Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-07-16

mittee- He was running his engine all the
while.
But he was doing more than this. In
the regular meetings with his brothers and
in the important conferences with officials
OF the system. he began to impress a quiet
efficiency. He was terse and epigram-
matte OF speech. but what he had to say
had meat in il. and it generally hit the
mark. His post as general chairman took
him Up and down the line, and wherever
he went employer and employee remembered
him. People began to speak of Young
Stone of the Missouri division" as q per-
son Of force, q man to be rsckoned with.
So conseientiously did he perform his
work as general chairman that thu engi-
nsers Of the Rock Island voted him a
salary and asked him to retire from the
road and devote all his time TO their in
terests. Thus, in 1908. he forsook his cab
never to return 70 the throttle. When he
retired. he had not risen to be a passenger
engineer. There were still two men aheat
OF him in the pool"
Other things likewise had not stood sul
He saw the Rock Island grow from
:. 5oo-mile stem into an empire Of mort
than 1900 miles. His own brotherhood
power in the industrial world. It's head
and watchdog was the veteran p. NJ.
Arthur. who had been chief since lsTa
Called to the ChIeftaInship.
The gray-haired cnisftain, who stood
head and shoulders over anything that the
world had yet produced as a labor leader
and who had carried the order around In
his head and his heart 90 long. was near
ing the end OF his long and loyal service.
One hot July day in 1903 he fell dead while
making a labor address At winnipeg
| A dramatic situation developed. Be
yond the Canadian border the old chief lay
dead; at Cleveland, his first ASSISTANT. A.
B. Youngson. the man slated 70 succeed
him, was dying.
Some one had 20 take the vacancy at the
head OF the brotherhood.
All the while Mr.. Stone was down In
Indian Territory adjusting some grt0v.
ancss. He was away about two weeks, and
most Of the time was spent in obscure
almost inaccessible places He was at
tending to business, unmindful OF the fact
/ that destiny was working overtime for
him.
On reaching his home at Eldon = tele.
| gram came from Cleveland rendering him
the post OF grand chief He accepted Gnt
hastsned to headquarters.
Meetins a Difficult situation.
! He faced a staggering situation Her,
was q locomotive engineer who had nevel
had one days office experience in his life
/ who had never dictated a letter, and VIII
knew nothing OF the routine Of administer
| ing 70 a large body OF men, Yet he wa
| up against the task OF being the real ACTIVE
head Of more than 4oOO0 OF his fellow mel
| who carried y7S.OOo.OOo insurance. A room
| full OF mail had accumulated.
To add 20 the difficulty Of the situa
ton Mr. stone found that Mr.. Arthur hat
carried all the details OF the office in hi
mind; he had kept no organized system o
past decisions. and had not maintained an!
files for references.
About o'clock that afternoon Of IN,
first day the office force shut down tn
desks and went home, as had been thei
custom. Mr.. Stone was left alone In IN
throne-room OF his new power, but IL locke
pretty desolHts at that moment He wake
to the window and looked down on tn
busy square. az the hosts Of people hurry
ing homsward Then he brought his fis
down on the window SIN and said
This job must be done and IL will b
donsg'
From that day began a new era In IN
life OF the brotherhood; the epoch Of sys
TEN, order. expansion, and eonstruotiy
and economic Development in every quartet
The way TO reorganization was difficult
In the first place. Mr. Stone had only bee
appointed to till an unexpired term Tn
next year was a convention year, and n