The suburban citizen., 1902-12-06
WEIGHT OF TRUST DIRECTION.
An Explanation OF the Breaking DowU
of Schwab's Health.


of schwabs Health.
Recent reports from Italy concern.
ing the condition of Mr.. Charles NJ.
Schwab, President OF the Steel Corpor.
alton have revived discussion of the
question whether the responsibilities
weighing upon the chief officer of one
of our great Industrial combinations
are not so heavy that no man can safe
~ carry them. Doubtless the reports
10 which we refer are exaggerated.
We presume that Mr.. Schwab is seek
ing in his own way the rest and change
that he needs, and we hope that he
will return few months hence in per
feet health. The question, however,
whether robust, young and we'll
equipped man, thoroughly familiar
with all branches Of some important
industry, must succumb TO the weight
OF the responsibilities Of direction,
when placed at the head OF great
combination Of corporations engaged
in that industry, is one of much i'm
portance in the United States at this
time. and therefore there should be
pointed out the evidence tending to
show that these responsibilities were
not the cause of the breaking down,
he it temporary or permanent in this
Instance.
Mr.. Schwab had risen rapidly and by
sheer merit to the high position he oc-
cupled when the corporation was
formed. At eighteen he was poor
young man, working for 81 a day; at
twenty-five he had become chief engn-
neer of the great Edgar Thomson
Works; seven years later he was Pres
ident Of the Carnegie Company, and
had shown great ability as an admin.
istrator as well as an expert engineer
and constructor. But he was still liv.
ing in a simple way, devoting his atten.
ton to his business. The purchase of
the Carnegie Company and the forma'
ton of the corporation served to pa'
terialize the great fortune that had eX-
isted for him in the Carnegie concern.
At the same time his election TO the
presidency of the corporation, with the
accompanying extraordinary salary,
brought him prominently before the
world. He gave up his simple ways Of
living and availed himself Of some
what exciting, but otherwise unobjcc.
tionable, forms of amusement. His in.
terCourse abroad with eminent person
ages and at home with wealthy men
who had long been accustomed TO the
exciting life to which he was cOmpara-
lively a stranger, tended TO cause a
revolution in his ways. His environ
ment had suddenly undergone a great
change, and he was not prepared for
II. He began to interest himself in
numerous projects outside OF the busi'
ness of which he was a master. The
plan Of palace on Riverside Drive, 10
cost $3,O00O00 or S4,000,000; the pur-
chase Of a large piece of shore front on
Staten Island, with the purpose Of es.
tabishing there large charitable in
stitution; the acquisition Of tract on
the shore of the Sound for a country
seat the purchase Of the Bethlehem
Iron Works; his interest in the Steel
FOundrles Company, and other similar
organlzations-th and other ven
| lures Of the kind required his atten.
/ tion. Taken together with his new So
| cial duties and amusements, and with
| the work appertaining to his office,
/ they were a heavier burden than he
could carry. In protest against the
overweight his fine physical and ner-
vous Organization broke down, de-
nianding relief and rest. This appears
| to he the true explanation of the Illness
of the head of the worlds greatest cor
| poration. We presume that if he had
remained ut his home in Western Penn
sylvana, pursuing the comparatively
simple ways Of living TO which he had
been accustomed, and avoiding the
many outside business projects in
which he has recently been engaged,
/ he would now be as well and strong as
ever.
The responsibilities attaching TO the
management OF our great industrial
combinations are heavy and highly i'm
portant. but they do not Of necessity
crush the man who assumes them.
The organization Of directing forces
! IS so complete, and the division Of la
Dor is so carefully made that the
weight upon any one man is rarely too
heavy il he adjusts himself to it..
Proof Of this is abundant in the cOndi.
tion of many of our captains Of indu-
try.-New York Independent.