Bowling Green Township (part 3 of 3)

In point of management the Wal)a--h is conceded to lie one rd" the ahlest conducted roads on th.e continent. 'Jlie men who are now at the head of its aflairs are men v.lio have risen tc) eminence in railway management by their own ability, enterprise, and personal worth ; men who, amid the failure of thousands, and in the most trying times in the history of railroads the country have ever seen, have built up one of the greatest railway systems in the world - gathering up the wrecks of roads here and there where otliers had left them, and confining them in a harmonious, successful whole - a disj)lay of executive and business aliility. of enterprise and far-sighted sagacity, with but i'ow parallels in history. No man in the management of the road but that holds his j^o.-ition bccaus(> of his success in railroad atfairs ; because of his success where others hail failed, a success achieved u|ion a very sea of disasters. Look back ten years ago at the condition of the roads which now constitute the Wabash system I Then there were more than ii score of them, scattered here and there over the great prairie States, the i'airest and most fertile region under the sun, yet all of theui tottering on the very brink of bankruptcy, and many of them practically dead as business investments. First, one was taken from the hands of a receiver, a piece of dead propertv. and put 6n its feet and made to .-^taud, not onlv to stand, but to become selfsustaining and i)rosperous. Then another \\ as taken under the [jrotection of the fir>t and put through a little course of resuscitation - and still another, and another, until the present magniticent system has i(een formed. It i.> an unrivalh^d ilistinction of the Wabash System that it has bfcn built up of loads mainly which had before [)roven failures, - that it is the product of the brain and energy of men wdio have shown thegeuiusand to force success wdiere others had failed.

To-day the Wabash is one of the best roails in the United States. Its main lines arc all laid with steel rails, and its road-beds, bridtres.

culverts, depots, and other iuiproveiiieiits are iKit surpassed in the We-t. The rollhig stuck of the road has long been regarded as among the best iu the country. Having always had sharp conipelitiuii, the management has made it a fixed jiolicy to atlVuil the public the best of accommodfttlons, in pass-enger ti'avel oi' fi'ei^iit shiiinients. As a result their coaches. sle(^pers, and dining oars arc perfect triuiii[ilis of art, not <-nly in point of comfort, but of elegance and good taste, and then accommodation for ireight, both merchandise and live stock, are all that could be desired. In one imjiortant particular, the '\\'abash is without a rival in the ^^'est, - in lime. It runs through cars daily, including elegant chair-cars, sleepers and dining-cars, direct from St. Louis to New York and Boston, making over thirty miles an hour on the thi-ough trip, and on all main lines its through rates of speed are approximately as great. Not only in passenger travel is it aliead of any its rivals as to speed, but in freight transportation also. Less than tour davs are required to lam! its through fast freights in New York alter they leave the depot at St. LoiMS.

With regard to tarifi's, it would lie suppressing the truth not to say that the Wabash is among the mo>t liberal of roads. Iii fact, in rail- I'oad circles it is not as popular as some roads, for the very reason that it has so often led the way in reducing passenger and freight rates. Recognizing the fact that lo\v tariffs increase travel and transportation, its policy has always been to reduce the cost of carriage to the lowest possible figures. Nor ought the public to close their eyes to what the railroads generally have done in this direction.

The following table, in which is given the average passenger and freight rates of six leading AVestern roads since 18t!5, shows the steady reduction of taritl's going on : -

Thes^e iigures verity v.liat was said above that tlie Wabash has had the march of Western roads in tlie reduction of freight rates. Froni 1865 to 1883 the general average of rates laas fallen off three-fourths. Thus, while the railroads have increased the prices of grain, stock and other products by opening up the country to the general markets, they have lessened the cost of carriage to one-fourth of what it was in 1865. This, too, of their own motion, because the great increase of their own business justified it, and because their running e.xpenses have become i)rop<)itionaliy much less. Kailroad management is like every other line of business ; if left alone it will regulate itself, and to the best advantage for all concerned, as the above Hgures conclusively show. Doubtless, rates will still go down, but not on account of a senseless outcrv against railroads, nor ot restrictive legislation, even less senseless than the clamor ot the ionovanf, Iml licraiise ol" liiiprDvenients steadilv lioinir <)i\ in railwav Iraii-^portatioii, and of iiu'reasecl biisiiioss and other lavorini^ (-in-iiiii>taiices. The piililic is as inu(?h interested in the roads beinjr run on a prosperous basis, and far more, than the managers thenisehes. To the latter it is but little more than a mere matter of |)rolit and loss. But to the public railroads are everything. Tliey have done morc^ to develop the wealth and resonrees. to stimulate ihi- indn-^lrv. to I'eward the lalior, and to promote the general comfort ami [n-o~|ii'rit\' of the country than any other, and perhai)s all other, mere phy-^ical causes combined. They scatter the [jrodiiclions of the press and literature broadcast through the country with amazing ra|iidity. There is scarcely a want, wish or aspiration they do not in some measure lielji to gratify. They promote tlie pleasures of social life and of friendship; they bring the skilled physician swiftly from a distance to attend the sick, and emxblc the friend to be at the bedside of the dying. Tiiey have more than realized the fabulous conception of the Eastern imagination, which pictured the genii as transporting inhabitetl palaces through the air. They take whole trains of inhabited palaces from the Atlantic coast and with marvellous swiftness dejiosit them on the shores that aie washed by the Pacitic seas. In vrar they transport armies and supplies of the govei-nment with the utmost celerity, and carry forward as it were on the wings of the mind, relief and comfort to those wiio are stretched bleeding and woum.led in the field of battle. No, we must not give up nor cripi)le the railroads. If (heir tariffs are still looked upon as burdensome, let ns remenilier how much thev have been retluced in tiie past, and trust to the future with the conviction that reductions will still be made whenever and wherever possible to the proper managements of the roads. A single invention - the steel rail - brought down freight rates fort >/ per cent; then may we not look to tin)e and genius still to remove whatever objectiouul features remain? But as the rates now stand, a wonderful contrast they offer to the old ox - or horse - wagon S3'stem of transportation. In 1817 a committee of the New York Legislature reported that the average cost of transporting a ton of freight from New York Citv to Butl'alo was one hundred dollars. Now a ton of freight is transported from Kansas City to New York for less than one-tenth tiiat am (unit.

