The Sunday Oregonian., April 25, 1909, SECTION SIX, Page 3, Image 63

v
William F. Fitch became an influential mil.
road president of the west by giving up an
income of $6,000 for one of $2 00,
because it would lead to a future The case
of tferbe.rt L. Satterlee, who refused a
$30,000. bank presidency to learn the ways
of the government in naval matters.
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AT the time that Charles D. Norton
was chosen by Secretary of the
Treasury Franklin Mao Veagh as
one of the assistant secretaries of that
department, the Instant comment, made
by those who knew what Mr. Norton's
recent career has been, was that It was
niacins; that a young man, earning ap
proximately $.V,000 a year, should be
willing to forego that Income In order to
serve In a subordinate capacity In Wash
ington, receiving for that service a sal
ary of $4500. Mr. Norton's acceptance
ef this minor post, at a coat to himself
of $45.S00 a year, so far as salary was
concerned, was spoken of as probably
without any precedent. And from one
point of view It doubtless la unprece
dented. For there Is no record of any
young business man yielding so large a
yearly Income In fact, few men of Mr.
Norton's age are In reoe'.pt of a yearly
Income that approximates. $50,000 in order
to accept a Government office or any
business post paying so small a salary
as $4600.
Mr. Norton's choice, however. Is re
garded by experienced men as marking
him conspicuously as one who la on the
high-road to a great career, a career of
Influence and authority. He has not
yielded an Income which In the course
of a few years. If he were saving, would
have given him a comfortable fortune,
without expecting to gain greatly by
that action. The immediate monetary
consideration was of less Importance to
him than the opportunity which the
Treasury Department at Washington af
fords for immediate and practical ac
quaintance with the greater fiscal and
financial operations of the time.
He realised that in the next 10 or 15
year financing unparalleled In the his
tory of the United States, and probably
in that of any civilized nation. Is to be
undertaken. He had familiarised him
self with many of the features of bank
ing, learning the details of every de
partment of a bank so that be might the
better grasp the broader operations
whlrh the management of the greater
financial institutions involves. There
fore, while Mr. Norton Is to receive in
money only 14500 a year, as compared
with the $5o.000 he was earning, he re
gards the experience end the Information
he will gain as of more oonseqence to
him and ultimately probably of greater
pecuniary value than his earnings as a
general agent of an Insurance company,
large as those were. Remaining an In
surance agent, he could never expect to
have greater Influence or personal au
thority than that comparatively limited
Influence which Is associated with the
anry of an Insurance company.
Among well-known men of today there
are some like experiences which Illus
trate the wisdom of aoceptlng reduced
Incomes in order to gain greater expe
rience. And, be It said In this connec
tion, men of large affairs always look
with Interest upon a young man who is
willing to acoept a smaller ealary than
the one he has been receiving if thereby
he can gain experience that sooner or
later will Qualify him for large under
takings. Froni Railway Clerk to Railway
President.
Some time in the Summer of last year
mere came into the office of one of the
foremost of the railway managers of the
t-nlted States a gentleman who was
greeted with cordiality. Instantly there
began conversation that related to ex
perience both had when they were offi
cers one of high authority, and the
other in a subordinate capacity of the
Chioago A Northwestern Railroad Com
pany.
After the visitor departed from th of.
flee the railway manager said to the
writer, who happened to be at that time
in the office: 'There Is an Illustration of
.. tha way In which some men succeed In
these times of intense personal competi
tion." And then this veteran manager
went oa to say that some years ago the
visitor who had just called upon him was
a subordinate officer of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad. He was the
claims agent. Ho had begun life as a
clerk In the offices of the Chicago &
Northwestern and had been promoted to
a post which was thought by all the
clerks to be the most desirabl of any
within the ranga of their ambitions. His
salary was $6000. and It was looked upon
as a large salary, especially for a young
Ulan.
