The farmer and mechanic., 1915-09-14
WILLIAM VAN HORNE
RAIL WAY MAN, DIES


continental railroad aeveloprncnt !r
Canada. died today ln thn E.H4l Nlt-
toria Hospital mere ,.ft,r 4 serious
illness of NOR" th4u t~o weeks du-
ration
Sir William had nreu If fan.ra
! health for i uum5..r II y-.r and ot
! August upon the urgent recon-
mendat!un II attending doctors h..
was operated on for abdomius1 ahSce~s
| which WAS immediately p~rforn~d
tie rallied 1ud his condition wa9 re-
! yAtcd satisfactory Continued IltI-
| proNement Was recorded untl last
/ NedneSdaN. when has temperature,
| suddenly began - rise ANA ms app.-
ute tailed. several hours before ms
death II Vas announced tnat alI hop-
Tor his recovery had been abandoned
and that his death was matter II
hours He died at 2:l0 D. m
Nite III Bcded"
Lady Van IIorra. her ~oi. dauga-
ter ana granddaughter Mere present
at the bedside when death came sir
William Vas conscious just before TIM
end and bade farewell to h.4 f..ni,
Sir William rose from the foot d,
The ladder to wealth and famc as ou,
q! the so-called empire huilders or
Canada. .Althou-h he WAS born I'm the
United States in Nill couutv I'M Fch-
ruary 3, 1913, and gained railway ox-
periencc through many Years Couucc-
ton With railroads in the Central and
Western United states il wa> after
his moving TO Canada and becoming
general manager of the Canadian Pa
q c.f" Railway in 1892 that H. achieved
his most notable triumph hy pushing
the railway t. completion across the
! contincnt
, Pioneer Hai!roat!Er.
? All the rest Of his active life he was
one If the heroes Of the Canalian-
, PacifiC, being vice -preSIdent from :
, TO lSSS. president from lNNS t. IS9|
I and chairman of the board of Glrcc-
: tors from 1899 to 1910.
: Sir William was the son Of Corne-
: Illus COvenhoNen Nan Horne Wh,
was 4 lawyer At Joliet. III. The doatl
Of his father LETT young Van Horn'
to fight the battle Of life when he Wa
= only thirteen years of age 1t appear
y he was fascinated from the first with
a the life Of a railway man, for his frs
II lob was in the railroad yards. II
I: soon afterWard becam" = telegraph
q operator for the Illinois Central. an'
!, his strides ahead in various capacitie
II with the Michigan Central ItailWa.
a and the Chicago ana Alton brough
: him up to his first important eXecu
q tive position as general Supcrintend
ent Of the st. Louis Kansas City an
d Northern in 1872. Before going t
& Canada he also served as genera
| VI
q Railway and general superintendent
E of the Chicago and Alton and tn
Chicago, Milwaukee and st Paul.
Hartman Of Canada.
lie superintended the extension Q
: the Canadian Pacific 10 the western
= coast, and was present at the drlNln
Of the last spike on November Z, hS,
The total mileage which later cam
under his control was over $500. II
ha nh ! 4r
n man" Of Canada.
le Aside from his fame as rai!roa
in builder Sir William became a mas
N ter Of finance and was often pointe
or out as one Of the score Of men VII
is formed the foundation Of Canada
of money He was interested as an of
Ger or director Of a large number 2
corporations in Canada. the Unite
States and Cuba. In the latter plaC
he formed the cuba Railway COR
pany with a capital Of $S,00o.00o.
~ lie was knighted i Queen Victor
~ lin May. 1904 III recognition of las XII
/, markable work in Canada. Wnlch lf
ne cluded not only his railway and j
- dustrial interest. but scmi-public sel
y. vice aS 4 governor of NcGIll TINKER
ne sity, the Royal Victoria Hospital an
q numerous ether institutions and -
lt table contribution t. tn" Canada
lld store Of art treasure. The latte
which filled his mansion in Montre.
~ included paintings ~ many of tf
old masters and collections Of ia p5
he nese art objects which altogether rel
~ resent a fortune
- During the advocacy III 1911 of i.
m ciprocitv between the United Stat
le1 and Canada, Mr. Van Horne was col
dd spicuous az one of those who opTos.
10 the idea one of the ILLUSTRATION
with which he drove home his poi
was this.