The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-07-21
MESSENGER BOYS WHO WON
/. =. FAME, FORTUNE, POSITION. TITLE

u =. FAME, FORTU
Chicago Tribune: The next time a
you with a message treat him with
great consideration. Twenty years
from now, or less. he may be a power
In the world OF m inc you may
have to deal with him. ).
For be it known that the telegraph
messenger boy, he who furnishes so
much inspiration for the humorists, the
wits, n the comic artists, does on
occasion come to be a power in the
commercial world, n that with q
frequency which suggests the messen-
gers bench in a telegraph office as one
OF the favored places on which to plant
the DOT Of the ladder.
The number of men who have risen
from the ranks Of the leaden heeled
Mercury Of the street" to magnates Of
the first power in the world of teleg-
raphy. railroad. n business leaves no
question as to h chance these boys
have. Also it leaves nj doubt that the
calls and deliver messages are of the
kind that see their chances, accept
them, n thus rise.
Places Held by Messengers.
Go to the general office OF any large
railroad, even into the presidents Of
flee, and there will be found the ex-
messenger. Any main office of the
large telegraph companies will yield
up a large number. of officials. from
the %prezident Of the company down
through the various grades, who own
that they once wore a uniform n
badge and ran errands in the street.
Here is Il partial list of the men
who started as messenger boys n
made good:
Andrew Carnegie, iron master and
patron of libraries.
Sir William Van Horn, president of
the Canadian Pacific railway.
Marvin Hughitt, president Of the
Chicago and Northwestern railway.
w. A. Gardner. general manager of
Col. Robert c. Cl6wry, president Of
the Western Union Telegraph COM
pany.
T. P. Cook, general superintendent
Of the Western Union Telegraph com
pany, Chicago.
f. II. Tubbs, superintendent Of the
Western Union Telegraph company.
Chicago office.
Albert J. Earring. president of the
Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul rail-
way.
Henry r. Williams, general manager
Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul rail-
way.
Benjamin L. Winchell. president Chi
cago. Rock Island and Pacific railway.
". G. Brown. vice president New
York Central n Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern railway.
This is not a bad record for the mes
senger boy. He stands before the
country amply vindicated Of the SLAM
derous charges unfeeling jokesmiths
have hurled at him and his alleged PEN
chant for moving slowly. He is n to
be reckoned with, and apparently he
young men in many other lines Of oc-
cupation.
About fifty years g a puny, spind-
.eshanked Scotch lad stepped into the
managers Office in a Pittsburg tele-
graph Office and asked for work. He
was a little over 10 years Of age, and
he was given employment as a mes
senger. Within the last few years this
ex-messenger has given away $55, 000,-
900 to found libraries and otherwise is
trying his best to avoid the disgrace of
dying rich"
II liked the boys looks" said the
man who gave Andrew Carnegie his
small and young, but he was full of
spirit. In a mont he asked me to
teach him biography. I adopted him
as a pupil and he made rapid progress.
He always was practicing at his Morse
when he was not actually at work.
He displayed r. narkable skill as a tele.
grapher within a few months"
1t was not long before Carnegie was
holding down a key in the Pittsburg
offices Of the Pennsylvania railroad. He
rose from telegrapher to train dis
patcher, hen to chief dispatcher. He
saved his money, invested it in Oil and
coal lands, and h rest Of his history
Ia fnn we'll known fn mead vonof{f{or
He might have attained to the great
wealth n position he possesses today
by starting in some other way than
running messages, but the fact remains
that it was through his position as
messenger that he became a telegraph
er, n from a telegrapher that he be-
gan his climb to riches.
Marvin Hughitt began work as q
messenger boy In IN office at Auburn,
N. Y, about the same time Carnegie
started In Pittsburg. 1t has not been
told what salary Andy began with. but
It is certain he did no carr less than
Hughitt, who was given a couple Of
hours Of instruction in the art Of send
ing Morse as a sole remuneration. He
was ar operator at Is, went to Chi
cago. became superintendent OF a
small telegraph company, and was
made superintendent OF telegraph Of
the Chicago and Alton. He is now head
VA LIZA - VI oAAA WAIAA CyVVV
miles Of track to preside over. y.
From $3.50 to $4,000 a Year.
Albert J.. Earring earned his first pay
as a messenger boy in the Western
Union Office at Watertown, Wis, at IA
years Of age. He learned operating, as
did most Of the men who rose from the
ranks in this line. He was an expert
at the key during the war time and at
81 years of age vas a train dispatcher.
He entered the employ of the st. Paul
road in 1867 and since that date has
never been off the pay rolls of the COM
pany.
Benjamin L. winchell began life as a
messenger in a little telegraph Office at
Hannibal, Mo-. at $40 a month. Mr..
Winchell perhaps IS a better example
Of what the messenger boy Of today
can do than any man hitherto men
toned. He issonly IS years old and be-
gan his career about thirty. years ago.
He went into the clerical department Of
the Hannibal and st. Joe railroad and
was chief clerk within q few years.
From then on his progress was gradual
until recently, when he was made pres
ident Of the road at a salary variously
placed at from $50. 900 to $45. 600.