The problem of terminal facilities for
the Northwestern in Chicago was of
many apparently insuperable difficult
ties. but the solution arrived at by Mr.
Burt was of the most practical sort,
and evinced railroad ability of the high
est order.
1t was not great while until Mr.
Burt was again transferred from the
construction to the operating depart
sment, and he was made general super
intendent of the Iowa lines of the
Northwestern, with headquarters at
Boone. From there he came to Omaha,
10 be&general manage of the Fremont.
Elkhorn & Missouri Valley road, serv-
ing for i've years in this capacity.
From here he was sent to ST. Paul TO
be general manager of the Chicago, st.
Paul Minneapolis & Omaha road. He
had hardly assumed this position before
he was made assistant to the president
Marvin Hughitt-and third vice pres
ident of the Chicago & Northwestern
This is briefly the railroad career of
MIR. Burt prior to his return to Omaha
to assume his present position. Such a
haSty outline can give no adequate idea
of the work he performed or the results
he secured. more than will be gained
from the fact thaT his upward course
never halted 1t Will be accepted as
proven that he must have shown both
ability and capacity, or he could not
have attained the confidence of the
mana gers of the great system of rail-
roads with which he was connected, for
mere pull does not win recognition and
advancement in the railroad service.
On Monday, Dec. q, 1897, it was Of
ficially announced from New York that
Horace C. Burt had been selected to be
president of the Union Pacific. He was
in Chicago at the time, and when a
newspaper reporter called on him with
the news, Mr.. Burt said: Il have not
been notified, and / do not believe l
care TO talk until L am officially noti-
fed of the appointment" If loquacity
on the topic OF his appointment is to
be taken as an evidence of his notitica-
ton, he hasn't heard from the direct
DRY yet, for he hasn't talked about it
Ec--
on the day Mr.. Burt was chosen to
be president of the road, Union Pacific
sold for 262t in New York. It Is now, a
little more than three years arterward,
selling around 81.
1t was certainly herculean task set
before Mr.. Burt. The road has just
emerged from receivership which had
lasted four years and suffered greatly
from the physical ana mOral-iI that
word may be used-deterioration Incl
dent to the fact that 1t had been that
long in the hands of the court. To re-
organize the service, rehabilitate the
equipment of the line and place the
property on q paying basis Mr.. Burt
was sent TO Omaha. With character
istic energy and determination he set
about the undertaking. Hc~-r we'll he
has succeeded is told by the quotations
for the stock. At the very outset he
gave the force of his own example to
the men under him. He retained in
the service of the company the old eX-
ecutive officers, who had made up the
staff for years and who We're familiar
with the Union Pacific, its territory and
its patrons. One of theSe-the chief en-
gineer-soon after resigned and was re-
placed by the pr eSent incumbent, a man
who was with the president during oth-
er days on the Elkhorn- 1t was the
chanee in methods that brought about
the improved condition in tines affairs
of the line. For instance, sleepy gate
keeper at the shops was startled out OF
the ''old man" at the gate at o'clock
one morning.
Others besides the gatekeeper were
surprised that morning, but the visit
bore fruit in the prompt arrival ever
since of shopmen. LaXity in all depart
ments met similar rebukes, and it was
not many days after New Years. 1888,