The National tribune., 1907-01-17
SAM'L SPENCER and HIS WORK in THE SOUTH
Practical railroad Manager-A Capable Executve-A Con-
sructive Genius.
By LANsCELLOTT.

Few American citizens in private life
nave been SO widely honored, in obitu-
ary and in eulogy after demise, as he
whose life ended in mid-career at the
dawn of the last Thanksgiving Day,
and whose requiem was sung in the
Virginia woods by the steam whistle of
a locomotive. The press thruout the
country he loved so well gave generous
space to the praise he we'll deserved;
to the narration of his life, the delfnea-
tion of his character, the recital of his
services, the honesty of his purpose and
the beneficence of his nature.
A Loyal sozthefner.
Mr.. Spencer's birthplace. Columbus,
Ga, was a sleepy little hamlet, in 1S47.
girdled by forest pines. thru whose
stately plumes the March wind whis-
pered his cradle song Perhaps It's rest
less I1.Iaby imbued his spirit with that
virile t.rprgy which as boy AID El2E
led him into scenes of unwonted actfv-
ity, and eventually propelled him into
the very center of commercial and in
duStrial contention
The Infancy of Railroads.
Probably the first locomotive engine
drawing a train etwo diminutive
cars1 was that of the old South Caro-
lima Railroad & Canal Company, or
ganized in 1880 to construct a railroad
from Charleston to Hamburg. etc. At
the time of Mr.. Spencer's birth, there
fore, railroading was but scarcely be-
yond the pinafore age. Meanwhile the
South, like other great divisions of the
country, was more or less a succession
Ill,
sparsely -peopled, its highways few and
crude. its areas indefinitely determined
AS tho by premonitien, the boy of 16
devoted himself to the study of civil
engineering and surveying, then obtain
ed employment as such, was brought
into contact with Savannah railroad
engineers, and entered service as as
sistant engineer of construction
Merit and Promotion.
Mr.. Spencer's rise in favor was rapid,
and in 1884 he was made President of
the Baltim ore & Ohio Railroad Com
pany, thus attaining the acme of a rail-
road mans chief ambition before the
age of 40. So we'll did he acquit him.
self in this important and difficult sta
ton that in 1889 Mr.. ]. Pierpont Nor
gan offered him post of still greater
responsibility. Importance and emolu-
ment This he accepted, and until the
close 1893 was a prominent factor in
the affairs of that great house. Mr..
Spencer's supreme opportunity, how
ever, was yet to come.
In 1892 the Richmond & Danville
and the Richmond Terminal Systems
had acquired between them control of
something less than $500 miles of
Southern railroad lines, some moribund,
some in sable, some in motley, and all
of them with broken backs or limbs.
Like the army of Falstaff, arrayed in
buff and paraded before Prince Hal,
they presented an incongruous and al
together disreputable front as they were
lined up before certain captains Of
finance as valuable assets. The Loon
was already abroad, shrieking the in
sane prelude to the later cry of "16 to
1" from Bedlam, English money was
to the extent of millions daily, National
were becoming as vaIueIess as French
assignats in 1894 or Confederate scrip
in 1854, the common stock Of Southern
railroads was generally but the remind
er to the holders OF misplaced conf
dence, and the roads themselves hope
1essly insolvent. At this juncture, and
after an obstinate struggle with the
Richmond & Danville for control Of the
combined properties, the Richmond
Terminal, after profitleSs victory, went
into the hands of a receiver, and an
order of sale followed a Federal Court
decree directing final disposition Of the
property and the disposition Of the pro-
ceeds. The security holders applied to-
Drexel, Morgan & Co., the great bank
ers Of New York, to undertake the re-