The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-23

w. H. Truesdale of the Lackawanna
is Mentioned as a Pos
sibility.

Special to The Journal.
New York, Sept. 23.-The fact that
President Hall of New Haven has not yet
resigned is not taken to mean that the POI
sition of president on that railroad will
not be soon vacant In fact, his resignation
Is expected at the annual meeting in
October. The position will then be Of
fered to c. S. Mellen of Northern Pacific
and will be accepted.
The presidency of the Northern Pacific
will be offered to F. D. Underwood but
there is every indication that Mr.. Under
wood will refuse it. He has issued a
statement to his employees on the Erie to
the effect that his railroad interests is
entirely confined to that railroad, and
that he has not the least intention Of
leaving 1t. This statement was made be-
cause Erie people at large were much dis
turbed over the prospect of Mr.. Under
woods resignation. During the very short
time that he has been with the Erie he
has done great deal for the road, and
Erie employees have come to regard him
as the salvation of the system. He does
not feel that he should lay down at this
juncture the work of building up the for
tunes of that road. This work he UNI
dertook at the earnest solicitation Of J..
P. Morgan, head Of the voting trust, and
J. J. Hill, at that time very heavy
stakeholder in the Erie. He came to the
Erie on the completion of similar task.
namely, the building up of the Baltimore
& Ohio, after it's receivership. He was
singled out by Mr.. Hill for the work on
Baltimore & Ohio, and he performed this
work In such a manner as to stamp him
a master of the art of economy in the adj
ministration of railroad. He did not cut
down wages, curtail wise expenditures, or
In any way cripple the operation Of the
road. He introduced economy where there
had been waste. He Is doing the same
thing on the Erie.
His refusal to go to the Northern Pa
cific is not at all surprise. 1t was clear
ly intimated that while the position would
be offered to him, there was very little
prospect that he would desert his work
on the Erie for the sake Of the much
more pleasant labor on the Northern Pa
cifc.
Truesdale Possibility.
The two men now mentioned as possible
successors of Mr.. Mellen are c. W. Bum
and William il. Truesdale. It is consid-
| cred that Mr.. Bum stands better chance
than does Mr.. Truesdale The election OF
Mr.. Bum to the position would mark the
complete dominancy of Mr.. Hill over
| Northern Pacific. Mr.. Bum is essentially
a Hill man. It is fatty denied that Mr..
Truesdale has applied for the position
but is is intimated that his name has
been mentioned in this connection.
Personally, Mr.. Truesdale is an Off hand
man with very dem ocratic manners. He
is such a man as would be likely to sue
| coed in the northwest. He does not goin for
| society, being a man Of very quiet tastes,
and one who has worked his way up from
the bottom. His method of administer
ing a railroad cannot be better illustrated
| than by the following story, the truth
of which is vouchsafed for by one of his
| personal friends:
.. His Democratic Ways.
Mr.. Truesdale not long ago went on an
| inspection trip thru the coal fields be-
| longing to the Lackawanna. He found
the superintendent Of one of the small
mines living in state in a very handsome
house some distance from the mine. In
front of the house there stood a hand
some carriage and horse, and on the horse
was blanket with the initials 3D., L. &
W." on one corner. A little further down
the street stood a cart horse which had
just brought load of goods up to the
superintendent house. It was cold
day, and the cart horse looked miserable.
MIR. Truesdale stopped to ask the driver
Of the cart who owned the horse.
ID, L. & w." said the man.
"Well," said Mr.. Truesdale, II am the
president of D.. T.. & w. You go and get
the blanket off that horse up there and
put it on this one.''
The man did it. History records that
there Is q new superintendent at that
mine.
That is about Mr.. Truesdale's way. He
is a very plain, direct and forcible man,
| whose one object is the welfare Of the
company over which he presides.