Bisbee daily review., 1904-01-09
ROCK ISLAND RAILROADS
 PRESIDENT
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS RE. GARDINe CHOICE OF RAIL
 WAY EXECUTIVES.
NOW DRIFTING AWAY
From Men of Finance to Practical Men-The Mahogany Desk Exeeu- tive 1s Passing From the Field Of ManaSement--The Man Who Knows Traffic Takes His Place.

f'dHtC axes ms Place.
 An event of the week adds further demonstration 10 the fact that rail road presidencies are gradually but surely drifting from the hands of men of finance to men of railroad expert ence. Time was when the former were regarded as possessing the prop CT talent for conducting the affairs of an important railroad system when matters Of finance were the larger consideration as compared with mat. sers related to traffic management and property maintenance, but one by one it is being shown that the financial end of things is better taken care of by those who are untrameled by the cares of working an important prop erty so that it may be productive of the best results both to the public and its owners. To this end men have succeeded to office who have brought with them the experience of years. and it may be said, in a number of cases, sn experience which started at the bottom of the ladder. Further than this, it is also being shown that selection for important positions is be ing made from the ranks of men who are still comparatively young. Presi. dent Truesdale, now of the I.ackawan-  na, was still in his forties when ap pointed 10 the position he now holds. starting with clerkship in the Audit ing Department of the Rockford Rock Island and St. Louis railroad when eighteen years of age, President: Mel. Fen (now of the New York. New Ha. ven and Hartford) also in his forties when appointed to the head of he Northern Pacific railway made a be ginning in similar position, and also at the same age. President Burt was not yet fifty when he accepted the lead ing position on the Union Pacific rail. road, and was not twenty when he began Lis railroad experience as a rodman on surveys during the con struction of the St. Louis. Vandalis and Terra Haute railroad.
 The event spoken of is the selection of Mir. Leonor Fresnel I.oree to fill the position of president Of the Rock Island system, succeeding MT w B. Leeds, whose incumbency has been of short duration and whose experience has been of decidedly different char. acter from that of a practical railroad man. Mir. Loree comes from the Baltimore and Ohio, where he sue ceeded Mir. John K. Cowen a couple of years or so ago. He is nor yet forty-six years old, having been born on April 23, 1858, at Fulton City, Hi nois- His railroad experience dates from the time he left college at the age of nineteen, when he was appoint | ed assistant in the engineer corps of | the Pennsylvania railroad Since then be has served in various capacities, l and Is regarded as one of the ablest | of Pennsylvania's graduates, closing | his career with that company as | fourth vice president of the lines west | of Pittsburg. He will now have un- | der his supervision one of the largest. | if not actually the largest combination | of roaos in this country. which will | offer opportunities to further demon strate nis managerial skill It is not | surprising that confidence should be reposed in one so familiar with rail- road work or that selection should | have fallen upon a man who has given evidence of so much ability in spite of his comparative youth. It need hardly oe said that the move is gen erally regarded as a wise one on the part of the Rock Island. people, or that the property is likely to be much ben eflted by the appointment Incident. ally. 1t may be noted that the taking of MT Loree from the head of one railroad and placing him at the head of another is in line with a tendency which has shown itself to disregard omciafs lower down in the service of tne companies seeking leadership, acc control of physical operations.