The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-30
The Greatness OF James J. HiII.

empire which stands rs his monument
to-day. Yet the mar himself was
than his work. He thought In
continents and populations. The sue
ccss which he achieved was n splen-
did illustration Of the tribute which
the human race pays 10 greatness.
In his presence one had the sense of
contact with a tremendous personal
force. He was n very great man.
Half the span of Mr.. HILLS life
had more than passed before he be-
came interested in railroad construc-
tion. With his entrance into TINT
stage OF his career he himself grew
ms rapidly as the network Of railways
which he helped To throw ncross the
enormous stretches of our own North
west and link 1t with the huge areas
Of his w native Canada. He began
to loom large In the public eye and
he o took his place among the men
who were leading an extraordinary
era of American expansion. He be
came Ms much AT home and rs much
n valued counsellor at the h%cadQuar-
prairics or In the businesses Of the
mountains whose barriers to the ex-
ploitation Of natures resources he did
so much To surmount and reduce.
The secret of the power which he
came to WELD is simple. lie identified
himself with the greatness and the
boundlcss destiny of the America in
the future Of which he always be-
lieved with mn invincihlc optimism
that permitted him to tolerate the oh.
stncles set In the way of progress by
ignorance, prejudice and greed. Like
many men Of his time. he built his
bridges 10 fortune MS he could In the
early days. but the breadth of his
understanding. the soundncss ~ his
Judgment in gauglng the country's
capacity for growth. justified in the
event all that he did with 50 much
indomitable determination.
In the later years Of his lifo, when
the task of building his railway en-.
pire was practically finished. he be
cnme n of the country's unofficial
elder statesmen. perhaps Tho mos.
valued and respected Of allthc rraCti-
cal advisers of the nation who turned
their attention To the questions pre-
scented by the use which the United
States was making and might make
of It's economic opportunities.
Two subjects absorbed him above
all things else. the necessity OF u CON
tinuous extension and Improvement
Of transportation facilities and the
equal necessity Of the useful ConScr-
walton Of natural resources. He was
always "A fighter and he Strove might
ily against the political stupidity
which has Increasingly hampcrcd rail
road development by the restrictions
of legislative enactment, and he bat
tied no less vigorously for II proper
appreciation Of the folly which has
devastated the forests, Quilted the
mines and robbed the soil to promote
an excessive urban industrinliSm.
He obtained his education ms no
went along with his work and he
came 10 have n remarkable grasp of
economic subjects particularly in their
relations 10 sound public policy. and
IN the growing frequency of his public
utternnces on these subjects In tho
last decade he presented them in N"
light Of the sccr's vision with which
he was endowed. His addresses on
the conservation Of capital deserve 70
be studied by every voter,
Not n little of his prestige was w
ing to the way In which his essential
genius, his mastery of details ms well
as Of principles. manifested itself in
speech. II" talked within the range
of every day comprehension and do
livcrcd volumes Of truth in n sentence
Of e~pigrnmmatlc common sense. TIo
was recently quoted ms having said
when asked about the prospects for
peace in Europe; "Thc war viii end
when somebody Is licked. and some
body will have to be licked before Il
will end" lie hit or chapters Of
economic and political history in
such phrases ms the ghost dancing
by which he described the season OF
high finance that ran It's brief course
shortly after the turn of the present
century ne his declaration about the
"cost Of high living" to explain the
high cost of living, and ms In his sug-
gestion that REGULATION and not
strangula,ion" was what the railroads
needed.
Mr.. HuL was one OF the last of the
great leaders who served the nation
well in the period of It's most rapid
material expansion. Spacious as tho
country Is It seems now 10 have no
more room to grow so vast n per-
sonality.
He's n queer umpire who doesn't