Most of these gentlemen are well known to the general [>ublic. As has been said there i.s not a man coiHiected with the management of the road who has not risen t(5 his position by his own ability, energy and worth. The whole world is familiar with the career of the President of the company,

Mr. ,Tav Gould

Now York tariiier's son, seif-eilucated --tiul startini:: out in lifi.' for hiniselt' without a dollar, bv dint of his own exertions iiud character he has rison to the position of the first niilroad nian:igcr on tlie g'.ohe. A great deal has been said for and against Mr. Gonld. A great deal has been said for and against every man who has made a distinguished success in life. It is one of the conditions of success to be criticised and slandered as well as honored and esteemed. But if men are to be judgeil according to the general results of their lives, Mr. Gould has luuhing t© fear for his reputation in liistory. He lias given to the couutrv the finest systems of railway and telegra[)h the world ever saw, and if the people do not now seem to appreciate the time will come when his services and character will receive the homage which is their due. l\Ir. Gould became the president of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific on tlie organization of the company in 1879. Personally, however, he docs not direct the afl'airs of the road, but is directly represented in its management, as he is in the management of all his other Western roads, Ijy the first vice-president of the company. Captain Hayes was originally from New York. By profession he is a civil engineer. His first prominent connection with Mr. Gould's Western roads was as the builder of the Texas and Pacitic. That road was constructed with amazing rapidity, and its atlairs were managed with such ability and succe!^s that Captain Hayes became at once recognized as one of the ablest railroad men in the country. The construction of the road was commenced in 18S1, and on January the loth of the following year it M'as ready for traffic to El Paso on the Mexican border, thus opening up the route, via the Southern Pacitic to San Francisco. Following this Captain Hayes was placed at the head of Mr. Gould's whole Southwestern System, or, in other words, was made first vice-president of the roads embraced in that system, and on the lease of the Wabash to the Iron ^louutain in May, 1883, he became first vice-president of the Wabash Company.

Personally Captain Hayes is a ijuiet, una-^suming gentlemen. He is one of the few men whom position does not change in their bearing toward those around them. True manhood is superior to any position, hi>\ve\-er fxalti'd, and ibis i|U:ility distinction ciumol add to nor inuke less. It is (inly the weak and vain, tlio-e whose jio-itions are above their merits, who make their impnrtanee and authority i-ouspictious. From no word or action of Captain Hayes outside ut his otiicial dutv, would it ever be discovered that he is at the head of the greatest coml)inatiou of railroad S}'stems in the \vorld. He is the same dignitied, unpretentious gentleman now that he was before he became distinguished for his great executive abilities. In his ofjcc all who have business with iiim are treated with the consideration and respect due them. In this }iarticular he is in marked contrast with not a few whose positions are far less prominent. If all were as lie is it could not be said with truth, as unfortunately it sometimes seems to he, that he who becomes a railway ofHcial puts his modesty and good manners behind him.

Captain Hayes's leading characteristics as a railway manager are coolness and caution, united with firmness and great enterprise. No step of importance is taken without a thorough understanding of its results, and of the influence it is likely to have upon all the interests allected by it. But when a measure is once decided upon and approved, it is carried out with a resolution and energy that makes its success a foregone conclusion. He not only directs the general policy of his roads, l)Ut personally overlooks the administration of aflairs in the several business departments of the service. He sees to it that abuses are nowhere tolerated, and that the business of the different companies is dispatched with promptness and efficiency. The result is manifest, not only in the harmony with which everything moves through the half-dozen great roads over which he presides, but in the superiority of service they have rendered since he was placed at their head, and in the remarkable financial success they have achieved. Of all others, he is undoubtedly the man for the position he holds, and his selection for the place is l)ut another proof of the remarkable sagacity of the m.an whose interests, mainly, he represents.

