Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-06-20
HIGH TRIBUTE TO
GREAT GENERAL
Praises For Brigadier General
w. w .Atterbury; Big Fac
tor in Winning War

George J. Brennan, the versatile
genius of the Who's Who" column
of the Philadelphia Inquirer, pays
this tribute to a distinguished Penn
sylvania railroad executive:
Former Governor Edwin. S. Stuart
was quick to seize upon an oppor-
tunity to honor a distinguished
Pennsylvania, Brigadier General
William Wallace .Atterbury. whom
President Wilson named to direct all
the railroad activities in connection
with the American EXpeditionary
Forces operating in France.
''As president of the Union League
of this city. with which General At
terbury has been identified as a
member for twenty years, the for
mer Governor is taking keen inter-
est in a reception which that or
ganization is arranging to give to
General Atterbury on the twenty
fifth of this north.
There are few men, if any, to
whom the country is more indebted
for distinguished services in the late
war than Brigadier General After
bury remarked Governor Stuart, in
making known the plans of the
Unio Leagues testimonial to their
fellow member. With all of the
forces of the Army and the Navy
landed on the coast of France he
continued. how handicapped would
they have been without the splendid
organization for transportation to
the eremys front placed at their
disposal under the most trying con-
ditions. General Pershing, in COM
mendation of General Atterbury's
marvellous work in this connection.
specially referred to his exceptional
success in organizing base ports and
in operating them in connection
with the terminal yards and provid-
ing the necessary train service con-
structing details for the moving of
troops at all important stations in
France
To Honor Railroad Men
The thousands of railroad men of
the Keystone Safe who were asso-
ciated with General Atterbury in his
work abroad will indirectly be hon.
ored in the reception about to be
given their commander by the Union
League. for, in reply to very euIo-
CYSTIC letter which he received from
General Pershing, General Atterbury
accepted the tribute to himself as a
recognition as we'll of the entire
of the Expeditionary Army. a large
percentage of whom came from
Pennsylvania.
General Atterbury. who is a ma
tive of New Albany, Indiana, where
he was born. January 81, 1866. as
soon as he was graduated at Yale,
entered the service of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company as an ap-
prentice in the car shops at Altoona,
where he thoroughly equipped him
self with arr intimate knowledge of
every branch of railroad mechanical
construction. Later he was made
assistant engineer of motive power
for the Pennsylvania Northwest
system. and subsequently superinten-
dent of mo-lve power for the lines
east of Pittsburgh and Erie.
Five years of service in that ca
pacity won him the rank of general
superintendent of motive power, and
on January 1, 1908. before he had at
tanned his 37th birthday, he was
made general manager of the lines
east of Pittsburgh. with record OF
being the youngest man to hold that
position in the history of the system.
Six years later he became one OF
the vice presidents and director OF
| the company in which he started at
| the lowest step in the ladder OF
! opportunity.
His achievements abroad, in the
words of former Governor Stuart
entitIe his name to be writ in the
roll of honor in the nations hall OF
| fame"