But one day the claims agent called
upon the general manager-of the rail-,
roaa and asked If it would be possible !
for him to be transferred to some other
department. What was the trouble? Was
he not satisfied with a position which a
core or more of the young men em
ployed by that railroad would have been
rejoiced to secure? Did he not know
that he was receiving a handsome salary?
inese and other Questions were put to
the young officer, and in reply he said
that he had reached the opinion that the
more satisfactory to the company he was
as a claims agent, the more surelv would
he be retained In that position as long
as no lived. But there seemed to him to
be no future in It. He was anxious to be
employed In some department where
there was opportunity to learn bow to
operate a great railway system.
The general manager replied that there
was a vacancy in one of the divisions.
that, of assistant superintendent, but the
alary for that service was only 12600. If
the claims agent were willing to give up
ma mw ana accept the assistant divis
ion superlntendency at $2600 the position
was his. The young man did not hesi
tate an Instant. He said: "I'll take that
position. And when he said that the
general manager was convinced that in
the young man who stood before him
were the possibilities of high achieve
ment in the world of railway manage
ment.
The claims agent who gave up 16000
a year to accept $2500 was William F.
Fitch, and he Is now to toe reckoned with
when the management of the great rail
way systems of tha West are under
consideration.
He was assistant division superinten
dent two years and he learned every de
tail of that management. Thereupon, he
was promoted to the superlntendency of
the Dakota division and afterwards be
came general manager of what formerly
was called the "Soo" Railroad, whose In
corporated name Is the Duluth, South
Shore & Atlantic, whloh Is the chief
outlet from Duluth by rail to the East.
From general manager Mr. Fitch was
promoted to the presidency and was also
placed in control of various important
but smaller railways, as, for Instance, the
little railroad that connects the Calumet
copper mines with the Portage Canal,
and the other little railroad the .Mineral
Range that plays so Important a part,
nevertheless, in the movement of Iron
ore from Ahe mines of 'Minnesota, to the
great manufactories.
These triumphs came because the
young claims agent was willing to yield
a salary of $6000 a year and accept one
for $2600. because he eaw opportunity in
the position.
Refusing $80,000 a Year tor 94500
One day In the latter part of October.
190T, some four or five of the foremost
men of finance of New York met In the
banking office of J. Plerpont Morgan.
They were in great anxiety, for they ex
pected to hear any moment that the
Knickerbocker Trust Company, which
carried deposits of nearly $60,000,000, had
suspended. The announcement oame a
little after the noon hour and was fol
lowed immediately by the dangerous cur
rency panlo.
After the panlo was conquered there
arose the question, "What shall be done
with the Knickerbocker Trust Com
panyr It had assets which, in normal
times, would have been good for $60 -000,000.
approximately. It bad a valuable
good will as a trustee oi large estates,
and then there was tha question of so
nurslny the resouroea. If possible, ao as
to pay the depositors every penny which
stood to their credit upon the books.
But It seemed a desperate undertaking
to attempt to quicken this Institution.
In no other way could it be done than
by persuading- the .depositors to acoept
certificates of deport, "payable . months
later, for about TO per cent of their to
tal deposits. This involved personal con
tact with every depositor, so that each
one might tie persuaded to accept a juxjp-
THE BUMJAY
1 I ' ft " " " V V f Ml
c-?zarir jf jsrrc
osition of that kind. Thus to' persuade
several thousand depositors, some of
whom were very angry. Rome very ob
stinate, some very siwpiolous, and nearly
all difficult to deal with, was a work in
volving skillful and tactful management.
It was undertaken -toy Herbert !. Sat
terlee, a young lawyer of New York City,
not before prominent, although known as
a capable lawyer. ir. Satterlee spent
the best part of fnfir months in this un
dertaking. At times it seemed almost
impossible to gain access. But at last lie
secured the consent of depositors whose
aggregate claims were about $35,000,000,
the institution was saved, and Its doors
were opened with such success that it
prepaid these claims in less than a 'year
after the reorganization was effected.
That achievement brought Mr. Satter
lee to the notice of some of tha leading
men of finance ?f New York City. They
recommended his election as president of
the reorganized Knickerbocker Trust.
