The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-19
JAMES ], HILL IS STILL HARD WORK ER Little Stories of His Quick
 Temper HAS RE EIENTIVE MEMORY Enjoys Good Joke as, for Instance, When Roommate Is Suddenly
 Covered With Soot From
 Head to Foot.
HAS ATTENTIVE MEMORY
Eror the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
 James J. Hill always worked hard, and does yet, as hard as he ever did. His mind Is as active as 1t ever was. and he still Is the Great Northern Railroad, though his two sons bear the title of it's chief officers and are supposed to have re- lieved him of the details Of the great prop erty. He is the same now as he was a few years ago when on his return to St. Paul he went to his office in the Great Northern headquarters and saw his desk almost bare He had been used to finding 1t piled up with papers on every subject relating to the road for his disposition,
 his approval or rejection. His private secretary thought 1t would be commend able thing to have Hill return and find the
 work had been attended to in his ab- sence, instead of being confronted with an
 accumulation of subjects When Hill saw his desk he called his secretary in and told him to fetch along the work. The
 secretary smilingly told him that every
 thing had been disposed of as 1t came up.
 Then came the storm, and when one does break in Hill's office every person in the
 Great Northern building knows it. It is
 no mild breze; it Is a bowling cyclone.
 'I suppose you mean to tell me you can
 get along without me as well as you can
 with me-" was the keynote of his fury. After that Hill's desk was properly lt- tered with papers whenever he returned from trip.
 On one occasion Hill called his elder son, James, to his office, and, handing him check, told him that was a little
 present for him. The son looked at the check and saw 1t was for s150000. How about Louis? asked James. Louis Is the younger son. Hill asked James what he
 meant. Does he get a check, too?'
 queried James. That angered Hill and he accused his son of attempting to tell him
 how he should dispose of his property.
 James left his father and IIilPs secretary
 came in as the railroad chief was fuming.
 IIill began to tell the secretary about the
 impudence of James. Well, it's pretty
 nice Mir. Hill," said the secretary, ito
 see one brother think that much of an-
 other" The new view instantly appealed
 to Hill and he agreed that it was a mag unanimous act
 Hill works all the time. He goes to bed
 late and rises early. He is a great reader
 and has faculty of storing away every thing he reads, whether he takes it piece meal or consecutively. His knowledge, therefore is not limited to railroads and | railroad finances He can talk of art or | music or science of farming. He is spe-
 cialrN seemingly, on every subject. He | devours magazines. On one of the few | times when he was attacked with cold or some passing ailment he was persuaded | to remain in his home for a day or two. | A reporter for St. Paul newspaper called
 at the Hill residence and ohanced to find | Hill in the mood to sec him. The reporter
 was led to H1lls bedroom, where the ! Great Northern man was propped up in | bed reading. He had a number of maga- | zines, each opened and turned face down | on the bed. He found variety by reading
 a part of one article and then another, | But he knew the meat of them all when | he had finished reading them in that way. | The memory of the Great Northern 1 chief Is remarkable. In 1872 Hill went to | Winnipeg on river transportation busi- | ness, in which he was then interested. | The most desirable hotel in the little Can
 adian town was crowded and Hill got a
 most undesirable room. Walking along
 the hall in the hotel one day he saw
 a young man writing in a large room.
 The quarters appealed to him Finding
 the occupant had the room to himself
 and that 1t would accommodate two per- l sons, Hill asked the man, who was w. F. 1 Luxton of Toronto, if he had any objec- | tions to their sharing the room. Luxton, 1 who was in Winnipeg representing a 1 Toronto newspaper, willingly agreed to | TIilrs request. One hot afternoon the two | men were in the room writing and each 1 was grumbing about the heat. Luxton | observed stovepipe hole in chimney 1 for winter stove Tho usual tin cap l covered the hole. Wonder if opened 1 that hole in the hue 1t wouldn't cause | little draught," said Luxton. and he | climbed on a chair to remove the tin | cap. It refused to yield at first but final | ly came off suddenly. A shower of soot covered Luxton from head to foot. Lux ston said things while Htn roared with l laughter.
 | In 1907, 25 years after the Winnipeg in cident, Luxtos chanced to be in St. Paul l and went ro the Great Northern headquar- ters to call oQ Fin. The railroad company | a short time before had occupied its | splendid new office building Sitting in | Hills office Luxton remarked, This is l a magnificent building you have built, 1 MT Hfll' 'Yes," replied the railroad man as quick as flash, ''and there isn't | @ soot hole in 1t"