The Washington herald., 1912-10-20
FROM NIGHT WATCIIMAN TO RAILROAD
PRESIDENT RISE OF WILLIAM H. CANNIFF
Head Of Nickel Plate Says that Being Satisfied with
the Job at Hand Is Responsible for
His Success
By JAMES D. MORROW.

: u By JAMES y. MORROW.
Cleveland, Oct IA corpulent mar
with ioose-hanging and crinkly side
whiskers, came to the platform of hi
own special car. when the long lemon
colored train on which he was journey
ing from New York to Chicago. stSppe
in Cleveland. He wanted to nmoer hi
pudgy legs and look over his posyessioni
Just then q thin man and q rather sal
low man. somewhat dandifled In dresa
and carrying q bundle Of newspapers un
der his left arm-he always carried then
appeared at the bottom Of the car step
and said something.
The fat traveller, 50 history runs, look
ed savagely down and replied: The pub
lie be damned"
So originated a phrase that has embalm
ed itself in the denunciatory literature o
monopoly and special privilege. The per
son decorated with the crimpy side-whisk
ers was William Henry Vanderbilt. Th'
lean and leathery man was Maurice Per
kins. reporter. and an odd but kindl,
character. Afterward. when the foolish
ness OF his spoken words was pressed
upon his notice, Vanderbilt, following 9
practice. usual even among moralists
disputed the accuracy Of the quotation
Though Perkins smoked many heavy
cigars every day and consumed astonish'
ing quantities of black coffee. his asso'
ciates believed that his hearing was good
and that he was honest Vanderbilt. sud
denly asked about the Nickel Plate, q
streak Of rust across a mortgage, he
then considered It. snorted out q senti.
ment that was unethical. profane. and In
furious. Would he operate his new rail.
road to the limit OF its capacity and
thereby. competing with the Lake Shore,
his other and greater property. give the
Vn,rk lsN kHatv Rv,HP P01@ ND b.
usufruct OF his double ownership? It was
a pertinent question. Perkins and Van
derbilt are dead. but their words live
and go marching on and occasionally
give tang and direction to Congressional
and other uplifting eloQuence.
How Brice BI1hed Vanderbilt.
The New York, Chicago and st. Louis
Railroad. known from the nrst as the
Nickel Plate. and conceived in iniquity.
Vanderbilt always declared. was built in
thirteen months. Twenty thousand men
were engaged in the work. The three
DIVISIONS were completed simultaneously.
1t cost s., 100000 to put the tracks through
this city. over high bridges and across
seavy masonry. The line, 45 miles long.
running from Buffalo to Grand Crossing.
in the suburbs of Chicago. was opened
in its entirety on October q. 1852. All
Oh tne STATIONS Deen
One hundred and eighty locomotives and
5000 freight cars had come from the shops
and were ready to haul the trafiic that
was to be lured and bidden away from
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern.
which was then as it is now the richest
property in the great Vanderbilt system.
Bankers in New York supplied the
money. Contractors in Chicago perform
ed the work of construction. Calvin S.
Brice. a sharp lawyer in Ohio. obtained
the right of way and did the bluffing and
prognosticating. Vanderbilt sneered at
what he called a blackmailer's concoc-
tion and then paid Stevenson Burke. an
attorney in Cleveland, a fee Of $4,000 for
buying the property. The syndicate that
built the road would have gone into
bankruptcy collectively and separately. SO
spectators said later. had Vanderbilt
stood pat and let the auctioneer do his
duty. As it turned out. the syndicate
made a profit OF s12.ooO.00o And Brice.
his once lean pockets full Of money, was
elected to the United States Senate.
The Vanderblts have invariably chosen
one of their ablest and shrewdest man.
ayers to operate the Nickel Plate. Will
lam Henry Canniff is now president of
the company. His shares. once hardly
salable. are paying dividends: his rev.
enues amount to more than $u, "a, 900
year. At the age Of sixty-fve. he is still
doing his work with vigor and enthusi-
asm. In some respects. he Is the most
interesting railroad man in the United
States. His unwrinkled face does not
show 1t. but he goes back to the day
when locomotives and cars ran on tracks
made Of wooden sleepers and fiat pieces Of
iron-on strap-rails. as they were de-
scribed, in the period concident with the
civil war.
He Studied Capital and Labor.
trim. gray man and fashionably
dressed. Mr.. Cannin has a modern and
attractive personality. His manner is
genial and natural. To his profound
knowledge of transportation must be
added a comprehension Of human char
acter. He reads. observes and thinks.
Having studied and mingled with man
kind. he knows and. consequently, exalts
the present age. He lives to-day. Yes
terday Is only important as q record and
for its experiences. The liberty of the
idealist. he believes. Is on the way. Gen.
erations are getting better as they come
and 60. He thinks. however. that the |
contest between capital and labor 10 grow- |
ing all the while. but will be settled ulti- |
mately.
MY endeavor," he told me. ''is to un- |
derstand the fundamental principles and
motives governing human actions and |
thereby be enabled to help bring about |
the harmonious relations that should |
exist between employer and employe."
Such q doctrine and such q purpose, |
coming from q potential representative Of
big business" Is full Of meaning. why
should not an engineer" he asked me,
"or conductor. or q brakeman, or the
worker along the tracks. call 1t our
roadT He gets his living out Of 1t and
invests his skill and strength in its opera
tion. The shareholder calls II our road
though he does no work with his hands
but only with his money. Why shouldn't /
It be our factory our store or our
coal miner When It il, there Will be
more profit and happiness for everybody
In the country"
The year that Commodore Vanderbilt
made his first important purchase of
railroad stocks, Mr.. Canniff, then q boy
Of sixteen. was employed as q night
at the same age, had owned
\ ferryboat In which he carried farm
ers and their produce from Staten Is
and to New York City. When eighteen.
ne owned two boats and was captain
,f another. He ran q vessel for twelve !,
years between New York and New Bruns-
wick. N. J.. standing on the bridge him.
'elf. . commanding figure. with an ea&le-
ike nose and short. woolly side-whiskers.
william Henry Vanderbilt. who s1ve
Maurice Perkins the indiscreet sentiment
bout the public, was born during this
,eriod.
Began ~ . NisAt WATERMAN.
The point 10 that M. Cannin, q busy