The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-16
GREAT INTEREST IN
WAITE APPOINTMENT
TO POST At DAYTON
Formerly Superintendent of
This Division of the Sea-
board Air Line and
Resided Here
BY CLYDE w. ENNIS.

The announcement that Henry NJ.
Waite, formerly of Birmingham, had been
chosen general manager of Dayton o.,
has aroused considerable interest In Bir-
mingham owing to the fact that Mr..
Waite was widely known here during his
connection with the Seaboard Air Line
railway. Mr. Waite will assume charge of
his duties January 1. It is said to be the
first time that such an experiment has
been tried by any city in the United
States and on this account the work OF
Mr.. Waite will be the more closely
watched.
He was superintendent of the Seaboard
Air Line under the administration of w.
A. Garrett and remained here for some
time He is widely known all over this di-
vision and with his men there has never
been superintendent or any official
more popular. Mr.. Waite socially was a
great success in Birmingham. He and
Rick Woodward of this city and L. Sc
vier were very warm personal friends.
Goethals Forced to Decline
The selection of Mr.. Waite, 1t is an
nounced, was made after Col. George w.
Goethals, of Panama canal fame, was
forced by United States army require
ments to refuse the work. When he was
suggested as an applicant the country
was interested in the experiment that was
being considered.
The work Mr.. Waite is to take up will
be under a commission form of govern
ment with five members, to whom he will
be responsible. However he will be in
charge of the whole municipal operations,
just as the general manager of the rail-
roads of the country are in charge of such
properties. In Cincinnati paper the fol-
lowing tribute from Mayor Hunt is found
Tribute by Hunt
mo better choice could have been made
Tor the post" said Mayor Hunt when in
formed of Mr.. Waitet appointment. "EIe
is not only a wonderful organizer, but also
great executive, two qualities which he
demonstrated to a marked degree during
the two years he has been identified with
the present city administration. Waite
also possesses remarkable personal mag
netism which insure unqualified loyalty
from his subordinates, trait very essen
tial to a position he has been called upon
to fill.
During his two years service for the
city he has placed the city engineers de-
ticult to maintain and which has won the
highest encomiums from experts in that
profession throughout the country. Tho
street Improvements and other construc-
tion work which he has undertaken for
city attest; his ability as an engineering
expert of the highest order, and his place
will be hard to fll."
Waite is a graduate of the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology at Boston.
Took Up Railroad Work
After leaving Tech he obtained a DO
stion in an engineering capacity with the
Big Four railroad at Indianapolis Subse-
quently he had charge of bridge construc-
ton work for the Cincinnati division .;
the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas
Pacific railroad, lessee of the Cincinna Il
Southern, under General Manager w. a.
Garrett, with headquarters at Lexington,
Ky. He later was promoted to the post of
superintendent of maintenance of way
for the same division of the road. A SINH
lar post also was held by him on the
Chattanooga division of the road.
When Mr. Garrett became vice president
of the Seaboard Air Line Mr. Waite was
appointed superintendent of the Atlanta
and Birmingham division of that road. A
few years ago Mr. Waite was elected vice
president and chief engineer of the
Clnchfleld Coal company, at Dante, Va
lie held this post when he was prevailed
upon to accept the post of city engineer
by Mayor Hunt of Cincinnati at salary
of $4,000 year.
Mr.. Waite is brother of Attorney NJ
r.. Waite and a grandson of former Chief
Justice Waite of the United States SUI
preme court