The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-06-10
/ GREAT ENGINEER.
NAN WHO WILL BUILD RAIL.
ROADS IN ALASKA,
Lnseenant Mears Trained Under
"Sin" Hni-Enlissel In Army as
. PSlvate Then Won Commission.

hsvSS0 AbuCu WOo NOIUI016SlOUs
(Ashnan Brown. In the Washington
starr
Lieut.. Frederick Msars, u. 8. A..
has been intrustcd with an engineer
ing task Of remarkable possibilities,
the locating and building Of the gov
srnmsnSs new $4,000. 900 railroad
In Alaska.
Thirty-six years old. lean. wiry,
bronsed. . CLINT of red In his hair
and what would be freckles on his
face if they could show through, Lieut..
Aears physically is just the man to
pose for . picture Of the American
pioneer engineer.
Out Of the tropic jungle Of Panama.
whore he has been doing world-fa-
nous work. he was suddenly yanked
the other day. told Of his new job
and already he is on the way to Alas
ka 60 begin. 1t ID to be q historic
undertaking. Next to the construc-
tion Of the Panama Canal itself. 1t Is
the biggest thing In transportation
the government ever has attempted.
How other young engineers must envy
himi
Fsllow-members with him-the
three composing the entire organiza-
AA
mission are: william c. Edes Of San
Francisco. also lean and weather
beaten. who for 20 years has been To-
eating and building railroads In the
mountains OF California and contigu-
ous states for the Southern Pacific
and the Santa Fe railroads. and who
looks a II he was good for 20 years
more Of such strenuous activity. and
Thomas n. Riggs. Jr.. who won fame
st the head Of the Alaska Canadian
boundary survey work.
Lieut.. Asars was born In the army
In the Fourth Infantry. Grants old
regiment. to bs exact. The place Of
this nativity. though that ID q matter
% minor importance TO the ever
wandering army folk, was Fort Oma-
M. The date was May 26. 1873.
u wa1 two years after Clusters dis
astsr. The Nsz Percs War was just
ssncludsd. but the frontier was still
turbulent with Indians on the warpath
ana the Fourth was never at rest very
long. Fort Omaha was pretty far
into the wilderness In those days.
\ Young Mears spent his childhood In
following the frontier. In 1892 the
family was at Fort Spokane when
ne father. Lieut.. Col. Frederick
Msars. . distinguished soldier, died.
Later the son was sent to Shattuck
Military School. Fairbault. Mimi.
frsm which institution he was grad
uatsd In 1897 and became q civil en-
ginssr.
MeArs started az q rodman In q
party laying cot the Park Rapids
and Lssch Lake Railroad. q feeder
for the Great Northern Railway In
Ainnssota- John r. Stevens. chief
engineer Of the Great Northern. at
serward chief engineer OF the Pana-
ma Canal. advanced Mears to be a
FUN engineer and gave him charge Of
q party Of his own.
"Jim" Hill about that time was
building two branch roads from his
main line In Idaho up across the In
tsrnational border to reach coal fields
and gold mining districts in British
Columbia and Alberta. To the KOO-
tsnia valley line. one Of these.
stevens sent the STRIPPING engineer
and there he began his career Of
planning and directing engineering
vork.
when the Spanish War broke out.
hears was In charge Of constructing
. section OF the Bedlington and Nelson
railroad. He felt the call Of the
army. but waited until he finished the
railroad work. Then he enlisted. in
1850. N q private at 313 month
and went to the Philippines. where
he fought In Company X. Third In
fantry. BY February. 1901. he had
won . commission an second lieuten-
ant and entered the Fifth Cavalry. lie
graduated In 1904 at the Leaven-
worth (kan.) Army school and took
an advanced course In the Stan Col
lAGs.
Having four months leave. he
spent the time as engineer Of crew
constructing q branch Of the Rock
Island In Arkansas. John X. Stevens.
In 1905. called him to Panama az
track foreman Of the Panama Rail-
road. soon promoting him to assist