The second vvce-presideht of the company, as appears ai>ove, in the role of general officers is Mr. A. L. Hopkins, but a sketch of his career as a railroad manager has been given in the review of the Missouri Pacific Railway in another volume is-.u<_d by the publishers of the present work. Also the sketches of several (.>ther officers ot the Wabash appear elsewhere in connection with the ^Missouri Pacific with wiiich thcv are likewise identified.

tho thiitl vice-president of the WiUm.sh, St. Lmiis and Pacific, iind of" the Missouri Pacific or Southwestern Svstcni. like many of our most successtul UK-n, lias risen to [MMininence and inde))cndence by his r)wu enerfrv and inlelligcnre ;ind tiie indomitalile strenirth of his character. He is a Western man tiv l>irt)i. and -larted in life poor and without even the favor ol' influential friend-, ^\'^('n a young ni;in he went to De.s Moines, Iowa, and tliere in a few year- hecanie recognized for iiis high character and great enterprise as one of the most progressive and influential citizens of the jilace. Such -was the consideration in which he was held that without his solicitation or even desire he v.as recommended for and appointed to the responsible ofEce of United States marshal. This position he filled with great efficiency until the e.xpiration of his term of oflice, at the conclusion of which he declined reappointment, desiring to devote his whole time and attention to business interests.

On the inauguration of the great Union^Pacitic Railway enterprise. Colonel Hoxio bei^ame connected with it as a sn|*erintentient of construction : and then' he first distinguished himself for great executive ability and indefatigable energy in pushing the work to completion with unparalleled rapidity. Tiie energy and dispatch with which the road was rnshod acro:rS the continent was regarded as one of the mo--t marvellous i)icces of enterprise the world had ever seen, and was commented ou by the leading journals of Euro[)e as an evidence of the wonderful spirit of progress prevailing in Ameiica. To Colonel Hoxie, more than to any other one mun, is due the credit resultin<r from the expedition and success with which the two oceans were for the first time -'linked with bands of steel." He personally su[)ervised the work under his charge and for months was on the ground at da}dawn, to leave only at dark, directing and pushing the work forward. The ability and success with which he conducted the construction of the Union Pacific attracted the attention of leadinir railroad men all over the Union, and his services were in great request. On the completion of the road Col. Hoxie was made its general superintendent, at that time one of the most important and difBcuit positions to fill in the entire railway service of the country. But the result vindicated the high estimate the board of directors had placed upon his ability and energy. As sui)erintendent of till-' practical operation of the road his success was not less luilliant than his success had been as sui)erintenclent of construction. His future as one of the D^reat railroad managers of the country was now ass u led.

From the Union Pacitit: he was called to Texas to Ixiikl the International and Great Northern. There he displayed the same qualities he had shown in tlie construction of the Union Pacific. The International and Great Northern was built with amazing rapidity. Of this he also became superintendent and later along was appointed vicepresident of the compan_v. As soon as the Texas and Pacific passed into the hands of Mr. Gould he became superintendent of that road also. On the formation of the Southwest System he was appointed general manager of the International and Great Northern and of the Texas and Pacific, and was also appointed third vice-president c)t' all the consolidated roads. Afterwards when, in Mav, 1883, the Wabash was leased to the Iron Mountain, thus becoming practically a part of the Missouri Pacific or" Southwest System," as it is called, that mtid also came under his control, so far as the third vice-presidency is concerned.

As third vice-president of these roads Col. Iloxie has the management and superintendence of the entire freight tratKcof the comi)ined lines. These roads aggregate nearly 10,000 miles and together constitute the most exten-ivo svstem of railways under one management in the world. To have the control of the freight interests on this vast system is a responsibility which but few men could safely undertake, a responsibility ])erhaps not equalled by that of any otKce, civil or military, in the government. The freight business on a railroad, as every one knows, is to the prosperity of the road what the advert i>ing business of a newspaper is to the success of the paper - the very lifeblood of its existence. The main support of every prosperous road comes from its freight business ; this is the source of" its greatc-;t r^venue and on the success of its freight management everything else depends. Nor is any other department of railroad management so complicated and ditKcult. The interests to be considered are innumerable and often coutlicting, but all must be consulted and harmonized to the best possible advantage. It requires not only a broad coiiqirehension of the general principles of transportation and trade, but an intelligent and thorough knowledge of practical business atiairs, and of the best methods of conducting business transactions. Not only must general interests be looked to, but details also must lie clo.-cly

The success that has attended Colonel Iloxie's administration oi' this department of raihvay service, as otlicial lignres show, is gratifyini'' in the extreme. Tlie receipts from freight transportation have Ijeen nnprecedentedly large - out of all proportion, in fact, to former years, even allowing for the growth of the country - and notwithstanding this, rates have been steadily reduced. These facts, though perhaps not so conspicuous as his construction of the Union Pacific Kailwav, speak hardly less for his ability as a railroad manager. Indeed, it is at least questionable whether it required a higher exercise of ;ibililv to gain the api[)lause of the world bv linking the two oceans together than it does to successfully conduct the diversified, complicated and extensive business of 10, ('00 miles of raihvay tratSc.

Colonel Hoxie is now somewhat past the meridian of life, liut his enerjiy, resolution and force of chai-acter seeiji only to have been strengthened by his ripening }ears. A man of prodigious capacity for work, he superintends, directs and personally inspects every branch of the service in his charge : and he seems to be as active and as aml)itiiius of the future as he was before he had achieved either reputation or furtune. Personally he is highly esteemed. Having risen from the peojile himself, there is nothing of the aristocrat either in his manners or thoughts. He weighs men according to their charact('r and intelligence, and reN}iects rank'and fortune in the individual onlv so far as he nnikcs himself worthy of re"ipect. A man of generous im[)nlses and a kiiiil, sympathetic nature, he is a warm, true friend to those who gain his confidence, and there is nothing, not dishonorable, within the Ijouuds of reason that he would not do to serve them. Those who have known him tor years si)eak of him as one of the truest hearted and best of men.

