Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-15

At these letters belong to its readers and that
- Of curtis letters despte the fscf that
career that has few parallels for usefuiness.)
, the subsidiary companies Of those rail-
ways, embracing some $500 miles, in
the Canadian northwest, and the
Grand Trunk Steamship Company.
operating steamers on the Pacific coast
between Seattle. Victoria, Vancouver.
Prince Rupert and the Queen Char
lotte Islands.
The improvement Of the Grand
Trunk system under Mr.. HAYS admins
istration has continued steadily until
| today it occupies a front rank with
the railways OF the world He Is in
full authority over the company's af-
fairs in America, the directors Of the
| company and its shareholders. which
number upward Of 81. 900. being located
in England.
Down in st. Louis old railroaders re.
| member Charley Hays as an extremely
Industrious young man
Personality with lot Of en-
How, thusiasm and fever
AA"J'' fish anxiety to work.
He had the delicate pallor but
| not the stoop Of a student of books.
Today he fits in harmoniously with his
ruddy. roast-beef associates on the
Grand Trunk board when they meet,
twice year. at Eastwood House, Lon
dan. E. c. His years at ST. Louis, where
he rose from clerkship to q vice pres
idency. furnished him a thorough edu-
cation In the greatest OF all UNIVERSE
, ties. human experience. In that school
he learned the art Of management-
first, to manage himself and second to
manage others
Although despising politics. Mr. Hays
would have made a great politician be-
cause OF his tact. his patience, his
charming disposition and his personal
magnetism. He possesses to high de-
gree that rare facility of imparting to
others his Ideas as well as his inspira-
TONS. His genius as director is such
as to inspire the confidence of all the
men under his command, so that they
serve him with delight. He chooses
his captains with care and then holds
them responsible for the conditions and
the service of their branch of the BUSH
ness He relieves friction between the
neads or departments with genial tact:
he Is prompt to recognize and reward
merit; he is always ready to accent
suggestions from his subordinates and
to give them full credit. Whatever
way he has quickly adopted and work
ed out. He has spent much time and
money to make the Grand Trunk at
tractive to railway men Of every trade.
especially to the trainmen, shopmen
stead of Salaries" He has nrovided
night schools in connection with the
mechanical department for the training
OF apprentices. and scholarships In Nc
Gill University for a number who have
shown special ability, interest and en-
thustasm in their work. All this ac-
counts for the loyalty and the efficiency
or his subordinates and tends to the
betterment Of the service
X 4
1t Is related by some Of his associates
IN the old st. Louis days that his indif-
ference to the clock on
1nd1nerent the wall Of the big office
IN r1ooL. In which he was working
brought his first promo
ton. transferring him from the passenger
department to the office Of the general
manager. and if you wifi call at his great
room on the third floor of the Grand
Trunk building in Montreal you will
notice that there is no clock on his green
tinted walls. There is portrait of his
predecessor, Sir Rivers Wilson, and sew
eral maps, showing different parts Of the
system, but no clock. and, although he is
very punctual to arrive in the morning.
he never leaves his office until he has
cleaned up his desk: and that is what he
expects of every subordinate. He detests
o'clock service" as he calls it, and once
said:
Such men have only two stations on
the line-sundown and pay day"
Another tale that is told by his former
associates in ST. Louis is that when he
finished his office work he went straight
to a gymnasium and practiced for an
perate life. and that. with his regular
habits. accounts for his extraordinary
capacity for work and his ability to &C.
complish things His only intemperance
is work. and that. he argues. will never
injure any one, provided there is a night
rest between the days.
People in Montreal set their clocks by
the passing Of the president Of the Grand
Trunk through Victoria Square, as. rain
or shine he walks from his home to his
office. He keeps no automobile, and no
one ever remembers seeing him in the
family carriage. One of his neiehbors in
the next block went to New York for a
visit. leaving the children in charge of a
governess. who was instructed to send
a telegram daily, reporting the situation
in the household. On the third day she
sent this telegram:
Children getting along nicely. Mr.
Hays one minute late this morning.
u X
In appearance Mr.. Hays is short.
head, covered with fine.
Quick smooth. iron-gray hair. and
No.. conceals his cheeks and chin
with square trimmed beard
He Is quick in his movements. as he is
alert in his mind, and whatever he does
is done with energy and enjoyment. He
Is bubbling over with humor. and not only
loves to tell a story. but is willing to
listen to one-which is a rare accomplish
ment. He dresses neatly. chooses quiet
patterns and colors. and loves good things
to eat. but has a modest appetite. He
has a democratic dignity in his manners.
and meets all men with CHEEKY, cordial
smile, which is more influential in ener-
gencies than the arguments OF the legal
department Mr.. Hays loves books and
pictures and music. but his tastes are
simple and unassuming. He might wear
a title like Sir William Van Horne. Sir
Thomas Shaughnessey and Sir William
Mackenzie, but 1t is not to his taste. He
declined a knighthood and a dictatorship
in Canada's greatest bank in the same
week.
One ambition of Mr.. Hays remains un-
satisfied. but 1t Is in stght-that is, to run
the trains Of the Grand Trunk railway
into the city of Boston over his own
tracks. They reach the Atlantic ocean
at Portland and Long Island sound
at New London; they will be laid into the
center of the business district OF Prov