The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-01-23
Trusts Didn't Down Him.


A STORY WITH A MORAL
In a swivel chair in front or a -letii
oak desk in q small room on Lne ela
taenth floor Of the Empire buiidlhE 80,
u Broadway there sits youhE ne ne
with eyeglasses. slightly curry
blonde hair and a benevolent slliiil 49,.
From his name. which is ChNel -
he might be the hero of a three Si.
ton back "staud-forth-and-us. q. is.l s..
YOURSELF novel But he ism t. CIllclalt-
he lis the secretary 10 the pis7lusl,e ~
the United States steel COZ $50 49,
Actually. he is the man VINO HolLe
Charles III. Schwab's absolute power VI
attorue-- -,,,,. a
1881 Oliver Wren stood on tiie rti ~
front of the old williamsburg pahh m
T-ooI-l,gr and shouted himself noafse
CRYING extras announcing the hrst eiee
ton al Seth Low as mayor Of BroQklyh
With the three dollars ufoHl OF lllat
mornings shouting. he paid UP IN run
his term bil for the instruction 10 snort
hand which he had been paying lot
THROUGH a whole year little by little as
he found means through the sale OF
newspapers.
been earning his own living and edu-
eating himself for a year. because his
father ex-Assemblyman George Wren.
G veteran of the civil war, had suffered
financial reverses. and was not able to
DO FOR his family as he would have
liked. but had instilled into his sons the
value of honest effort and work
Oliver Wren took to shorthand and
evpewriting because he knew that
though he could get place as an office
boy with comparative ease. he could get
q place as a stenOgTaphlc office boy that
would pay him much more.
For q good many years after ne had
qualified as stenCgrapner young Wren
did not stay very long with one firm
= was free to follow his own judgment
and it told him that when he could
raise the market price Of his services it
was his duty to himself to 60 where the
higher price was to be had.
He was stenOgrapher in the sheriff 8
office TO Hugh J. Grant and so learned
gomething of politics. He had previous
" been with the firm of Cochran Clark
e. Grady, the most wonderfully assorted
and most wonderfully mated team of
lawyers that this city is likely to see in
many a long day.
He learned the processes of corpora
tion litigation, and of corporation meth
DDS generally. in the office of Parrish
q Pendlel0n. He went to London to be
the confidential stenOgrapher of Blake,
Boissevain & Co.. bankers.
After year JIM London he went into
the Amsterdam house OF the firm.
Adolph Boissevain & Co AS conhden-
tial man 10 Adolph Boissevain. he made
Six trips to this country with his en-
ployer and Travelled around the country
apDraisiug the value of various securi-
ties and properties.
In 1889 there was a typewriter promo
tiers tournament in London. All the
manufacturers of typeWriters gathered
together and determined that they must
do something TO make the American
typewriter better known abroad.
They decided To have contest for
the championship of Europe Mr.. Wren
had responsible place and was quite
able to satisfy his employers with such
speed with pencil and machine as was
at his command. But he did not know
whether he was faster than other
stenographers.
He got leave to go to the tournament
to try his hand. There were French
men. Englishmen Spaniards. Swiss,
Italians. Hungarians and SWedes there.
Mr.. Wren back in the attic of his home
over on Staten Island has slowed away
a silver mounted typewriter which was
awarded to him for winning the first
place in that contest
Sometimes, to folks who know him
well. Mr. Wren will explain that he went
into that contest because he wanted to
know whether he was giving his en-
pioyers the best that they could get. He
knew that they were not dissatisfied,
but he wanted to satisfy himself He
did
From the Boissevain house. Mr.. Wren
came back to this country and was en-
ployed by Carnegie. Phipps & Co. He
sta yed with them through the various
changes that were made in the form Of
the firm until it was merged into the
United states Steel corporation.
While he was with the Carnegie CONF
pany In its offices i'm this city Mr.. Wren
went into the National Guard and stay
ed there six years He learned how To
obey orders when they came from pro-
per authority and to obey them quickly
and TO take suffering and hardship be-
cause he had promised to take what
ever came his way The BROOKLYN street
car strike laid him out with pleurisy for
months But. If what his friends saw is
so. he isn't sorry for the experience.
One day. after the Carnegie company
had been merged into the United States
steel corporation, and after Charles NJ
Schwab had been made president of the
new big concern, Mr.. Schwab sent for
MI Wren
Mr.. Wren" he said. 1--WE been go.
ing through this concern with a fine.
tooth comb I've been looking for Z
man 10 take with me into the new con
Germ / guess you are the man / an
after from what they tell me-"
so MI Wren. who had not been asso
ciated with Mr.. Schwab at all i'm hi.
work IN the Carnegie Co. and had ueva
known a pull that he could call his own
round himself secretary to the presiden
OF the biggest corporation this countr,
ever knew.
MI Wren had left shorthand far be
nina MIN as an active practice wear
before. But shorthand had but hin
where ne was. Tt had taught him III
confidence which must exist het,vae,
the head eff the firm and the man win
as the hands and eyes Of that mead