The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-02-11
HR, AELLEN'S CAREER.
Continued from Ninth Page.l

1 view ESi4EAuA4u railway
The New Haven was an exceedingly
valuable, profitable and important
property, traversing the most impOr-
itant manufacturing section Of the
icOuntry. 1t was suffering from the
unfortunate afflictiOn known as dry
IrOt. There was dead wood in its or
ganization. Much money had been
spent on it's tracks, but its rolling
stock had been allowed to deteriorate.
Its cars and engines were old and in
sufficient to handle its business. SOM (,
of its important stations were I'M
slightly and inconyenient. Its freight
terminals were inadequate. Worst of
all, its policy toward the public had
made it unpopular.
President Mellen brought his west
Iern methods east with him. He pro-
ceeded to spend millions of dollars in
NEW bridges, new engines, new cars
Ianl new stations. The results of his
improvements in this direction are
only beginning to appear. He put on
additional limited trains between New
York and Boston, equipped them in the
most perfect up-to-date manner, and is
working toward four and half hour
service between these cities. He
planned enlarged freight terminals and
trackage extensions to handle in
creased business. In his first ear of
administration he has done more to
put new life into the road than had
been done in any decade of its previous
history. While he was inauguratiag
these reforms, President Mellen was not
neglecting the larger strategy of his po-
sition which supplies the most fascina-
ting feature of the railroad business in
the United States to-day.
The New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad, though a very i'm
portant system, was in 1908 distinctly
a local system. Its northern boundary
was roughly a line drawn westward
from Boston through the State of
Massachusetts, its southern limit Long
Island and its western terminus, New
York City. As a great freight origin
ating and freight terminating line it's
! Importance was acknowledged, but it
was at the mercy Of the Trunk Line
Association for its share of the rates
on through freight, and it was at the
!; mercy of the closely united coal-carry-
|, ing roads for its supply of anthracite
coal. Both these organizations had
shown a disposition to pinch the New
Haven.
Within three months after he took
office. President Mellen made his first
move toward the king-row Of the rail-
: way cheeker-board by purchasing the
Central New England, which, with its
subsidiary lines, gave him control of
the Poughkeepsie bridge, the only rail
route across the Hudson between New
: York and Albany. This was in Feb
ruary, 1904. In September he startled
. the railroad world again with the news
} that the New Haven had secured con-
/ troll of the New York, Ontario and
, Western, which connected with the
, Poughkeepsie bridge route on the one
} hand and tapped the anthracite. coal
! district at Scranton on the other More
, over, the road has a lake port, Oswego
and trackage rights that carry it west
ward to Buffalo, where connection with
: independent roads like the Wabash is
possible. e..
DANGER AS Al COMPETITOR. ~
At one move the mild-mannered soft
spoken railroad general in New Haven
had changed his road from one of loca
to one of possible national Importance
He had emancipated it from the domi-
nation of the trunk freight lines and
the coal carriers. The rival managers
agreed with the opinion expressed
years before by President Clark that
/ f-t1 H., Ra,n, n
competitor, and within the past few
months he has been accused Of trying
to gobble up every unattached road In
| the East. President Mellen, however
: protests that he is satisfied with. what
he has done already In this direction
and we'll he may be for the time being
at least, for he has placed his name al
the top of the list of railway map.
} makers for the past year and has made
New England shippers rejoice by re-
lieying them from the thraldom of OPP
pressive rates on freight and fuel with
which they were threatened.
t Mr.. Mellen works harder now than he
) did when he was cashiers clerk ir
the office of the Northern New Hamp
shire. He is at his Office before nine II
the morning and not infrequently re-
mains there until seven or eight al
night. He does not observe the Satur.
day half-holday and is frequently al
his office on other holidays when mos
business men are in search Of enjoy
/ ment. During the past summer one Of
!, the men from another department sale
to the presidents secretary. who ha6
been with him in the West:
when do you take your vacation2'
when Mr.. Mellen does HIS"
when it that?''
Never" -
"How does he stand it to work 81
hard and constantly"
Because he enjoys it so.
} Though he avoids details as much a:
: possible, President Mellen keeps IL
close touch with the work Of every de
partment of his road and, as he himself
? expresses it, there is no frost on hi
office door," 1t swings open as readily
, for the brakeman who believe he has
, been unfairly treated as for the
director of the road.
But the thing that has made Presi'
dent Mellen perhaps the most talked
) of man in the country at the presen
time, that caused President Roosevelt
| To nuote from one af his addresSe.