One of the oldest general ofKcers of the AVabash, or rather one among those longest at the head of the affairs of that part of it west of the Mississippi, is the present secretary of the company. Colonel How is an old St. Louisau and conies of one of the best families of the citv. He commenced his railway career in the ticket ofiice of the old North Missouri Company but rapidly rose by promotion to one of the general otiirps of the conijiany. Prior to the orgaiiizatiini of the present \\ali;ish, St. Louis aiid Pacific he \vas the vice-president of the St. Louis. Kansas City ind Northern, tiie predecessor to the Wabash wcit of the Mississippi. The St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern wu- the successor to the old Nortli jMissouri and was one of iiie most .successful, entcrprisii!;; and jirogressive railways ever ojierated 07x this side of the river. It not only brought the atfairs of the old North Missouri out of euil)arrassiuent. but improved the road in e\>'i-y particular and ailded hundreds of miles of track to its original lines. It built and opened the line to Omaha and increased the service, both passenger and freight, on all the lines of the road. Its financial success was uncc^uivocal and most gratifying; so much so that it became one of the most valuable pieces of railway property in the country. Its management was cliaracterized by unusual ability and vigor, and to no one was it more entitled for its rapid and brilliant success than to Colonel How. xV man of a high order of ability and of extensive expericrice in railway affairs, younir and full of energy, and ambitious to make the road a success, he infused into its management a new life aud vigor and urged it forward upon a policy that soon placed its success beyond the shadow of a d(uibt. Looking back upon the rec(jrd the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern road has made, he has every reason to feel satiijfied with the influential and leading part he took in its management. Colonel How now has much to do with the finances of the road, so far as its practical o))erationis concerned, and has entire control of its ta.x department. In these departments of railway management he had already established a high repuf;itiou. His success in the tax alfairs of the St. Louis, Kansas City ami Northern was particularly conspicuous. He saved hundreds of thousands of dollars to the company annually l)y defeating exorbitant and erroneous levies. He is in every sense a worthy member of the present brilliant management of the "Wabash.

Colonel R. H. Andrews

the general superintendent of the road, was originally from Philadelphia, and was superintendent of tlie old Wabash, east of the Mississi[)pi, for a numl)er of years before the consolidation. The success of that road was hugely due to the able and energetic manner in which he eonducled the affairs of the superintendent's office. Having established a wide and enviable reputation while with the old Waba-h, when the CDiisorKlation took iilao( ho was naturally phu-cd at the head of the same ih'pai-tnient of the new eoinpany Colonel Anilfews is not only a rail\vay offieial of hiah stiuidina', hut is possessed of the qualiiies, to a niaiked deifi'ee, that challenge the respect and esteem of all men. He is a man \vilh whom it is a pleasure to liave business relations, and v.ho adds much to tlie popularity and patronage ot' the road with which he is connected.

the general passenger agent of the Waliash, St. Louis and Pacific and Missouri Pacific System, is distinguished for being one of the most popular and efficient general passenger agents iu the United States. His rise in the railway service has been un|>recedeatedly rapid. Possessed of a quick, active mind, :ui<l of stirring energy, in each jHisition lie has held he eom[)rehended the scope of his duties almost at a glance, and discharged them with so much spirit and success that his advancement was assured and rapid. That he is the gc^iieral passenger agent, although still a young man, of the most important railway systems in the United States, a system in which none but the altlest and best men are permitted to hold important positions, is, in itself, the blithest indorsement of his character and ability that could be given. And he is wort!i\' in an eminent degree of the prominence to which he has risen. A\'ith ipialitications far aliove the position he holds, although it is one of the first in [>rominenoe and resjionsibility, he i)rings to the discharge of his iluties that ability and dignity, that clear and intelligent grasp of the infiuence and etl'ects of measures upon the difficult interests of the road, and that ^elf-res])ccting, manly bearing wliich not only make him a marked success, but elevate and dignity the position he holds. Personally Mr. Townsend is a man of wide and genuine popularity. Of an open, frank nature, well disposed toward the world and full of life, he always has a pleasant word for every one, and ajiparently, without effort, wins the good opini')iis and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact. His personal popularity \vas by no means the least consideration that influenced his promotion to his [ire^ent otiice. In business affairs he is courteous, polite and allaijle, and no one leaves his office with an urjpleasaiit incident to remember. PPis chief clerk, ruili'ood circles ;md hy the ji'enenil puMic. He comnienced life lor himself \>y Icaniiiip- the [irinter's trade, luul h:ivin<r the (ji!:!!ities for ;i siiccessfiil innii in almost any calling, he of course succeeded as a printer. lie became an artist in his trade - one of tlic finest printers Ihroughout the countrv. Subsequently he v/as calletl inti) the s(;rv!ce of the Wal)ash Iiail\v:i\- to superintend its tine advertisement work, of which he has since had clu'.rge. It has doubtless been noticed bv every one who has travelled in the West that the Wabash has the handsomest, most artistic and unique advertisements of all the AVesteru roads. This of course is the result of ]Mr. Fisher's control of its advertising department. And he has made the distril)ution of his advertisements as judiciously as he has made their appearance atti-a(^tive. Indeed, he has been remarkabh- successful in advertising the road, and its rapid increase of business is proof that the industry and good judgment he has shown in his work have not been without their reward. In the entire service of the rrtad no one is more popular .-ind more deservedly so. lie is as accommodating :ind gentlemanlv as if it were his only stud\' to be pleasant and obliging. Personally the writer desires to acknowledge here a favor received tit his hands - material assistance in collecting the data for the preceding sketches of the Wabash Railway.

