The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-12-18


the great work being done by the Hat
tiesburg Traction Co. for the indus
trial progress and prosperity of the
city and all realize that a genius in
the management of public service cor
porations must be behind the work.
but the history, the career, the per-
sonality of the man is known to few
of the people here.
Because of these facts and because
Mr.. Doherty is a liberal, broad-mind-
ed, progressive business man, a friend
of this city and Noteworthy all the
good things said about him, we repro
duce the following article from the
pen of man who knows him well:
ICY w. B. Jackson.)
There is no more commanding figure
in the commercial gas and electrical
field than Henry l.. Doherty, Of 60
Wall street. a Columbus man born
and bred. MI Dohorty has well been
called the pioneer exponent of the
new business ideas in electrical cen
trail station engineering, something of
which a man may well feel proud
when the achievements in this line in
the last few years are considered.
Mr.. Doherty was born in Columbus
May Is, 1870, and was the son of
Frank Doherty, an engineer and in
ventor. His ancestry was English,
Scottish and Irish. His great grand
father, William Doherty, landed in
America in 1900. On his mothers side
his grandfather was an early state
librarian in Ohio and fought in the
war of 1872. He was brevetted for
bravery in Perry's victory on Lake
Erie at Put-In-Bay. Mr.. Doherty was
educated in the public schools of Co
lumbus until the age of ~ years,
when he entered the employ of the
Columbus Gas Company as an office
boy. His further education was OBJ
tanned by self-study. He continued
in the employ of the Gas Company
until 1896, rising steadily until he OBJ
tanned the position of chief engineer
and assistant to the manager In
1896 he was sent by Emerson McMil-
lin to Madison, Wis, as manager of
the Madison Gas and Electric Com
pany and later was elected its presi-
dent Afterwards he filled the posi-
ton of engineer of the Columbus Elec-
trio Company, general manager of the
st. Paul, Mimi, Gas Company, con-
structing engineer of the Jacques
Cartier Electric Company, of Quebec,
Canada, chief engineer of Emerson
McMillin and Company of New York
fity, chief engineer and general man.
ager of the American Light and Trac-
ton Company, engineer and general |
manager and afterwards president of
the Denver Gas and Electric Com |
pany, and in 1905 formed the firm of
Henry L. Doherty 2 Csmpany of 60 |
Wall street, New York City.
LIS ddNlNe mas DeeH sought by the |
leading gas and electric companies
of the country and there are few OF |
ihese which nave not adopted in whole |
or part his ideas and plans for the
enlargement of the field of CONNER
cial gas and electric business. The |
properties in which he is the CONTROL
ing spirit extend into many states and
all of them are growing steadily in
business and earnings. The Cities
Service Company, a $5O,OOO,OOO cor
poration organized in the fall of 1910,
is the latest child of his brain and it
bids fair to prove the most successful
one
It controls the Denver Gas and Elec-
trio Company, of Denver, Colo, The
Empire District Electric Company of
Joplin, Mo-, the Spokane Gas and
Fuel Company, Spokane, Wash, and
within a short time will include sew
eral other large properties in its sub
sidiary organizations. Financial men
are firm believers in the Doherty star
and they have good reasons to be, as
they have been large gamers in
Monetary way from his operations in
kinging up gas and electric plants
to large earnings.
No man who has followed Mr.. Do
herty to the end in his organizations
of public utility corporations has had
reason to regret it, and the founda-
lions of several local fortunes have
been laid by men who have had faith
in his business and professional abil-
ity. Among the companies in which
he is now the controlling factor, in