Evening star., 1940-12-29
Veteran President
Links Old and New
Of Rail Industry
Bs the Associa ted Press,

O1 IIlc D. q ~, lcCcIlGly ucSpllS Ills
repeated suggestion that he step
aside for younger man.
His place in railroading-from
Vermont farm boy to an unusually
long reign as president of one of
the Nations biggest systems-had
become one of the Homeric tales OF
American business when the aging
Mr.. Willard late in November, 1890
sat down and dictated letter:
Because I believe the Baltimore
& Ohio should have younger man
at its control, I am submitting my
resignation"
Returned to Post.
Without comment. the directors
returned Mr.. Willard to the then
$50, 0,000-a-year post which he had
held for 20 years.
Each year since except in 1887 and
l93S-the man who turned "a streak
of rust" into major transportation
property with capital investment of
$974,4 900, has asked for retire
ment. And each year he has been
re-employed for the post he took
first in 1910.
This year, associates say. he was
more determined to retire than ever
With his beloved B. & o. back In
smoother financial channels, he
wanted to step aside.
But when the directors refused. he
accepted the verdict calmly and went
back to his desk.
Friends say his refusal to ask re-
tirement in 1887 and 1888 was char
acteristic. Fallen upon hard times,
the B. & o. was facing one of its
greatest crisis. Mr. Willard believed
that to offer his resignation then
would imply desertion. So. as a
fellow official said, the captain
stayed on the bridge"
He is one of a handful of living
railroad officials who have spanned
two fabulous eras in railroading. He
has played leading part in each.
Started as Labor.
He started as a track laborer IN
his native Vermont in 1879, in that
rough and tumble period when the
strength of railroad was gauged
bv the power of the man at its head.
Those were the days when the Hills,
Harrimans and Vanderbilts doml-
mated the scene.
Mr.. Willard, too, became power
fol individual influence in that age
and continued a potent factor when
the pendulum swung toward Gov
ernment control, consultations and
group rule.
Now he speaks of the B. IL o. as
"a railrod without hole in the seat
of its pants" although the faorlc
has worn precariously thin at times.
He will not guess how long he ex-
poets to retain active management
of the system; he dismisses TINS
with. "I don't hire the president.
No long-range prophet on the fu-
ture of railroads, he will say only
that, as an enterprise, they will hold
their own ito the extent you can
make predictions these times
The man who headed the rail-
road executives committee in the
celebrated 1882 agreement with the
railroad brotherhoods, through
which a s4O0 900 900 deduction over
q three-year period, is a sturdy real
list on the subject OF employer
employe relationships.
No Labor Troubles.
Collective bargaining has been
the fashion on the B. & o. for 80
wears. Mr.. Willard says proudly,
'~We don't have any labor trouble.
Why should we? We manage to get
along with each other"
To the extent that collective bar
gaining now has been made the law
of the country, Mr.. Willard be-
lieves it will improve owner-worker
relationships. But, he adds:
There seems to be some disagree
ment as to what constitutes collec-
tive bargaining. AS long as that
difference endures, so long will there
be disagreement between the two
groups"
Spry, energetic and forceful, Mr..
Willard remains the impelling pow
er in the B. & o. His associates
and subordinates regard him with
an affection that amounts to hero
worship.
Daniel Willard does not fail in
any character respect" asserted one
Official. He has all the traits that
make a great leader and an TN
excelled executive. But he also has
the human qualities that command
admiration and devotion"
Horatio Alger Theme.
Mr.. Wizards biography has an
Horatio Alger flavor. 1t is a story OF
slow but sure rise. From track
laborer he passed through dozen
Jobs, including fireman, engineer,
trainmaster, superintendent and
vice preudent on half dozen diff
ferent lines.
But I don't believe he ever gave
q thought to getting the job ahead
of his" friend declares. He SIM
ply isn't enough of an egotist, and
he got too much enjoyment out of
the Job he happened to be doing at
the time"
Before Mr.. Willard went with the
Baltimore & Ohio he was a subor-
dinate of James j. Hill, the great
railroad builder, and when the offer
came Mr.. Willard was hesitant
He turned to friend for advice.
Take it, Dan," the friend coun-
seled, "as long as you stay where
you are you're Jim Hills man. But
with the B. & o. you become DAN
lei Willard in your own right"
Revitalized Line.
Mr.. Willard took it and began re-
vitalizing the line. His first act
was to cancel all passenger line
observation-disclosures we have moth
ing to advertise now"
1t was not until a few years
later, when he had installed COM
Portable coaches and sleepers, that
he permitted resumption of the ad-
vertising.
Because he knew rail operation