Colonel Wells H. Blodgett

general solicitor of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific in all business of a legal character ati'ecting the active management of tiie road, became connected with the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern, the [iredecessor of the ()resent Western Division of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific, as its assistant attorney during the winter of 1873 - 74. In June following he was elected general solicitor of the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern hy the unanimous vote of its board of ilirectors. On the consolidation of that company with the old W'abush in 187H, he became general solicitor of the new Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific, the position he now hokls. Colonel Blodgett's career as a railroad lawyer has lieen one of marked ability and success. Gifted witli a legal mind of a high order and of fine athninistrative ability, industrious almost to a faidt, and an inveterate student, of file highest integrity of character and of close, exact business habits, justly popular with all who know him for his smooth, gentlemanly demeanor, and for his high, personal worth, a clear, pliilosopliical

His father, Israel V. IJlodgett, nou' deceased, wa^ a ret<))eetablc farmer of Illinois, hut like mosl of his neighliors in that tlicii ne\v part of tiie eouutry, \\-as not a wealthy man. 'W'eli.s II., therefore. hud little or no peeiiuiary I'.ieans to assist in estalilisliing himself in life. After acquiring a common scIkjoI education, sui)|)lemented with a few terms of college instruction, young Blod^rett went to (J'hicaiio and began the study of law under his brolher, Hon. Henry W. 151odi;ett, now judge of the United States district couit there, hut then the <ieneral solicitor of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. Of Studious habits, a superior mind, arel entirely devoted to his chosen profession, be made rapid progress in his studies, and was admitted to the i)ar in liSGO with expressions from the court highly complimentary to his attainments and promise for the future. He at once entered aetivelv upon the practice of lav in Chicago, and was making rapid proijress in bis profession when the civil war linrst upon the country with all its fury. The life of the nation imperilled, he saw but one duty before him - to go manfully to its defence. He became a private sohjiei' in the army of the Union and f )llowed the Hag of Ins country with unfaltering devotion until it floated in triumph from the izranitc-ribbcd bills of Maine to the sunlit waters of the Southei'u Gulf. For meritorious conduct as a soldier lie was repeatedly promoted, and rose to the command of a battalion with the rank of colonel. He was twice commended by written repiu-ts of the comniLUuling general foi' conspicuous gallantry on the tield. Two honorable scars, the proudest decorations a soldier can wear, attest the patriotic part he took in the war.

After the war Colonel Blodgett located at Wai-rensburg, Missouri, iu the practice of the law. There be at once took front rank in his profussion, and in LStlH was elected to the House of Re)5resentatives of the State Legislature. Two years afterwards he was elected to the State Senate. Following this, in l.sTi', he ^vas unanimoush- nominated by his party for re-election to the Senate, but was defeated at the polls by a te.-t Jiaity vote. Indeed, he ran far ahead of his own partv ticket, and was defeated only by a small majority.

iiionilior in cadi of the hoiisi-s in wiiieii he .>at. A clear, sohor-mindcd ihiiikei-, ami a conscientiou.^, iiprit:lit man, the tact that he .supported a nu-a,-uie left Ijut little or no tioul)t in tlu^ minds of others that it was for the best interests of the State : and advocating it in his calm, lucid nianner. he seldi)m failed to carry it to a successful issue.

TliouL'ii a Kepublii'an. etirne^t ami faitliful, Colonel ]')lodi:'ctt was one of tiie first prominent men in the State to advocate the entVanchisement of those who had i»een in rei)ellion. His record in the f/cn-islature on this question forms one of the Ijrightest pages in the iiistorv of his career. With him the l)road, vital principle U[H)n which our government is founded - equal and fair representation for all - was of vastly more importance than iiuy temporary party aiUantage or expedient. Indeed, iiis couce^ition of true partisanship is that it should strive to kee[) the parry identitied with the best interests of the country. The rank and lile of those formerly in rcbelUon he believed to have been honest but misguided ; and re,--[i('cting their iionesty (if purpose and lii-a\ery, since they had submitted to ihe authority of the -_'(ivernment and sworn to obev tiie laws, he belie\ed no good purpose could be ser\ed by showing distrust ot' llieir siucci-ity, and continuing them underthe ban of civil ostrai'ism. Hence he advocated earnestly and ardently their restoration to citizen.-hiji ; and to his etVorts. less than to no man's in tlie State, were the enfrani'hiscd indebted for their ultimate right to vote.

