The Washington herald., 1914-06-13
HISTORY BUILDERS.
How II All Depended on What Uncle
John Said.

written Expressly for The Herald)
BY DIR. z. J. EDwARDs.
Twenty-Five or thirty years ago. when
was undertaking that great work of ex-
pansion which subsequently, gave to II
control Of the railroad situation north Of
Boston, In New Hampshire, In Maine,
and in part Of Vermont. was associ-
ated with some Of those who were work
ing out important details" said Asa Pot
ter, formerly q banker Of Boston and
now q citizen Of New York.
In view Of the recent difnculties in
the New England railroad situation in
which the Boston and Maine Railroad
system was involved. have often
thought Of some Of those experiences
which / met with when the work Of
consolidation was In progress.
''One incident comes with special force
to my mind in view of the peculiar prom
inence one of those who were associated
with the transaction afterward gained.
The late Frank Jones. who at one time
was very prominent as a Democratic pol
itician. and a man of whom Grover
Cleveland became very fond. was for
some years president of the Boston and
Maine. He was himself a quaint char
acter, who began life as a tin peddler. and
who became one Of the great leaders of
affairs m the State of New Hampshire.
He also served for q time as member of
Congress, gaining thereby a unique repu-
tation as having been the only Demo-
crat who had been sent by New Hamp-
shire to Congress for many years.
Mr.. Jones had called a meeting Of the
directors Of the Boston and Maine for the
purpose Of considering q plan of leasing
railroad or of buying its control I
was present at that meeting There was
very exciting discussion. Most Of the
directors were clear-headed and strong
minded men. Some of them favored the
proposition that stock control should be
secured through purchase. while others
thought the better way was to lease the
road. One or two directors did not favor
the proposition from any point of view.
Mr.. Jones said nothing. but listened
intently to the discussion. He knew that
the directors would give him practically
unanimous support in whatever decision
he might reach.
AT last he said: Well. now everybody
has had chance to say what he thinks
about this proposition / haven't said
anything yet because I haven't made up
my mind what Is best to do. / am going
TO send for Uncle John. We will have a
meeting in the course of two or three
udys, ana i VIII nave Uncle JOhn mere TO
look over the proposition. Whatever he
says I shall agree to-
Two or three days later. another meet
ing was held. and Uncle John was there
He was a plain, farmer-like man who
constantly rubbed his hands over his
chin or over his cheeks or through his
hair. He wore a fur cap made out of
muskrat skins He listened patiently for
two or three hours to all that was said.
saying nothing himself At last Mr.
Jones said to him: Well. Uncle John.
what do you think
Uncle John ran his fingers through
his hair, stroked his chin. and then said
Well. think thuswise.' And he went on
TO explain what he meant by Ihuswise
When he had finished, Mr.. Jones said: I
accept Uncle Johns thuswise opinion
In that way the proposition was deter
mined.
Years later. when ! read a novel by
Winston Churchill in which he depicted
famous New Hampshire boss I rec
ognized under the assumed name-and so
did everybody else who knew the man
Frank Jones' Uncle John
tCopyrght 1914, by Z. J. Edwards All rights
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