The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-06

John Shelton Williams, whose finan-
cial embarrassment was one of the SEN
sations of Wall street last week, is one
of the most picturesque figures in the
railroad world. He is known as the
-. Pierpont Morgan of the South
At the, age of 30 he was the president
Of railroad. and by the time he was
IS he was the head of a great railroad
system with more than 5000 miles of
track. He is either president of or
director in more than twenty-five cor
porations closely related to the finan-
cial and industrial growth of the
South. Cotton and wooden mills, phos-
phate mines and factories, street rail-
ways. truck gardening, ferryboats.
electric lighting plants, banks, nothing
has been too large or too small in
Dixieland for this energetic young son
of Virginia. He has accomplished
practically everything without aid from
Northern capital. and if he fails it is
probable he will blame no one but HIM
self.
Unremitting toll and a boundless ca
pacity for hard work are two traits
that have characterized Mr.. Williams.
He is a son of John l.. Williams of
Richmond, head of the banking house
of John L. Williams & Sons. He had
FIVE brothers and three sisters, and IN
stead of going to college as his father
had done. he went to work in tine
banking house. THIS did not keep him
from obtaining an education. He stud
led the classics under his fathers tu-
ition. and long before most boys are
we'll embarked on their academic Cd
reers he had a remarkable knowledge
of Latin and Greek.
But he did not devote all his time to
cholarship. His career lay in the
world of business and he strove to per-
feet himself in it. He worked at night
and until far into the morning, and
when he was 10 years old he had fin
ished the compilation of a manual Ger
investors, which by it's breadth. mi
nuteness and completeness attracted
the attention of financiers in all the
great cities and brought added pres
tige to the banking house of John L.
Williams & Sons.
From scholar in finance he became
an energetic and forceful operator.
Under his direction the banking firm
acquired control of the Richmond
Traction Company and formed the
Norfolk Securities Company, which
owns the electric lines, ferryboats and
lighting facilities in that prosperous
section known as Tidewater Virginia.
Before he was 80 this young Vir-
ginian turned his attention to the
railroad field. The South was webbed
with a lot of inconsequential lines
whose abominable service made their
successful operation impossible. About
nine years ago Williams effected the
reorganization and obtained control
of the old Savannah, Americas and
Montgomery Railroad, with 467 miles
of trackage. He became it's president
a few months later.
A year or two later Mr.. Williams,
aided by Baltimore and Richmond
banking houses, surprised the railroad
world by the purchase of the old Sea-
board Air Line and planning an ex-
tensive and far-reaching property in
the South. The Seaboard represented
the consolidation of fourteen corpora
tions, from railroads of fair size to
mere spurs. Its combination with the
Georgia and Alabama and the Florida
Central and Peninsular system, with
$50 miles Of track, made the names of
Williams, and Middendorf widely
known in the railroad world.
But Mr.. Williams wanted more than
great railroad system. He wanted
business for it. He played philanthro-
pist to vast section of the South, al
though his efforts were not entirely
disinterested. He encouraged the
production of cotton in certain sec
tions where agriculture was not thriv-
ing. When the cotton was raised he
aided local capitalists in building mills
to spin and weave it. He was a great
advocate of good roads in order that
the farmers might more easily bring
their products to shipping points on his
line. To him more than any other
one man. perhaps, is due the credit for
the position the garden truck industry
of the South holds to-day. All sorts
Of vegetables are raised in the fertile
sections of Virginia and the Carolinas
for the Northern markets.
But John SHELTON Williams became
too greatly extended" A list of the