By the close of his term in the Senate, such was the high -tanding he had attained as a lawyer, no less than as a public man, for he had continued the active practice of his iirot'ession all the time, that his services as official attorncv were sought bN' various im[)ortaiit corporation interests. Indeed, he had already distinguished himself in corp(>ration practice, a department of the profession for which he has a special taste. In the s[)riug of 1873 he acceptt-d the assistant altorneyshi[) of the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railway as stated ul)ove, ami was soon afterwards elected general solicitor for the road .

The St. Louis. Kansas City and Nortiiern was the successor to the old North Missouri ; and the mere mention of the name of that road suL'gests confusion, chaos and law suits without ending. Its policy was to fight everything and pay nothing - perhaps because it had nothing t<J pay with. It finally went down under a [lerfect maelstrom of litigation ; and the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern inherited from it a very sea of [c<x:i\ entanglements. To straighten out these and get the new ruad in proper condition, so t;ii- as its law inl(>rests were concerned, wiis the iifst work to which Colonel Blodgett addressed liiinselt", antl it was a work which no orilinary lawyer could have accomplislied. None with les* ability than he showed, none with less industry, less energy and resolution, less system and nuthixj in the conduct ot" business, could have succeeded. But being a tiioronirh business man no less than an able lawyer, he went to work in his ot'- fice and in tiie courts, and in a reniaikably short time iiad his dockets practically cleared - clearer by tar than railroad dockets usually are - and in almf)St every case with .success to his company. Flis nffice, also, became a model of system, order and method ; indeed this - orderly arrangement ot" everything connected with his legal and business afl'airs - is one of his chief characteristics, without wiiich the diversitied and complicated business of which he has charge could not be snccessfnll_y conducte<l.

lu the settlement of damage cases against the railroad, and, indeed, of every class of claims, Colonel Blodgett inaugurated an entirely diti'erent policy from what had before prevailed. He has always made it a rule to ci>mproniise every claim on a fair basis in which there is any merit at all, even though the law does allow the claim, compromise is possible. This policy, which has since been adopted by the hr.v departments of several important roads, he has found best in e\cry respect. It tends to promote that good feeling between the people and the road so advantageous to both; whilst it saves thousands of dollars legal costs to the company and to claimants. As claimants can afford to compromise their claims at much less than they might ultimately recover by litigation, on accoii nt ot" the great cost and delay attending it, thus, without injury to them, the road saves additional thousands by fair compromises. This policy both good conscience and business sagacity approve.

Colonel Blotlgett makes it as much to the interest of claim ants to compromise as to the interest of the road. He tells them frankly that he will allow what is fair on their claims ; but l)efore he will allow the coiU[)any to l)e bilked, he will make it cost them more than they can possibly hoiie ultimately to realize by suit. A railroad lawyer of the first oi'der, he knows beforehand in almo.st ev eiy case what the decision of the courts will be ; and when he goes to law against a cl-aim, he generally wins the case. Indeed, the frequency with which cases are won by the railroad is often made a subject of criticism unfavorable to the courts. The fact lies not in the bias of tlie ooiiit!^ in t'avnr of the ruilioad, for that doe.s not exist ; Init in tliat tlie road .<cai(.-*iy oi' luvcr irofS to tlie higher courts with a bad ca^e. The attoriifvs for 1 ho road know a irood case when they see it, and they know a I'ad one: tlie tii-^t they carry up; the second Ihev settle. Thus tlie railroad is scarcely e\er licaten in the courts.

('(ilonel Blodgett, although he has long stcjod iu the front I'ank of lawyers in the ^\'est, is still comparatively a young man, being now oiilv forty-four years of age. Considering his age and the position he occupies in hi.s profession, it is not too nuicli to say tliat his career has l)een a most successtul an<l i>rilliant one. Nor has he yet nearly approached its meridian. With little less, if not qiiite, a score of years more of profes-ional activit}" before him, in tlie t^rdinary course of nature, years, too, usuallv of the greatest advancement in the legal profession, his future jn-omises a degree of eminence to which l>ut few men can hope to attain.