The salary, presumably, would have been
$2o,000 or $30,000 a year. But at the time
that this proposition was made it be
came known to Mr. Satterlee that, if he
were willing to accept the place, he could
be named as Assistant Secretary of the
Navy.
He did not hesitate. He turned his
back upon the opportunity to become the
i"iucul oi a great trust company to
accept a relatlveiv nihnrriinoi
rying a small salary, under the Govern
ment. Mr. Satterlee saw in service of
the Navy Department an opportunity not
so much for political advancement as for
wry or me problems associated
with the construction of the American
Navy, which our statesmen hope will
some dav mnth in ..r...- . ,
tude that of Great Britain. To be a mas
ter among those who are building our
Navy seemed to Mr. Satterlee a greater
opportunity than to be associated with
Glittering Offer Hoot Refused.
Some ten vm r n cm miih. "o i V
UillU AVWfc VUU1U
contemplate such a practice as a law
yer as would bring: him in ten years'
time an amnlA fnr n th tnnAUA
w. ...... v. o UlUlllQ tta
a lawyer had been large for many years
" 4.ui hi jttsi reacnea that pro
fessional position which would enable
him to command aa large retainers and
fees aa were ever paid to any lawyer.
H-s in a i time njs Iriend, the late Will
lam C. Whitney, went to him with the
Offer of what wan nrnhsVI. Hn l
. . u . laigQDl
retainer ever offered to a lawyer in
York: City. Mr. Whitney was anx
ious that Mr. Root should serve as gen
eral counsel for the great street rail
way system of Manhattan and the
Bronx, In the building up of which Mr.
Whitney had been much occupied from
the time of hla retirement from the
Navy Department as Its Secretary.
Ha offered to Mr. Root a yearly re
tainer of $100,000 for no other service
than that which involved his being at
band whenever the street railway in
terests should call upon him for opinion
or professional assistance. But. in ad
dition to this retainer. Mr. Root was
to receive such fees as he saw fit to
charge for any opinion or any service In
court which he might give. It was an
offer Involving a yearly income that
waa sura to be as much aa $150,000. and
might be as large aa $200,000.
The offer had been under considera
tion only a few days when President
McKlnley urged Mr. Root to go to
Washington, that a communication
might then be made to him. That com
munication was an urgent invitation to
Mr. Root to enter MoKinley'a Cabinet aa
his Secretary of War. The salary was
only $8000. To become a Cabinet offi
cer would Involve not only the dec
lination of Mr. Whitney's offter of a
great retainer, but the yielding of a law
practice which presumably was as great
as $100,000 a year.
Mr. Root saw that opportunity for
great public service, and particularly
for beoomlng familiar with the Army
organization, bo that It might be possi
ble to perfect an organization that,
would prove to be of great value to the
United States. He did not hesitate. He
yielded the large pecuniary returns that
would have been his to accept a small
alary, a Cabinet office and the cer
tainty of exhausting work.
That judgment has, been vindicated,
for. because Mr. Root acted upon It, he
has carved as-Secretary of War and
Secretary of State, being deemed one
of the great State Secretaries, and is
row a Senator from New York State In
Congress, and might have been Gover
nor of New York had be been willing
to accept a nomination.
That the present Secretary of State,
OREGOXIAX, POTtTXAyp,
Elihu Root's whole political career results from
the fact that he turned down the biggest re
"tainer offer ever made for a government post
bringing him in $6,000 c year How fames
M. Beck secured his present . professional
eminence by giving up a living salary for a
non-living oneThe case of Ellis H. Roberts
and others.
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Philander C. Kntx, should have been
mums 10 retire rrom professional prac
tice to enter the Cabinet of President
McKlnley was not regarded by his
friends in any other light than as in
dicating that Mr. Knox was ready to
retire from active professional life. He
had accumulated a sufficient fortune,
and. as the ape is estimated among
lawyers, was still ayoung man, so that
he could cultivate the reasonable en
joyments of leisure, his books, his
horses, his country life. To serve as
Attorney-General was to do no more'
than round out a brilliant career.
