The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-26


 esident of the largest mail order house
 the country, Sears, Roebuck & Com
 ny.
 How on earth did Julius Rosenwald
 k out a railroad man as his sue
 Bsor?" a friend asked the day this
 ws was published. I recited to him
 me of the conspicuous cases of
 witching" which follow:
 The president of the largest rubber
 mpany in the world, United States
 ,bber, was a rairoad man, one of Ear
 nan's chief lieutenants when he was
 osen for his present job. This man
 Charles B. Seger Then not a few
 our very prominent railroad men
 ent the first half of their life in non- tlroad activities. Railroading seems possess especial fascination for law
 rs.
 budge Lovett, who became Harriman's Eht-hand man, was lawyer. So was hle Holden president of the C. $. & so were Chauncey M. Depew, chair hn of the board, and A. H. Harris,
 airman of the finance committee of
 New York Central. So, also, were
 lirfax. Harrison, president of the
 uthern railway, and Charles Donnel-
 president of the Northern Pacific.
 Neither James J. Hill, nor E. H. liar han began in the railroad world. Hill hs a produce clerk. And Hartman
 d lived nearly half century before
 turned from the stock brokerage bus
 ess to railroading.
 Lawyers have also become prominent @dustrial leaders in many instances.
 dge Gary, head of the United States eel corporation, was a lawyer. Earl
 lo- cttu Timing company in America, was wyer. So was Owen D. Young, now l &ad of the mammoth General Electric 3mpany. Judge Beatty heard of the 5xas company, and Robert w. Stewart < Standard Oil of Indiana, were law
 rs The president of the largest gas
 mpany in New York, George B. Cor Ayou, was a lawyer. So was Alvan
 acauley, head of the Packard Motor
 mpany. Wigginton E. Creed, head of
 huge Pacific Gas and Electric com
 ny, was a famous lawyer.
 = -
 Some of the country's best known $nkers were not trained in this pro-
 ssion.
 Charles E. Mitchell, president of the ational City Bank of New York, the ggest institution of them all, was in I e electric business before he became terested in finance. Frank A. Wander ,, his predecessor, was financial re-
 rter Thomas w. Lamont, now the ost active partner in J. P. Morgan & bAapany, also had experience as a re $rter and then had mercantile expe- &buee before entering the banking field. kward Prosser, head of the Bankers
 rust Company of New York, first made Isl mark in insurance. Samuel Me oberts, president of the Metropolitan rust company, first was a lawyer and ter became treasurer of Armour & bmpany.
 Harvey D. Gibson, president of the lew York Trust company, made name r himself with an express company. Inward R. Stettinus, now valuable ember of Morgan & Company, was resident of the Diamond Match com sny, when he was drafted" by our ading banking house after the United ates entered the war, William c. otter. chairman of the Guaranty Trust bmpany, spent most ofS his life as a lining engineer Charles R. Sabin, resident of the Guaranty Trust, was a Eerl in a produce office at Albany. Herbert Fleischhacker, leading San francisco banker, began in the paper .hd paper box business. A. P. Gian- J nj, who has built up the great Bank Italy, in California; first made for sne in the produce commission busi- fss.
 William A. Gaston, prominent Boston Anker, bored over lawbooks. John D. Rockefeller switched from l'oduce to oil rather early in life. An |rew Carnegie moved from telegraphy railroading and then to steel. Rob 1t Dollar, of the Dollar Steamship he, was for years a lumber magnate. bhn D. Ryan, now the foremost fig 3,e in the copper industry, was an oil alesman, while his colleague, c. F. ieiley president of Anaconda, was a wyer. Henry c. Prick was distillery Jerk before he ventured into coke. The president of Studebaker, A. R. |rskine, won his first success as an ecountant. E. l.. Doheny was for 20 ears a prospcctor, not for oil, but for |'ccious metals. Coleman Dupont be- hn in a coal mine but has since done lg things in several different fields. Space forbids lengthening the list. The moral You may yet rise to Iai0htS havond Vour fODdeSt imagina-