Jir. Burxett

Mr. Grover and Colonel Curtiss. Mr. Burnett is the leading trial lawyer after Colonel Blodgett. He has the reputation of being one of the best trial lawyers, and most successful attorneys at the bar. He was until recently a resident of Illinois, and has been engaged in the practice in that Sttite with success for over fifteen years. In the trial of railway cases he is alilv assisted bv one of the best railway lawyers among the younger members of the bar iu the State. Mr. Grover has always made a specialty of railway law, and has been connected with the Waba.sli and its Western predecessor, the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern, tuuler Colonel Blodgett, for nearly ten years. Of studious habits, a quick, active niiiul, and gifted with a lemarkahly retentive memory, the curriculum of railway law, if the expression may be allowed, has become almost .-IS familiar to him as the usual course of studies to the college professor. Ho is esjieciall}- etficient and capable in the preparation of cases for trial - in drawing the papers, hunting up the law and making citations thereto, and in examining the testimony beforehand and arranging it in proper order for introduction. This branch of work is his specialty in the office. Thus thoroughly posted iu the i.s the office lawyer of the legal department, and is one of the oldest raili-oaJ attorneys in years of service in St. Louis. He is a law\er of wide and profound learning, a deep thinker, and an ahle and logical rea'ioner. More of a connsidlor than a harri-'ter, he is yet an ehHiuent and vigorous ailvocate wiien he hecomcs thoroughly enlisted in the trial of a case. Hut lieiiig a tiue judge of the law and Justly aveise to the rough-and-tiuuble manner in which, unfortunateh'. cases in the Western cour^s are too ol'teii tiied, he tiuds work in the olHce more congenial to his tastes and more in keei)ing with his judicial cast of mind and his legal attainments than would he the case with him in the active conduct of cases in court. His province, in other is to heat the hnsfies, if a figure of rhetorii: may he aiiovvcd, while the younger attorneys of the otBce catch the birds Cidonel Curtiss is at present a nieml)er of the ."^tate Legislature from St. Louis and is regarded as one cif the ablest memliers of the House. He is a man of Strict integrity, a high sense of Jionor, of liroad and liberal views in politics as well as in everything else, irenerous in all ids impnl-es, and of an open, t'rank di-^position, <liLrnitied and urbane in bearing - in short, a gentlenian of tlie old scluxd, great-hearted and kind, whom it is a pleasure to know.

There are several other gentlemen in the legal department including Mr. St. Manr, a gentleman eminently worthy of Ids position, notices of whon? cannot here be made for want of space. Suffice it to say that the legal department of the Wabash, like every other department of its corj)s official, from the chief to the last subordinate officer, i< in the hands of men who hold their positiojis because they are the best who can be had for their places. All in all, it is without question one of the best managed and most >erviceable roads in the United Slates.

This roiui, crn-sc-i diaLT'iiially the niirlliwostern Odrncr of the county, was oriiiinallv inrt'iulcd to connect li_v the i^hoi'test po^-ihle Tonte Ruiiiniiton. Iowa, ani! Kan>a^ City, Missouri. Tlie Iowa (ji\'ision ot'the i-oail was l)uilt in L'^TC Tlie ^Missouri division beini;' vapidly jHislifd t'orwai'd to completion, and had reached Ijaelede in Linn county, on the ILiniiibal and ^t. Joseph road when tlje panic struck it, audit wa^i forced to suspend active work. In 1873 it was placed in tlie hands of a receiver, and was ran under the receiver's iiiauageinent until 188-'. Tlie bondholders of the road then organized a new company, the Chicago, Burlington and Kansas City, and this company leased the road to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, which is now operating it. Since the road has virtually become the property of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincv, one of tlie souiulest and most successful railroad companies in' the United, States, its con.struction has been \-igorously resumed, airl at no distant day will be open for trathc to Kansas City. When eouipleted it will lie the shortest route between Kansas City nm\ Chicago, and through cars %vill be run by the company between the two cities. It is already completed into Chariton county, and is of incalculable value to tlie people of this county. It gives them a direct rente to Chicago - the shortest route from this part of the State to that city - and not only gives them the beneht of a competing line to the city by the lake, but makes the markets of St. Louis, a threat rival, directly tributary to their trade. The importance of this i-(iad to tlie agricultural and other interests of the count}' could hardly be overestimated.

There are many miles of railroad in the county, embracing a poi-tion of the main line and two branches of the \Vabasli, St. Louis and Pacific, and the liurlington and Southwestern road.

The main line, running from St. Louis to Kansas City, crosses the country from east to west, a little south of centre, twenty-eight miles of the road being in the county. .\ branch of the same I'oad runs from Salisbury, in the centre of the eastern portion of the county to Glasgow, on the Missouri River, passing through the southern part id the county a distance of sixteen miles. Another branch of the road runs from Brunswick, also on the Missouri Kiver If) Omaha, Nebra~ka. crossiiiii the Haiinilval and St. Joe Railroad at Chillicothe, thirtN'-nim-

In addition to tlie many advantages and facilities furnished \)v tliese roads running througli thecounty, the llniinilial tiud St. Joe Kaiiroad, located just over the line in Linn county, and extending along the entire length of the northern hciuinlary line of Chariton, furnishes to our citizens in that portion ot' the connt\' convenient transportation for all their surplus stock and produce.

At the ;May term of the county court of Chariton county, Missouri, 1860, un ell'ort was made to donate the swamp and overflowed landbelonging to the scliool fund of the county to a corporation, then known as the Clinriton andKaudolph Railroad Company, and for that purpose the following order was entered of record on the 10th dav ofMay, 1860: - " Ordered by the court that Benj. F. Crawley, sheritf of Chariton county, State of IMissouri, on the 10th day of May, 1860, at the town of Keytesville, in the said county, sell to the Chariton and Randolph Railroad Company all the right, title and interest which said county has in and to the overtiowed and swamp lands in said county, hereinafter described, for and in consideration that the said compan}' shall throuL'h its proper officers assume to j)ay by irvitten obUgation, to said county, for the use of the county school I'und of said county, the sum of three thousand dollars annually, forever.

" By the terms of which bond said company are bound to pav to said county, for the use of the school fund of said county, the sum of three thousand dollars, on the first day of January, A. D. 186.5, aud the like sum of three thousand dollars every year thereafter, forever."