Therefore, there was nothing extraordi
nary in his givir g up a professional
practice and yielding- a large Income to
accept a Cabinet office carrying a sal
ary of only $8000 t, year.
Mr. Wlckersnam'o Example.
But the case of George W. Wlckersham
differs somewhat from that of Mr. Knox.
Mr. Wlckersham, when summoned by
President Taft to hla Cabinet as Attorney
General, was at tie height of a profes
sional practice 'hlch. if continued 19
years or more, would have made him the
possessor of a comfortable and probably
large fortune. He fielded this profession
al Income, one of Uie largest earned by
any lawyer In New York City. In order
to accept a Cabinet post whose yearly
salary Is lets than some of the single fees
Mr. Wlckersham baa received for giving
opinions or professional advice.
But when the onll came to him from
President Taft be looked upon it first as
involving an opportiwiity for high public
service, and secondly for mastering, from
the point of view of the Government, the
Intricate and Important problems which
the growth of the great combinations of
capital, engaged ir. interstate commerce,
has created. That is a study which
would appeal to a great lawyer, and un
doubtedly would be of service to him after
he had retired from a Government post.
James M." Deck, who was at one
time United States District Attorney for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,
yielded that remunerative position, rela
tively, to accept office aa an assistant Attorney-General,
the salary for which la
very small. But Mr. Beck realized that
the Government wns about to enter upon
certain prosecutions of transcendent Im
portance, and that the experience that he
wouia gam in tnese prosecutions would be
of great value to him when he should re
turn to private practice of the law.
He served for several years as Assistant
Attorney-General, receiving a salary In
sufficient for him to live upon. But he
mastered the complicated problems enter
ing Into these prosecutions, so that when
he returned to private practice In New
York City he speedily was In the receipt
of an Income and had gained a profes
sional influence which rarely come to a
man of his age.
So doubtless Mr. Wlckersham, In addi
APKTIi 25, 1909.
tion to the sense of public duty, realizes
that there la nnnnrtnnitv fw t,im ... i i.
justifies the yielding for a time of one
of the great professional incomes, ac
cepting in its place a yearly salary of
$12,000.
Lamont's Opportunity and Fortune.
When Daniel S. Lamont. familiarly
known as "Dan" Lamont, President
Cleveland's private secretary, died some
few years ago. he was discovered to have
accumulated an estate a little in excess
ot sa.ww.uuo. Twenty years earlier La
mont was a newsiaper writer, receiving
a salary of $3000. His great fortune came
to him because he was willing upon one
occasion to yield a large salary and to
accept service under President Cleveland,
for which he received a salary not one
half that which was paid to him aa an
officer of the street railway corporation
of New York City.
At the end of President Cleveland's first
term Lamont went to New York City un
der the patronage of William C. Whitney.
At that time Mr. Whitney was planning
the consolidation which resulted in the
creation of the Metropolitan Traction
Company, in control of all of the sur
face railroads of Manhattan and the
Bronx. Here seemed to be opportunity
for Lamont. He was placed In a fosl
tion of authority and received a salary,
the precise amount of which was never
known to any except htmself and to the
railway company, but it waa understood
to be In tha neighborhood of $3u,0u0 a
year.
Four years later Mr. Cleveland was re
elected President, and a day or two
after that election he sent for Lamont.
At that time Mr. Cleveland was living
In New Tori City, his house being within
10 minutes' walk of Mr. Lamont s offices.
After the first greetings Mr. Cleveland
said to Lamont: "Dan. I want you to
go back to Washington with me." .
Lamont hesitated. He said that to re
turn to Washingtbn would compel his
giving up what was probably to be a life
position and an opportunity to gain, a
comfortable fortune. But Mr. Cleveland
Insisted, and at last Lamont said to him:
"If I go back to Washington with you.
In what capacity Is It to be?" And the
President-elect replied: "Why, aa private
secretary, of course."
. Lamont asked for a day or two to con
sider the proposition, being especially im
pressed by the urgency with which Mr.
