Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-18
|NO1 AIRAIDZ WORK. | /.
MnIroNAIRE,s son wgRKs Asa
1ABoRER. rs RsADFoRD.
AT THE BIG IRON o FURNACE U + !! 4. e.

AT THE BIG IRON FURNACE.
Henry X. McHnrE Jr., OF New. York
wears oyera1ls and Earn. Hiss
Do1lnr-Forty a Dny-Mhanly Chap
of nineteen who want. to Le.rna
Business.
: RADFoRD, VA, January 17.{special)
a manly young fellow Of u, big and hnes
looking, descended the ladder leading to
the great engine at the iron furnace this
morning to receive the Dispatch cores
pondent He was clad in oyeralls and
stout shoes. heavy gloves, and gray
SLOUGH that, with a handkerchief Knot
ted about his neck and his face well COW
cred with SCOT. It, was Henry 4 Nc
Harg, Jr., son of the New ork million
aire, who is working as a 1aborer at the
iron furnace in order to learn the details
Of the business He had left word at the
office that If any newspaper tolk came
around not to tell them where he was
But a woman reporter Will sit on a door
step all day before she will leave with
out the particulars of story and
your correspondent. in no wise discon-
certed. set out in search Of her victim.
8 He was down in the engine house on top
Of the engine, thirty or forty feet in
the air, but cIambered down gracfously
enough and extended a genial greeting.
"I am one Of those inevitable newspaper
correspondents explained. You need
not think to escape US. though you pene-
trate the jungles of Asia. Better yield
gracefully" suggested, as he led the
way with a. pleasant smile from the babel
of grinding, grating, groanlng sounds to
the ofHce-where he talked with delight
full modesty and almost boyish diff
dence of himself and his life III Radford.
JUST. "A. COMMON LABORER.
Mr.. Henry K. McHarg, ST.. is president
of the Virginia Iron, Coal, and Coke
Company, the s2o.OO0,000 concern that owns
most Of the coal lands and IRON furnaces
in Southwest Virginia. Eastern Tennessee
and Kentucky. And his 2plucky son is
toiling as a common la.borer from 6 in the
morning until at night, day in and
day out For. be it known. the fires at
an iron furnace never go out-since it
needs several days to get them started
again., besides 5entailing great loss and
the furnace hand knows no Sunday, no
holidays, from. one years end to the
next.
Mr.. McHarg works in the stockhouse
breaking ore and limestone and doing
such other work as is required Of the
other laborers. He watches the material
as it goes into the furnace He goes
down to the casting beds and works. with
the men moulding the pig beds and car
rying out the iron ore. He. works with
the locomotive and stationary engineers
and in the. pumping department, and is
making himself familiar with the gases
that burn In the stoves to heat the
compressed air before it goes to the fur
mace. In short, he Is becoming acquaint-
ed with every detail connected with the
making of pig iron.
GETS $40 "A DAY.
His wages are the same as those of the
other laborers, $1.4O per. day. He boards at
the West-End Hotel, the best hosiery
in town, but eats his dinner at the fur
mace like the other .workmen. He asks
no favors on account Of his fathers posi-
ton, but works as strenuously and stead
lastly as though his daily bs cad were at
stake. He is never late. Is deeply inter
ested In his work. and Is learning rapid
w. says Captain Duane. general super
iEtendent of the furnaces
Mr.. lcHarg feels that he is doing
nothing at all remarkable and sfrinks
from newspaper notoriety. He has beer
besieged this week with letters and tele-
grams, seeking photographs of himself al
his various tasks at the furnace. Blu
he seriously objects to- being photo
! graphed in his working clothes and 500
and is too busy at present to leave the
! furnace, scrub the black off, dress and ST
| for a picture-one of the furnace men be
| ing i'll and his duties accordingly increas
| ed, for which reason he does not like tt
ask off. All Of which goes to show tina
he is made. out Of the right sort OF STUFF
and will never prove drone in the bus,
! beehive of life.
| Mr.. McHarg Is a wholesouled. genia
| fellow, modest and unassuming, and al
| though he has been In Radford less thai
| a month, has already endeared himself t
the people here.
| He expresses himself we'll pleased witt
| Radford and has entered enthusiastica1l:
| into the life of the place, fighting fire
nursing the sick. and participa ting in tn
i german and other social festivities.
STILL DANCES THE GERMAN.
| He was dancing a german on New
| Years Eve when a Are broke out NOR
| than mile distant. But he FASTENED t
| the scene as soon as the alarm was give
and worked manfully to check the flame
/ and save the household effects Of the ten
i ants.
On another occasion a. young man wa
taken SICK at the MOTEL lie was ava
from all his people, but Mr.. McHar
took him to his own room and nurse
him like a brother until the arrival 9
| relatives
/ He has been elected an officer Of the re
cently-orga nized Cotillon Club, and CAV
1 german himself last, week.
! He is a devotee5of the automobile an
Will bring his. machine from New Ior
In the spring.
He is also fond OF boating and ha
planned a lonsstrip down the river mex
summer.
/ He is good amateur Photographic
4 and made some beautiful views alon
1 the Cripple Creek road just before Chris
mas while on a tour of inspection q
Z the Virginia Iron, Coal, and Coke Con
pany's properties with his father an
other officials.
4 Young McHarg received his schoolir
from a tutor, afterwards going to Co
4 nell a. short while.
n He has a grand passion for an engin
and ran one in Texas before coming
Radford.
4 He looks upon his present undertake.
4 as nothing especially commendab1
=