The Washington times., 1915-01-28
Charles 1. Henry, Great. t.Grand-
daddy Of Rural Trolley Sys.
tenn, In Washington.
DOESN'T RUN "TRUE TO LIFE"
Looks No More Like Cartoons
Of Captains Of Industry Thaa
His Electric Cars.
BY KENDR1cK sCoFIELD.

ny AAAS&~DASASN VIVA AASA~o'
He IL the sreat-granddaddy Of the in
terurban electric railway.
From twin streaks Of rust along which
from time to time there ambfed leisure
ly mules drawing "bob-tailed" horse
cars over four and q half miles Of An
derson. Ind. streets in the early nine
ties. he conceived and established q
transportation system which today links
the commercial centers of q rural dis
trict traversed by 1.soo miles Of track
\ paying venture. the capitalization Of
which runs into the many millions.
He is Charles L, Henry. the first-n
to apply the adjective ''interurban", to
a traction system, and he is now in
Washington waiting to attend the meet
ing Of tho American Electric Railway
Association, In his capacity Of frst
vice president Of that organization.
Not True To Type.
Take all of your ideas as to what .
captain Of industry should be in per-
ronal appearance, drawn perhaps from
the cartoons Of the heavy-jowled al
dermanic type; then attempt to At
them to the appearance and personality
Of Charles L. Henry. and you will hnd
that hardly one Of them meets the real
facts In his case.
He is we'll below the medium in build.
ative hue and cut. His collar Is very
very low and out Of 1t rises q we'll
muscled neck, which supports kindly
face. broken with the fine lines left
there by commercial battles.
He 10 almost abnormally pale. and the
pallor.. accentuated by the thatch OF
white hair which crowns his head. 10 re-
lieved somewhat by the flash Of his dark
eyes which light up whenever he speaks
Of the Middle West. He always seems
just about to smile. and he carries bis
sixty-six years with an almost youthful
ughtness.
Born On . Farm.
Like many other men who have carved
fortunes from the Middle West, Charles
l.. Henry was born on a farm. 1t wa
In Hancock county. and there he re.
| ceivcd his early education in the CON-
| mon schools. He was graduated from
/ the Indiana University, in 1872. and took
up the practice Of law in Pendleton and
Anderson.
In 1891. Mr. Henry had acquired con.
outlying Anderson. and seeing in the
horse car line Of that center \ nucleus
upon which to build a public utility
which would improve his own holdings
even then. in vague way. appealed tc
him as basis upon which line be
| tween two rural centers might be es
| tablisted.
Twenty thousand dollars. borrowed
made him the owner of four miles o.
rusty ~ and 16-pound rails. some ram
shackle barns and six 12-foot 'bob-tail'
cars. together with the right Of way ant
franchise. and these two latter asset
were all which remained Of the origina
| fyirg 1t with 76-horsepower generator
Scheme Temporarily Abandoned.
When once the road was in opera
ton and showing a disposition to pay
MIR. Henrystraveled down into Missouri
where the lines Of Joplin. Carthage
and Webb City appealed to h!mAs be
ing ripe for interurbAn consolidation
But although he obtained an option Il
Carthage. he was unable to persuad
the railway owners OF the other cen
ters, and So the scheme for a Will
was abandoned, Mr.. Henry running TO
Congress. He was elected from tn
and served as member Of the Com
mittee on Foreign Affairs lmmediatel
before the Spanish American war.
A year before he left Congress. how
ever, the interurban railway idea agai
obsessed him. and he extended his rail-
way, which had grown from the oil
mule-car line, from Anderson to Alex
andria, a distance OF twelve miles. Thi
deal he again had to finance en- Dor
rowed capital. Middle Western bushes
men being doubtful Of the value OF tn
acheme to the extent OF refusing
purchase the bonds OF the new roat
but trusting Mr.. Henry sufficiently I
make him personal loans.
Six Miles Of Track Added.
So successful was this venture tina
the next year six miles Of track wa
added. linking Anderson to Summit