The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-01-05

Hayden, by name. Gustaf Johnson
found her alone in Minnesota, her par
ents dead, her brothers lost by chance.
The blacksmith married her. They set
UP their home in little two-room
house in st. Peter.
OF the origin of the mother no par
ticulars are available, but she must have
come from sterling stock. whatever the
externals in this country may have been,
for all of her familys uprightness, pluck
and fidelity seem to have been personified
in her This circumstance also gives
color to the comparison made by some
of the governors admirers between the
admirable and dominating part his mother
played in John A. Johnsons early years
and the influence of Nancy Hanks on
the boyhood of Abraham Lincoln.
It's always refreshing to find straight
forward man-especially if he's prom
inent. If we are to believe the stories
the newspapers print there are not many
combining straightforwardness and prom
inence. So when we find a man like Gov
ernor johnson, of whom the newspapers
speak so gowngly, we feel that we
should like to meet him and congratulate
him. In quite another world is another
man whom the newspapers praise. He is
James McCrea, president OF the Penn
syvania railroad.
When McCrea was elected president of
the road to succeed the late A. j. Cas-
satt the reporters had hard time finding
out about him. Beginning as a rodman
he fought his way to the top, being too
busy to tell even his friends what he
was doing.
Tell you something about McCrea ?"
said one of his intimates to a searcher
after information, certainly; he's the
finest fellow in the world, with a heart
as big as a bucket, who loves his fell
low man as he loves himself, who is
everybodys friend and who hasn't an
enemy in the world
The reporters kept searching and
they uncovered more details they
found that Mr.. McCrea's life had been
one of action-that he is a man of en-
ergy. He is more democratic than his
predecessors. He is always ready to
listen to a fellow worker and to take
his advice when he finds it worth
taking. Above all, he gives the men
under h i'm a square deal. In the adj
ministration of the railroads affairs he
has always been strong advocate of
an open and above board policy. To
friend he once said:
From the time l began to have a
hand in running the business of rail-
road I decided never to buy news
paper or politician-and l never
have"
1t was while he was assistant en-
gineer in the construction department
of the Pennsylvania that he received
the nickname of Gross Tie Jimmie
which sticks to him until this day.
There was wreck on his division and
he got there rather late. Rushing up
to the foreman he said.
what can do? What can do?'
Nothing" the foreman replied.
isn't there anything? Anything?"
persisted young McCrea.
everything has been done except to
move some of tn ose cross ties out Of
that ditch over tn ere" said the fore
man.
McCrea tackled the pile of cross ties
and carried them up the embanSment.
The wrecking crew at once began to
call his Gross Tie Jimmie" Cassatt
and McCrea, though rivals. were always
fast friends There was always much
banter between them and, If story
that has been handed down is true, Nc
Crea said to Cassatt one day when
thew were both rodmen on the same
road
ANDY. when l get to be president of
this road. I'll not put up with rodman
like you"
Jimmie" replied Andy. "if all the
rodmen were like you, there wouldnt
be any road to be president Of"
Many years afterWard Wheh Cassdt'
was a high officer in the east, McCrea
became manager of the lines west OF
Pittsburg. On hearing that his rival
was doing things Cassatt sent MN
this telegram
Jimmie McCrea-If you had held the
rod there wouldn't be any office for
YOU to hold out there
McCrea sent this answer:
"Andy Cassatt-They must have
given you your post in self-defense