Semi-weekly herald., 1916-06-01
las. !. HILL DEAD.

j.. niil AIeu here NJ 5.4o TINS HloIn-
ing. He failed rapidly during the
night
The end came quietly and he suf-
fered no death agonies. He was un-
conscious for few hours before the
end ar,e.
Ono daughter arrived on a special
train just in time to grasp his hand,
hefre he died.
'Nhe entire family, excepting one
dar9hter, Mrs. A. NJ. Beard, who re-
sides in New York, were present at
bis bedside as he passed away.
The widow collapsed when she
r-aluieei that her husband was gone.
Tho entire northwest country IS
preparing to pay tribute to his
memory.
The ten days Of his illness cost in
the neiPhhorhood of s25,o0O.
Mr. Hill held several deathbed con
fsrences on his deathbed.
Realizing t'at his condition was
SERIOUS, he called several railroad of
fial- yesterday and told them what
disposition to make Of severl' pend
ing matters. He also held CON
ference with two bankers.
Mr. James J. Hill, the Colossus
o. Roads" was born in Wellington
county Ontario, in 1898. On his
fathers side he dds descended from
nrdy Irish stock, while from his
saotch mother he inherited the noble
uai,s of the Dunbar lire
Unlike most American millionaires
the late Mr. Hill was hampered ir
Rthe task Of self-creation by thorc
education His parents determined
THAT one Of his studious temperament
Should be q physician and sent him
to Roelwood academy to fit him fo1
the profe sion where he received a
thoro grounding in mathematics, Lat
IN and the sciences and acquired
thirst for knowledge that character
lied his whole life
At the age of IS, his fathers sud
den death, threw him on his own re
sources and he was Obliged to aban-
don his coveted profession and seek
employment in a country store Thres
yours later he went to st. Paul, then
"a mere struggling village ON the out
irts OF civilization, where he secur
ed employment as a shipping clcrl
iu the office Of the Debuque & 81
Iaul pacl-ct company He rapidly
enlarged the scope Of his activitia.
to cover the transportation depart
r.nl and was Influential in consoH
d ing this company with another an.
% -ug it q very effective system O,
1rtanee to that section of th5
country.
The really important work in Nh
Hill's career commenced in the late
70's, when he undertook the reor
* nizatioa of the st. Paul G. Pacific
Nairoad, which was then little moro
,har n streak Of rust and right Of
way extending over the prairie for
lcs than 400 miles, and having .
d~bt of s33o0O,00O against it. Ht
WAS the first to see the possibility
a. consolidating this. line with various
others and extending the line thru
the great northwest, thereby tapping
one Of the richest countries in the
world He met with no end of dis
couragement but after considerable
effort enlisted the aid of capitalist
90 assist him in the work. Since
1888 his achievements had been con
sidered without u parallel in the rail
road world. He built and equipped
a ystem Of 6,000 miles with the ex-
ception Of the puny 400 he had in the
beginning, without state OF govern
meat land grant or subsidy, at the
rate of nearly a mile every day he
was in charge of the property. While
other railroads collapsed or went in
the hands of receivers, the Great
Northern has never once defaulted in
the interest on its bonds or passed
a dividend.
Population, trade and civilization
followed his line and won the man
whose genius made the construction
oI The road possible the title OF the
Empire Builder of the Northwest. As
soon as this railroad was completed
he carried his plans to the construc-
ton of steam ship lines and from
the western terminal of the road
- S attic, built up large trade with
Z the Orient.
Nor were his activities confined to
railroads and transportation. He re-
allied the Importance of successful
farmers to his lines and conducted
model farms for the benefit of those
who titled the soil in the territory
nd.accnt. Stock growing was another