The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-10-03

The following sketch or the new
president of the Seaboard Air Line
Railway. whose tracks cover two
thirds of Florida, will be of interest to
our readers.
w j. Harahan, the new president of
the Seaboard Air Line Railway Is a
product of the South Born in the
South and having spent three-fourths
of his life here, he won his way from
an apprentice boy in the Louisville and
Nashville shops to high responsibilities
in railroad work and came under the
eyes of great masters of railroad op-
erations like Hartman with the newt
able result of removal to broader ac-
tivities. He leaves the vice presidency
OF the Erie Railroad Company in the
prime of life to return South thorough
ly trained in the school of experience,
physically and mentally fit to take
charge of a great railroad property
such as the Seaboard.
S. Davies Warfield, the Baltimore fl
nancier. in June last, when he became
the dominant factor in the manage
ment of the Seaboard system, through
the purchase by himself and associates
of a large block of Seaboard stocks,
announced a policy for this property
marking a new epoch in the railroad
affairs of the South. \ Marylander by
birth, coming from distinguished
family of that state long identified
with the development of the South, Mr.
Warfield as chairman of the receivers
Of the Seaboard and active In the sue
cessful rehabilitation and reorganiZa-
ton of the property, became convinced
that the growth of the South had
reached a stage where ownership in an
extensive railway system such as the
Seaboard, with men of the South in the
management to voice the needs of this
section, was a logical and timely need
and that the South was rich enough in
men and money to successfully carry
out such a plan This was the moving
thing in the purchase of Seaboard
stocks by the Warfield syndicate. and,
as announced at the time, the system
will be operated from and in the South,
with representative business men on
it's directory from the states which it
traverses. AS Mr. Warfield puts it.
this means straight out independence
of The Seaboard and a policy of inten-
sive development of the territory
which it serves. When Mr.. n. s. Mel
drum of New York, president OF the
Seaboard, asked to be relieved of the
duties of his office in order to devote
his attention to other business inter-
ests, ii followed, as expressed by Mr..
Warfield. in the choice of his successor
that, "all things being equal, prefer
ence would be given to a Southern
man." Following a careful survey of
about a dozen of the most promising
railroad officials of the country, the
choice fell upon W. ]. Harahan as the
one man for the place. and he happily
proved to be a Southern man.
The new era in the affairs of the
Seaboard launched with the election OF
President Harahan Is to be backed by
ample capital as well as talent, as Mr..
Warfeld. through the syndicate form
ed by him has enlarged the financial
connections of the railroad, insuring
| the procuring of money for its de-
| velopment with resultant benefits to
| the territory it serves and to its Sc
curity holders. Some leading Eastern
! bankers. recognizing the wisdom of
the new policy in the property, joined
tho Warheld syndicate and made sub
stantial personal investments in Sea-
board securities.
The new president of the Seaboard
was born al Nashville, Tenn, on De-
cember 6. 1867, being the son of Mr..
| L.
man, whose life was spent in the de-
velopment of the South. His earliest
recollections were in connection with
| the railroad business and his inclina-
tions and sentiments were in that di
rection from his birth In fact, he
/ learned to read from the time card
rather than the primer. His first work
was during vacation season, beginning
| in 1881, in the position of office boy in
/ the superintendent's office of the
| Louisville and Nashville Railroad at
| New Orleans, La. In 1884 he went to
| work in the Louisville and Nashville
shops at Nashville, KY, learning the
trade of machinist, thus beginning his
railroad career at the bottom. In 1886
Mr.. Harahan went into the Louisville
and Nashville's engineering depart
ment and remained in that department
until 1892, having held the position of
chairman, rodman, levelman, resident
engineer on construction and assistant
engineer maintenance of way, Louis
willie and Nashville: engineer mainten-
ance OF way of the Chesapeake and
Ohio railroad, and engineer in charge
of bridges of the Baltimore and Ohio
Southwestern Railroad. In 1892 he
entered the operating department OF
the Illinois Central and was success
sively trainmaster. assistant superin-
tendent. superintendent. chief engineer
assistant general manager. general
manager and vice president. He left
the Illinois Central in 1907 to go with
the Erie Railroad
In his relations with the public and
the public authorities, Mr.. Harahar
has been conspicuously successful. due
to the fact that he is a thoughtful
student of the attitude of the people
and their representatives toward rail-
roads. He has observed the tendency
on the part OF public thought toward:
regulation OF railroads and has fell
that as long as the acce ptance of reg
ulation was necessary, that the rail
!, roads should bow gracefully to it and
advance towards solution of th'
question by helpful cooperation rathe
than by obstructive tactics, which al