The Washington herald., 1914-04-15
HISTORY BUILDERS.
When Public Recognition Came to a
Great Railroad Promoter.

| (Wrtten Expressly for The Herald-)
BY DIR. 4. j. EDWARDS.
my acquaintance with E. II. Harri-
man-we used to call him Ned-began
many years ago when We were both
young men and members OF baseball
club which used to play on Saturday
| afternoons on a Staten Island baseball
field" said the late Charles Finney Cox
for many years treasurer Of all the
Vanderbilt lines that run west OF Buff
! falo-to me shortly after Mr.. Harri-
mans death.
| Even ut that time Hartman was
noticeable among the young men for
his freedom from vanity and self-conceit.
He was tremendously in earnest and
hated to lose a game, but he was sin
gularly modest It used to occur to me
that he never took time to think about
/ himself.
"Afterward, when Mr.. Hartman began
| to gain national recognition, i occasion
ally met him and always noticed that he
was still without any sense Of self-con-
| seriousness or any manner which sug-
gested seif-conceit. although he was i'm
perious. dogmatic and arbitrary.
II was speaking to one Of Mr.. Harri-
mans intimate friends Of this character
istic just after he sailed for Europe on
what was to be his last trip. This man
told me that a personal friend OF his,
who was also a personal although not
business associate Of Mr.. Hartman.
spoke to him one day about the delay
| in recognizing his ability and his achieve
! ments. He said to Mr.. Hartman that
he was well past fifty years OF age
before the public had begun to notice
that a man OF the name of Hartman
was doing great things. A good many
men had gained notoriety and some had
secured large regulations who were
| younger than Mr.. Harriplan and had
gained these regulations while he was
still obscure.
Mr.. Hartman said in reply: Per
sonally, am rather glad of 1t. think
great notoriety tends to make a man
self-conscious. II a man is satisfied
with what he is doing. that ought to be
all the recognition he has a right to
seek
| But I suppose the reason for the
late recognition OF which you speak Is
the fact that 1 was brought up in New
York City. That is one Of the hardest
places for a man to gain such reputa-
| ton as is followed by the constant print
ing Of his name in the newspapers.
| There are actors and writers OF books
and politicians who get early into the
newspapers. but that is not true OF the
business men of New York. The reason
is not far to seek. New York is so big
city and there are so many very able
men in the city who do their work quietly
that 1t rarely happens that one OF them
comes out into the limelight.
Il suppose IL l had been born some
where west OF the Missouri River and
had undertaken railroad work out there
would speedily have discovered that
people were talking about me; and II
was, in fact. not until took hold Of
the Union Pacific Railroad and iden-
titled myself with the work OF recon-
structins that system that I began to
observe that the newspapers were talk
! ing about me. / have never given the
matter any particular thought. but now
! that you have spoken OF 1t I presume
| that had to go away from New York
and grow up with the country elsewhere
TO make my name known 10 the public I"
Copyright. 1914. by E ]. Edwards AL nights re-
ssryed.l
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell AN
Amusing Anecdote Of Senator David b.
Hill "