The Washington herald., 1912-07-21
HEAD OF BIG STEAMSHIP COMPANY s
PRACTICES HUMAN SIDE OF BUSINESS
Harry CouIby, the ''Old Man" Of Steel Cor.
poraion's Boat Line, Believes in Giving
Every Man Equal Opportunity.
b. JAMEs 3. MORROW.

By JAMES p. MORROW.
Cleveland. July eo.-Men. siganti'
sary than machinery. There is hope
perhaps there is a happy revoiution-ii
the discovery. The human side Of busi
ness" as he phrases II, likewise as h
practices 1t. has made Harry couiby on'
of the most interesting, original, and
influential personalities in the unitet
States
Nominaily, he is president Of the greai
Pittsburg Steamship Company, which Il
the lake arm of the United States Stee
Corporation. In reality he is q philoso-
pher and a scientist in the rough domain
Of commerce and industry.
To Mr.. Coulby, the deck hand. the
teamster, and the hodcarrier. have more
than arms and hands with which tc
work. They have hearts that feel and
heads that think I'VE must remember.
he said to me, that it hurts the fireman
in the boiler room just as much to have
his leg cut on as It does the captain OF
the ship to have his own leg amputated
The brakeman on the freight train
child or his wife as does the owner OF
the road who suffers a similar ahiic-
ton"
Called Into Fight.
And yet Mr.. couIby is q driving and
Unconditional man. He would never say
so. but eight years ago, when the crews
of the Steel Corporations ore steamer.
were full Of fight and matters were tan
gled and very bad, he was chosen to
reorganize the feet. A weakling would
aax hoan ra1led n task The
Steel Corporation believed In Mr..
Coulby's energy and skill He Is tall
and g-shouldered. and has a strong but
kindly face. Physically and intellectu-
ally, he was thought to be the one man
on the Great Lakes to hold and admin
lister the difficult and hazardous place.
He has done more. He has originated
and developed policy which. II carried
out everywhere-on land and water, In
mines. mills, stores, and offices-will in
crease the happiness and prosperity OF
all classes of American labor, as well
as their efficiency.
A sentence or two about the man
himself will reveal the foundations or
Mr.. Couby's character. He is worth
studying, not because he is brilliantly
managing lo2 ships and 200 sailors. Of
fce men, and dock workers, but for a
higher reason. Coming to Cleveland
from England when he was twenty
years old, he answered a newspaper ad-
vertisement and was employed by John
Hay as stenographer. Hay, later Sec
retary of State in the Cabinets OF Nc
Kinley and Roosevelt, was then writing
his Life of Abraham Lincoln"
Il went with Col Hay to washington.
where he agreed to get me an N.soo
cIerkship in the government" Mr.. Coul-
by said. Samuel Mather. who was Col
Hays -brother-in-law, promised me a
$500 place in his iron ore offices at Cleve-
land. Col Hay offered me short lad
der; Mr.. Mather a long one. In time L
worked myself into a partnership with
Mr.. Mather. Nobody helped me. 1
didn't want help. All that / hoped for
was an opportunity. And that Is
enough for anybody, especially in the
tury, where and when the chances Tor
young men are better than any time
since Christopher Columbus discovered
America We read that there are more
$4,000 jobs than men to nil them. Inc
statement is true, absolutely"
Is Called the "The Old Man."
When, in 1904, the Steel Corporation
sought out Mr.. CouIby and asked his
help, he was a wealthy citizen OF Cleve-
land and doing a large business. He
Il
could not afford" he told me, ito give
all of my time to the affairs of other
people"
Common sailors, captains, mates. and
clerks call him 'the old man." but al
ways with respect and admiration. He
is forty-seven years old. Some of his
captains are sixty-five. But he Is "the
old man" on all his ships and In each
Of his offices-"the. old man who gives
every other man a square deal. but no
favors, In matters OF business. Oppor-
tunity is the keyword Of his policy. 1t
includes everything. Likewise 1t is the
word that causes his brown eyes to
flash with enthusiasm and his reluctant
speech to grow animated. I wanted q
frame of facts in which to put his meth
DDS OF dealing with men, and so asked
him about the steamship company.
''The United States Steel Corporation"
he said. ...took over the vessels Of the
various companies which 1t purchased In
the year 1901 That was the beginning
of its present fleet. The Steel Corpora
ton, as it is commonly known, transports
is own ore; largely in It's own ships,
from Lake Superior to the south shore
of Lake Erie. and then carries the ore
over its own railroad to its own fur
naces In Western Pennsylvania. 1t has
sold twenty-nine small vessels since 1901
and has built twenty-four large ones at
, cost of about $4,000 each. The new
ships were paid for in cash out Of the
Of the corporation. At present
he feet consists Of 1o2 vessels. They
will bring down 23,0oo,o0o tons Of ore
his season, and viii take up the Lakes
about 100000 tons Of coal for our own
Use. The fleet transports about 6s per
.ent Of our ore supply. The rest Is carried
n chartered ships We are now handling
100000 tons Of ore a week.
A Huge Cargo Of Ore.
"a large ship sails eleven miles an hour |
when loaded and twelve miles in bal |
asst. The ballast is water-Sooo tons to |
he ship-and Is carried between the ves-
els double sides and bottom. Thus nav
cation in all kinds of weather is made |
afe and comfortable. Our Class A ships |
re 600 feet long, IS feet wide, and 20 |
eet deep. One Of them has just de-
ivered a cargo of more than 1900 gross /
ons. gross ton is 2,24o pounds Put |
n another way, the cargo would have
Illed 800 railroad cars. II was equal
n weight to $4,000 bushels OF corn or
o 44s.0oo bushels of wheat The aver
ge yield Of corn Is twenty-five bushels
o the acre; Of wheat twelve bushels.
n other words. It would have taken a
3. .20o-acre corn field or a S7,s3S-acre
Fheat field to have loaded the vessel.
"our best ships sail 6o0oo miles during
he season. -s-'-> ro,'nd trips for an ocean
ner is a good years work The dis
ance covered is also $1,000 miles But
he length Of our season Is only 20 days.
'cean liners lose time in loading and
nloading. We don't. Last year we I'M
,aded $40 tons of ore in three hours