Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-01-04
DEATH OF A. ]. CASSATT.
HEART DISEASE FOLLOWING AT
TACK OF WHOOPING COUGH
CAUSES DISSOLUTION.
HEAD OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Remarkabl Record Was Made by Great
Railway System Under His Powerful
and Thorough Management.


heart disease at 1 p. m, today. The
symptoms were those known TO the pro-
fession as the Stokes-Adams syncope,
and as is often the case under the cir
cumstances, death was instantaneous. ,"
He Had Whooping Cough.
Mr.. Cassatts final illness dates back
two months, when he was taken i'll
with whooping cough, caught from a
grandchild
Since then he has been reported seri-
ously i'll, and even near death, several
times. However, denial of the serious
ness Of his condition always followed
these statements. He had been in
rugged health previously and close
friends were confident of his recovery.
Rise in Railroad World
Mr.. Cassatt's rise in brief may be
stated as follows:
1S39-Borr in Pittsburg, December S.
lSJ9-Graduated as civil engineer.
1SGJ-SuperintCndent of Warren ana
Franklin road
lS70-Cipncral superintendent of Pennsyl-
1871I5icncraI manager of all Pcnnsyl-
yania lines east of Pittsburg.
1ST4-Third vice president of Pennsylvania
company.
1sSO-First vice president of Pennsylvania
company.
1S83-Chairman of the road committee of
the Pennsylvania lines.
1S99-President of Pennsylvania road. Aft
er the manner of Cincinnatus, who was
called from the pillow to take up matters of
state Mr. Cassatt was found ON the golf
course when he was asked to become presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania company
Biggest of Pennsylvania's Leaders.
Mr.. Cassatt was by all experts named
as the biggest man who ever headed the
Pennsylvania railway system At the
time of the recent rebate agitation,
when it was said that Mr.. Cassatt might
be indicted, one writer said of him:
There he sits in his office i'll the Broad
Street station, in Philadelphia, imperturb-
ably calm. There is CasSatt, the Impene-
trable-Cassatt, the Sphinx, Coolly and
deliberately he IS planning the defense-aS
coolly and deliberately as he clears his
desk of routine work every night before
he goes to his home in Havorford.
Once before great crisis came to the
Pennsylvania, when over night A J. Cas-
satt, by his quickness, his decision and his
knowledge, gained the victory. One day,
In 1872, when the Pennsylvania and the
Baltimore 4 Ohio were bitter rivals, Rob
crt Garrett walked into the office of George
b. Roberts, then president of the former
Baltimore d Ohio interests had secured
control of the Philadelphia, Wilmington *
Baltimore, which meant the cutting off of
the eastern connections of the Pennsyl-
yania system. 1t was as if a bomb had
been exploded. Roberts sent for Cassatt,
who. was then first yice,president;
has gobbled the Wilmington. Robert Gar
rctt was just here and told me so. What
would you suggest?'
Swamped the Opposition.
call a meeting of the directors in New
York tonight replied Cassatt promptly.
Perhaps he hasn't as many of the shares
as he thinks he has
And that night Cassatt pointed out where
a great block of stock of the Philadelphia.
Wilmington Baltimore could be obtained
which CaSSatt knew just how to put his
hands on. SO. at his suggestion, these
shares were purchased that night with III,
largest chcck-$14 $40. 052. 20-eTcr drawn at
that tine in settlement of any financial
transaction. The next morning, ut the an
nual meeting of the stockholders of the
PennSYIyania company. the announcement
was made that the PENNSYLVANIA controlled
the Wilmington, without fear of interior.
Cnce by any other road.
The check hangs today on the wall of the
treasury department of the PENNSYLVANIA
company as a tribute to the sagacity ana
strategy Of Cassatt.
Educated in Germany.
President Cassatt was educated at
Heidelberg. But the influence of Ger
man university life did not overcome his
Unborn preference for business career
and on his return home he took a course
i'll civil engineering. He went first to
Georgia to assist i'll locating 4 railroad
In 1861 he returned to Pittsburg and en-
tered the employ of the PENNSYLVANIA
railroad as a rodman. In 1861 he had
risen to become superintendent of mo-
tive power and three years later he was
made general superintendent. The rest
of his rise has been told.
He was good spender, but knew
where every cent went
Knew His Work Well.
An example of the strong hold that
President Cassatt had on all the details
of the Pennsylvania system was given
when $4,000 freight cars We're tangled up
in such a snarl III Pittsburg that the en-
tire transportation facilities of the Unit
ed States We're threatened. Mr.. Cassatt
boarded fast train to Pittsburg. Upon
arriving he called for maps and all the
reports explaining the situation and
then. SummOning the western assistants
about him. he went directly to the heart
Of the matter. Twenty-fOur hours after
he had reached PittSburg, 10000 cars
We're moving and the big tangle was
unSnarled.
But, with all his hard work. Mr.. Cas-
satt kept in robust health by playing
golf, driving horses ON his stock farm.
automobillEg and in other ways remain
ing as much as possible in the open air
when not at his desk.
Left Work Seventeen Years.
When only 43 years of age al time
when it was expected he would soon be-
come the president of the road, Mr.. Cas-
Satt suddenly resigned, giving as an eX-
cuse that he desired to retire from active
business altogether. 1t was limited by
some of his friends that he could not Ell
dure the slow methods of President
Roberts.
For seventeen years lie devoted him
self to European travel and to the de-
velQpment of his great stock farm at
Chester Brook. Pennsylvania. where he
has raised some famous horses.
In the meantime. however. he still 20
manned director of the railway. and
SO in 1899 when Il committee called upon
him at his home in the suburbs of Phil
adelphia he was induced to accept the
presidency of tke Pennsylvania railroad.
Since that time the road has expanded
into the foremost railway of the world
with a capitalization in stocks and bonds
of about S400000.000 and with an az
gressiveness not equaled by any other
line on either side of the water
Rebate Probe Leveled at Him.
The recent investigation into the af
fairs of the Pennsylvania was brought
about by Logan Bullitt. coal operator
of Philadelphia, to obtain connection