Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-05-07
WHERE AND
HOW THEY
STARTED
Earlier Steps Of Now Prom IN
Which Leo 70 ouCvVsS

icesses and fewer millionaries. A
classic in the family of ex-Panama
ICanal Commissioner Theodore p.
Shonts is the story of his rebellion
against the first plans made for him
in business way. The family haj
settled little way out of Center
vile when Perry was a little boy. In
one of his summer vacations his
father, intending to break him in to
handle the farm, set him a position
beside the pig run and told him to
see that none of the pigs escaped.
Perry, however, got tired and went
home.
THAT ithin't my line of bithineth, ="
he explained. He was not so small
ming of the war, kept his eyes open,
could pronounce his SIS until he
grew out of his teens. IL was not
long after until he cut out for him
self and got the district school. He
was only Is and he brought up the
standard of the school TO point
never known before, says G. r.
Clarke.
The telegraph which was exploited
by Morse was responsible for a tre-
mendous decampment from farms
all over the land and some of the
most prominent successes OF today
are the results of that exodus.
Marvin Hughitt lived in Genoa.
New York then and was working on
his fathers farm, getting up at 4
every morning. The influence OF
Prof. Morse's invention was felt here
and It's appeal probably never was
greater than II was to young Hughitt.
He hated farm life and the common
humdrum existence palled on him,
and his one dream was TO learn the
wonderful new instrument.
Clashing with his father on this,
he deserted. went TO Auburn, n. Y,
learned the new Morse telegraph
code, and while acting as messenger
boy became an expert receiver by
sound within year. Then he went
west and got n key here and there
In different way stations before he
was II.
He made himself locally famous as
n dispatcher OF troops at the begin.
ming of the war, wept his eyes open,
learned every little secret of the rail-
road business. and mounted upward
step by step untR the little boy from
Genoa became the adviser OF railway
owners and presidents.
Sir William Van Horne. the former
president of the Canadian Pacific
railroad, was led TO desert an Illi-
nols farm by this same lure. He
first became messenger hoy In the
office of the superintendent OF the
wires, and the superintendent. wish
ing to realize as much as possible
from him, used him Ia the storeroom
when he was not telegTaphing. In
this way the boy began to acquire
knowledge OF the System" which
was the foundation OF his railroad
education.
He also used to slip into the drafts,
mans room and help him In his light
work He loved 10 draw, and he
spread himself here, becoming so in
tcrosted In his work that he would
follow some special design through
the pattern shop, peep into the foun-
dry 10 see how Il came out, and later
steal over TO the shops TO watch the
men put IL In place on a locomotive.
lie was so tireless that he soon a.
most had leareud 10 put locomotive
together, and he developed SO much
knowledge about everything that he
began 10 be moved from one position
To another, that In time led him to
the highest ground in the railroad
business.
Frederick p, olcott clashed with
his father in his career, His father
was banker in Albany, and he was
one of three brothers. lie entered
the family bank, but soon realized
that Albany was too small a field for
what he wanted He told his father
that he had made up his mind to 40
10 New York, and, to use his own
words. to be "a small toad in a large
puddle" His father tried 10 dis
suade him, but he had already con-
oeived OF things that made the life
OF a county banker" look small n
him. II he remained In Albany he
never would be anything else. So
he went to New York and went into
business as a stock broker,
Joseph A. Shay had this example
definitely before him when he threw
over the position OF manager In his
fathers store in Syracuse TO enter