The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-10
by an all-rail route. and to insure to the
PENN sylvania b ample shipping facilities

Ienhsy lvania ample shipping facilities
byswater for all time to. come "a
5ss Thus under cassatt's direction, the
Pennsylvania's holdings in other roads
#ly stated they total the gigantic sum Of
over 1891 200, 900. N This SIS par value OF; the:
stocks and the ,s41,O71, $40 in bonds. The he
cost OF n ! both bonds and stocks to the
company was 1886 COZ. 40 Simpl y looked
on as an inves tment, Mr. Cassatt g policy
OF buying in other roads has been an,
exceedingly table one for the Penn Penn
sylvania. Il ,sl55 81
SCAssATT,s FAMOUS P, w. & 3.
5 COUP. IF III
The most spec tacular5 things that Mr..
BCassatt has ever done was the purchase
Of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Bal
timore over night for his road, and after
Robert Garrett Of the Baltimore and
Ohio, had Boosting ~! a announced one
morning that the road in question !. had
| passed under his control. lnss the wee
sn1a' hours OF the next morning Mr.
! Cassatt, having informed the Pennsyl-s
yania s. directors, called in hurr led meet
ing in New York, that he had secured;
a block Of stock giving them control OF
1.-the p, w. and b. a check for Sl4949
05o. 20 changed hands. This remained Tor
a number OF years the largest check ever
drawn in a single transactio n.. Its writ
al
satt speedily learned that a certain pi-a4
votal block Of stock had been soverlo olSed5
by Mr. Garrett, and knew just how to 80
about acquiring 1t. .sis5 an
The building OF New York, = h f,il ti
phia and Norfolk by Mr.. ( Cnssatt DUR -
ing q his rest period OF seventeen years
was also sensational and bold piece
OF railroading. & III .si.
Tho eastern part Of Virginia and the.
Maryland and Virginia peninsula have long
been garden country for the Cities OF New
York \ Dos ton, and Philadelphia When.
Mr. Cassat { went Into retirement IN 1882
thu fruits and vegetables were sen I by
boat to some port on chesapeake Bay
and thence taken orth BY rail- II was
clumsy transportation at Il best, and 50
slow were the boats that much OF the
freight spoiled in transit s1itaa
d Tho problems here presented had long
puzzled railroad men. Norfolk was the
ideal forwarding point for quick railway
service with Eastern Virginia, but there
was no direct route, seemingly, no pos
siblity OF getting one. sincS that town
Lies across Chesapeake Il Bay from the
three big markets. AS for the Mary "a q
Virginia peninsula, railroad con}munlca-l
tlon stopped just short of It at Dslmar,5
q little town on the DelawareyAdaryla
boundary line. From Delmar TO Cape
Charles, at the tip OF the peninsula, the
distance is ninety-flve miles.
One day Mr.. Cassatt approached the
late w. L. Scott and said. (the conyersa-
ton Is reported by T. NJ Barksdale Of
tho Pennsylvania:) u i ss
Lets build a railroad from Delmar
to Cape Charles and connect with Nor
folk and Portsmouth by boat.
''Very good :" was the reply. but how
will you transfer your freight across
Chesapeake Bay expedit iously ?"ss1 Z IA
"We will build powerful and fast trans
fer tugs that will transfer loaded trains
across the bay.
'.But the distance is thirty-s!x miles
and the bay at times Is rougier than
the English Channel.
1--WE can huild the boats strong enough.
and equip them with engines of sufficient
power to make tho run in three hours"
AID such boats. We're built. and be-
cause OF them the berry Express for
over twenty years has placed on the
breakfast tables of New York and Phila-
delphIa, fruit picked In Virginia and
Maryland the afternoon previous Il
Similar ferries are now running on
the great lakes and across Lake Baikal,
In conjunction with the Trans-S Siberian
Railroad.
It was bold plan that Mr.. Cassatt OUT
lined to his associate In the undertaking.
But 1T had all been Thought out befors-
hand This, IS cllp RI tteristic Of the man.
Frequently, by the very boldness OF his
scheme. one is led to feel that it has not
been gone into deeIG or is put forward
merely as n suggestion. Wise Pennsyl-
vania officials no longer doubt that when
Mr., Cassatt outlines q plan he also has
I it all worked out and ready to put into
execution Mt q moments notice
AS first vice-presldent Mr.. cassatt got 1
for his road many smaller properties that
rivals were keen to possess. 1t was while
he held this post that he fought the
Standard OH Company, but finally had
10 grant 1t rebates. AS general manager
he gave to the roads employees the dis
cipline and ID the roliteness that have
worked to make the road famous the
world over. He eauipped the track with
the block signal system. and introduced
the track tank. He seized on the air
brake when 1T had livery few friends
among railroad men. anu the tests he
made with It We're largely Instrumental
in bringing. about It's subsequent wide
adop ton. Also largely because OF him,