Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-05-13
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
PERSONALITY IN RAILROADS

PERSONALITY IN RAILROADS
At a recent meeting of the Chi
caxD Traffic club, Col. c. w. Mott of
the Northern Pacific road delivered
an Interesting address on 'sWhy Rail
reads Are Like Men" The theme
of Mr. Motifs address lay in the i'm
preston Of the personality of strong
character in the railroad world up
ON the roads with which they were
identified, and he drew some inter-
estiag pictures from a familiarity of
many years with the various railroad
systems Of the country
An interesting portion Of his adj
dress is that which deals with the
personality of the men who have
been and are at tie head of the Nor
them Pacific and Great Northern
roads Mr.. Mott says:
1.After the building of the Union
Pacific came the agitation of the
building of the Northern Pacific. AS
early 1901 President Thomas JEFF
ferson, in bidding good bye to Cap
tains Lewis and Clark, strongly i'm
pressed upon them that he desired
them to find and establish the fact
that water connection could be made
Was some connection could be made
between the Mississippi and the Pa
cific ocean, and advised them to fol-
low The rivers, as he believed there
where the waters divided. Water
connection, however, was found i'm
possible, and it was left for the rail-
roads 10 supply this connection.
The projectors of the Northern Pa
cific followed the rivers and valleys,
where the explorers, missionaries
and Indians had been able to grow
something to live upon, which they
could not produce on the high table
lands The rivers. in mountainous
countries, are the arteries of COM
merc1alism, and the lines of least re-
sIsfence
The financial strain of building
the Northern Pacific, and also pro
vfding the government with money
to carry on the war, rested on the
shoulders of Mr.. Jay Cooke. This
man was devoted to his work, anG
he had the pleasure of seeing, in hi
old age. this great enterprise com
mercIM success. The road has since
been managed by progressive men
and each has served, to the best O.
his ability, the roads interests dur
ing the period of his administra
tion-
The present president, Mr.. How
ard Elliott, has earned his position
by long and faithful work. He be
gam as roadman, in the engineering
department of the old Keokuk road
and passed through all of the pos
tfons of trust in the traffic and op
Grating departments of the c. B. 1
O. Leaving the road as one of tn
few presidents, he became presiden
of the Northern Pacific Mr.. Elliot
is just and honest man, and
pleasant executive, and is serving tn
road well as it's earnings prove.
HMr. J. M. Hannaford, the secon
vice president, who is in charge. {
traffic, rose from a freight clerk t
his present position, and is know
to be pleasant, just and competer
official, and enjoys the good will {
the public.
During the last fifteen years TIL
road has established larger rur;
population in the different state
which it traverses than ever befor,
and the earnings have gone frol
$4,000 900 in 1894 to $4,000, 900 {
more the present year.
There are two things that will hel
make any railroad a success, an
they are low grades and local settl,
menf
A few years after the completio
of the Northern Pacific the Gres
Northern was constructed, and of "a
the franscontinental roads that hay
been built, this is one where til