The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-05
Mr.. JANSEN PROMOTED
Made Fourth Vice President of the
Santa Fe.

Chicago. Jan. 5.-Announcement has
been made at the executive offices Of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rail-
way company that William 3. Jansen,
who has been assistant to President
Ripley, has been appointed fourth vice
president of the Santa F'e system. He
win have charge of the accounting, the
treasury, lands and fuel departments
and his headquarters viii be in Chi
cage.
This elevation of Mr.. Jansen has in
vOlved the creation of a new executive
office in the Santa Fe. Heretofore there
have been but three vice presidents and
one of them, the first is now vacant
because of the recent resignation of E.
W. Kenna, who had been first vice
president and general solicitor of the
company for a number of years. It is
understood here that the creation of the
fourth vice presidency and the appoint
ment of Mr.. Jansen to it has been made
for the purpose of relieving President
Ripley of great amount of important
routine work which has devolved upon
him because there was no other execu-
tive officer with the authority to handle
it. As first vice president Mr. Kenna
handled the legal affairs of the COM
vice president gives his whole attention
to the operating department of the road
and the third vice president. George 7.
Nicholson devOtes his attention to a
supervision over the traffic of the road,
both freight and passenger. Since the
resignation of Mr.. Kenna there has been
some talk that the legal department of
the company would not again be repre-
scented in the executive Offices and that
Mr.. kendrick and Mr.. Nicholson were
to be pushed up a peg in rank, and that
the latter's duties were to be confined to
passenger traffic and a third vice presi-
dent named who was to look after the
freight traffic but as yet no move of
this kind has been made. One of some
sort IS expected, however, to fill the
vacancy in the first vice presidency in
view Of the creation Of the fourth vice
presidency and the appointment of Mr..
Jansen to il.
Mr.. Jansen. the new fourth vice pres
ident, is well known in Topeka, where
he lived for a number of years while
he was employed in the general Santa
Fe offices here. His rise IN the service
of the Santa Fe has been a rapid one
and has few equals in railroad history
Mr. Jansen is in his thirty-ninth year
and about IS years ago he saw his first
railroad service and that with the Santa
Fe as a collector on q passenger train.
This was at a time when the Santa Fe
had collector on the trains to take up
cash fares, While the regular conductor
confined his attentions to punching
tickets. Mr.. Jansen did not work in this
capacity long. He was given a clerk
ship in the general managers Office, and
was later appointed to the position of
secretary to the general manager, who
at that time was A. A. Robinson, now
president of the Mexican Central. From
this position he was promoted to that
of chief clerk in the department under
the then General Manager J. J. Fry. He
continued in that capacity until 1897
when ne was appointed secretary to
President Ripley. He was named as
sistant to President Ripley in 1901 and
has held that position up to the present
tiIl.c-