The Nome nugget., 1925-02-28
COLONEL ROBERT (. CLOWRY. FORMER
 PRESIDENT WESTERN UNION Is DEAD

Colonel Robert c. Clowry is printed hehewith. being furnished by the service of the Associated Press:
 Colonel Robert c. Clowry was born September Is. 1888. and died February 27. 1925 He garded of the leading capitalists of the coun- try in the telegraph and electrical field. Clowry. after climbing from messenger boy to the presidency of the Western Union Telegraph Com pany answered the question: What young mans chances today compared with when you were aboy?" by saying:
 "A young mans opportunities are as good now las they It all depends the young man. The wealth of the country has increased faster than the right kind of young men have de- veloped. Expansion of business has unlimited op- porunities. Industry perseverance,, integrity and intelligence what is wanted. All the great corporations keep in touch with the capacity of their Therefore the young who has the stuff in him is bound succeed and get ahead"
 Born on a farm in Will County, Illinois. young Clowry gained a common school education and. in 1852 became for the Illinois and Mis- souri Telegraph Company-later Western Union subsidary-at Joliet Illinois. For the first six months. although he was required to work F to II hours day, he received pay.
 Away from home and ambitious to become tel egrapher. he did extra work to maintain himself.
 Yet I happy and prosperous" he said years later, flor I independent and engaging in Ia business enjoyed and that fascinated me" At the end of the first year. although only 16. Clowry made manager of the companys office at Lockport and, when 21. became superntende of the company
  which he entered Captain in 1863. It is lated of him that at the time. he probably the first man to employ wireless telegraphy. He was in command of force at a certain railroad point in Missouri. The night dark and rainy and he unable to communicate with larger unit of Union troops the river because the enemy had cut the wires. There was danger of his being trapped. Suddenly he heard the toot of locomotive the other side of the river and an idea flashed into his mind.
 short distance from his tent stood locomo- tive. He at climbed into the cab seized the whistle cord and began to jerk it in manner which caused number of weird blasts. The awed engineer and fireman were mystifed. Again and again Clowry repeated his series of wild toots until. finally. his caught from the other bank of the river answering signal The operator at headquarters had heard the whistle footing his own code "call and found means at to spond The result the reinforcement of Glow ry and his and their escape from capture.
 Mustered out of the service in 1866 and brevet- ted "for meritorious service and devoted applica- tion to duty" Colonel Clowry went back to com mercial telegraphy and to be superntend- ent of the Western Union lines in the Southwest
 When he entered the business, telegraphy was only eight years old and there only about 5000 miles of wire in the United States. At the end of the Civil War the total had increased to about 5000 miles and when he became President and General Manager of the Western Union in 1902 the wire mileage had gone up to than l. 100000
 Colonel Clowrys record of service at this time had covered period of 50 and during that time there was not a grade through which he had passed and through the West there scarce y telegraph office he had not visited in which he had worked key.
 Colonel Clowry married in 1865. Miss Caroline A. Esabrook, of Omaha. Nebraska. She died in April 1869
 On November 23, 1910, when he retired and succeeded to the presidency of the Western Union for 5S years in the telegraphic field. He of the promoters of the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893. He also director of the Equitable Trust Company. New York; member of the Loyal r C;vilu uor vofor nd of