This actif)!! of the court was op[)osed I)y many good citizens on the ground.* that the county court had no power or authority to make such a disposition of the [)roperty belonging to the public school fund. The sherirt", Mr. B. F. Crawley - -entertained that view - and for that reasori, declined to execute the order of the ccjurt.

"Ordered liv the county court that all contracts made hy the county court of Charitcui county, party of the tirst part, wilh the Chariton and Kandolph Iiailroad Company, party of the second part, in regard to the payment hy said railroail company of three thousand dollars, annnallv, or any other sum of money to the said cnuntv, or the school fund of saiil county, which sum of money was to be due and payable about the year A. D. lSi)2. or any other year thereafter, is declared null and void upon the following ctrnditions being C(nnplied with, viz : The directors ot said I'ailroad, or the said railroad company, are hereby discharged from the jjayment of any niimey due. or that may be due, from the s;ile of an}- swamp lands liy said ccnmty to said railroad compian}', or fmids or money due the said county of Chariton or the school fund of said county, provided the Chariton and Kandolph Railroad shall be constructed within half a mile from the court-house in the town of Keytesviile in said county of Chariton, and ;i depot is buiit at the nearest point pi'acticable to saiti town of Keytesviile."

The Chariton and Randolph Railroad Company failed and passed out of existence without ever building any railroad, and was succeeded by the North Missouri Railroad Company. On application made to the county court in the interest of the North ^Missouri Railroad Company the following order was made and duly entered of record in the county court proceedings, to-wit : - " In Chariton County Court, February Sth, 186G.

" Ordered by the county court of Chariton county that that jiortion of an order heretofore made by the said county court of Chariton county, in the State of Missouri, on the tUh day of Noveud)er, A. D. 1862, is declared to be and is hereby made null and void, provide^l the North Missouri Railroail Company, having become a party to the above specified order of the court in virtue of a contract nntde with the Chariton and Randolph Raili'oad on the 4tli day of April, l.sii^, shall con- -struct the west branch of the North Missouri railroad above the mouth ol' till' Musde Fork crook in said Ciiuritoii county, ;hi(1 also iiassiiiLr tbrouji'h or toui-hinix the lilulTs or hjoh lanil< liotwccn the Ahiscle Fork creek and tlio Charituii river and south of the to\vii of Keytesvillc.and estal)lisli a depot or station house at tlio nearest and most practical)h> point on said Miills or iui;h lands to said town of Keytcsvilie."

It was a gfcal nii>t'i'rtunc in many respects, and especially in a business point of view, that the depot was located so far fioin the town.. Had it been built just south of town, instead of a mile and a quarter away, Kcytes\ille doubtless wouUl liave containod double its prc'sent popidatiou, and wuuhl have assumed somethini;- of the aspect of a new jilace. U'hy a county court, ha\'inir :it ln^art the i;-ood of Chariton county and its citizens, coiiM have; ever consented to rescind the onler of l^CrJ, rer|uiring the railroad company to build its depot within half a mile of the court houso, will i)erha[)s remain an inexplicable mvsterv". By doing tliis the conic ruined the prospects of the county seat, prevented its t'uture growth and very niatorially detracted from the price of real estate in the town and surrounding country. It was a mistake, the cHect of which cannot be estimated in dollars and cents.

At the same term of emirt an order was made apiiointing E. A. Holcomb as a special commissioner to convey the lands formerly conveved to the Chariton and liandolph IJailroad Comj)any, to the North ?ilissouri Railroad Conipanv.

Mr. Ilolcomb after\.ards, on the 13th day of February. 18(.)6, executed a quit-claim deed to said last named railr(jad comi)anv for tlie lands in question.

So matters stood until the 3d day of February, 1873, when an order was entered of record by the ccninty court of Chariton county declaring all former o'-ders licretofoi-e referred to in n>gard to swamp and overllowed lands null anel void, and directing the lands to be sold according to law, for the use and benefit of the public school fund of the county, which order was again renewed on tiie 25th day of April, 1873.

liv ilivers iiretfiiiltnl orilors of the county courl, and (ithcr writings instniaient^. am', now hold and claim said lands ndveixdy to tlie couiil} . Ai)d \vlu'i\as, in th'.^ jnd.i;)!)fiit ot' th'is court .^pi'ody action should he taken to said lands, without \vliich said lands and property will lie "isdiolly lost to the cf)nnty aTul to said scliool fund. It is now, tb.erefori>, ordered liy the court that the prosecuting attorney of Chariton county proceed at once to institute and prosecute to judgment any and all actions arnl suits neccssarv to recover said lands or establish the title thereto in favor of said county."

The validity of tlie various attemjited transfers, grants, releases, conveyances, and other proceedings on this cpiestion, have undergone a very thorough legal iuvestigation in the circuit court, and all the issues presented in the suit to recover tlie lands by the county foi- the use and benefit of the nublic school fund, have iieeii decideil liy Judge Burgess in favor of the county. One case has id'cn a[ipealed to the Supreme Court of the .State, and in that the judgment of the circuit court was utHrmed. i'v these proceedings tlie public school fund of the county has regained over $30,00*), which, according to the la<t financial exhibit niadi* in Mav, 1883, shows the public school fund ot' the county to b,- .$] ;,'U,(i;10.11 .