The Washington herald., 1916-07-29
SEEN AND HEARD
BY GEORGE MINER

new YORK, July 28.-The most widely known
man north of the forty ninth parallel is unques-
tionabiy Col George Hamm, of Montreal and
the Canadian Pacific Railway. Wherever the
C. P. r. is in evidence there also at one time
or another is George Hamm.
He travels and makes speeches at dinners
and argues with statesmen and tells stories in
hotel lobbies and buys meals or drinks for
anybody and always is good natured, and it's
all for the c. P R.
That railroad is his very life and soul His
whole existence is wrapped up in it. He even
dreams about it and, if | remember Alright, he
has made more than 500 after-dinner speeches
that had to do more or less with the G. P. A.
He came down to New York the other day.
I That's nothing unusual as he comes down on an
average OF at least once a month and has been
doing it for twenty years. The odd thing is
that when he came down recently it was the
first time he had ever the beauties of the
Hudson River Never before had he enjoyed
the gories of the Highlands, although he has
been through them several hundred times.
you see," said Col. Hamm when | met him
in the lobby of the Waldorf, every single time
have come down from Montreal | have taken
a sleeper and arrived in New York at o'clock
IN the morning, and of went by the
Highlands when it pitch dark and | was
asleep. Also whenever | have gone from New
York to Montreal | have always taken the
sleeper and missed seeing the picturesque
part OF the Hudson for the same reason. You
see, | always travel by sleeper so as to save
business hours. There is scenery interests
me as much the furnishings of a customers
office
But the other day realized that it was a
shame the way | had been overlooking this
Hudson River region. | resolved to reform right
and cIa D,,IIr b,,.
on the Albany day boat and give this Highland
allurement the once over"
Did you?" l asked
"Yes"
How did you enjoy it,"
"Oh very much"
Its fine the Rhine scenery, is it not?'
well, don't know about that"
"Why not? You have been down the Rhine
have you not?"
"Oh, yes, several times"
well, then, why can't you compare them,'
Because, you see, I've never seen the High
lands"
"Whatta you mean by that? Didn't you just
tell me that you came down on the Albany
day boat and enjoyed the trip through the High
lands very much?"
Yes, that's right, but, you see, I can't keep
awake when l travel and so | took stateroom
and slept all the way through them, and slept
well, too Yes, enjoyed the trip through them
very much"
Col Hamm tells me that the c. P A. is
doing more business than it has ever done
in its existence. This is very largely due to the
war, as its contracts for Transporting troops and
hauling munitions and army supplies generally
have run into enormous sums.
He also told me that some of the Canadian
Pacifc's costly and fine hotels were at last pay
ing.
we have had $4,000 people at Lake Louise, -
said he, "and 10000 at Banff. OF course that
means big profit. It's fact, too, that those
mIlon-dollar hotels at Winnipeg and Calgary
have really got so that they pay expenses Be-
lieve me the time is not far distant when that
whole elaborate hotel system will be on pay
ing basis. Everybody has been calling them
wastetul extravaganza, | know. and saying that
they arc fifty years too soon, but you just watch
out There are things moving up in Canada
besides the clock hands"
One popularity of Col Hamm is that he
always wears the same suit of clothes. Nobody
can remember having seen him in the daytime
when he didn't have on a gray lounge suit and
gray slouch hat. Every night, when he is not
travelling, he puts dress suit