Cleveland made the appeal. When he
again met the President-elect he said he
would go back to Washington on one
condition, and that was that he waa to
be appointed a member of Mr. Cleve
land's Cabinet, either Postmaster-General
or Secretary of War.
That proposition at first staggered Mr.
Cleveland a little, and yet he realized
that If he were to have Lamont In the
Cabinet he would still have the young
man where he would be of great service
to him, for he relied much upon the ad
vice of Lamont, especially when given in
iff X ' ' '
Hi
i h si i in -:.'v5s- vc
I' - -TK
I OA mm f till .'v .. f -f . . . . n . . . . 4 ill
explanation of various politicians, their
ambitions and their abilities.
To serve as Secretary of War. which
was the Cabinet post Mr. Cleveland de
termined to nominate Lamont for. In
volved a yielding of more than oue-half
of the salary . which ha received as exec
utive officer of the street railway com
panies of New York City. Moreover, to
serve as Secretary of War would take
tour years out of an active business ca
reer, and that seemed a serious curtail
ment of time for a young man who had
his career to make and his fortune to
gain. But Lamont perceived that there
were opportunities for association with
men of large affairs, for gaining their
confidence, and particularly for bringing
order out of the chaos in which some of
the great land grants made by the Gov
ernment to the Pacific railroads .were
involved.
In that judgment Lamont was correct'
He served the Government admirably as
Secretary of War. but he also mastered
certain great problems respecting the re
lation of the Pacific railroads to the
Government and became familiar with
the purposes and ambitions of James J.
Hill of the Great Northern system and
others who were at that time directing
the Pacific railroads. His executive abil
ity o greatly Impressed Mr. Hill - that
ha was offered the vice-presidency of a
Paclfio railroad, and that. too. at a time
when the aecurities of this railroad were
at almost their lowest quotations. La
mont was able to secure large blocks of
these securities, realizing enormously
through the appreciation of them, so that
within six years he had passed from the
position of a salaried man to that of a
considerable capitalist. Ha saw opportu
nity and a career in the yielding of a
large Income to accept for a time a small
one.
What Cecilia loft us Did.
At one time Cecilia Loftus received as
large a salary as was ever paid to so
young an actress. She had gained a pe
culiar and unique reputation, having ex
traordinary gifts of mimicry. When she
came to the United States under con
tract to appear upon the vaudeville stage,
her popularity waa so great that those
who engaged her at a salary In excess of
$1000 a week, still made great profits
through her appearance.
But the young woman had ambition for
greater triumphs and a finer fame than
any that were possible for a vaudeville
performer. She waa convinced that If
she had opportunity to appear In the
higher dramas, she might gain permanent
fame as an actress. At last her oppor
tunity came.
H. Sothern waa to produce a new
Play written by Huntley McCarthy, son
of the distinguished English historian
and member of Parliament. It seemed
to Mr. Sothern that the part of the lead
ing woman In this drama waa especially
appropriate for Cecilia Loftus. and he
L
offered her that part, saying frankly that
he could not afford to pay $H.wo a week
or anything like It. However, he was
milling to pay $300 a week.
Miss Loftus did not hesitate. She
yielded the thousand dollars a week and
accepted the .10, deeming this her op
portunity of gaining high triumph as an
actress in the greater dramas. Her judg
ment waa correct, although by reason
of ill health Miss Loftus- ambition has
not yet been fully realized. But those
who are good judges, Mr. Sothern among
them, are convinced that If she regains
her health, she Is sure to be numbered
among the great actresses of her gen
eration. Kills II. Roberts Choice.
Ellis H. Roberts, who for several terms
represented the Utica, New York, district
In Congress and was for many years
the editor of a leading paper In New
York State, was nominated bv Presi
dent Harrison In 1S89 as Assistant Treas
urer of the United States at New York,
whose responsibility la chiefly over the
ub-treasury. One peculiarity probably
without parallel in the Government serv
ice or in business life which distin
guishes the sub-treasury at New York
is that, although the assistant treasurer
In charge of the sub-treasury is subor
dinate to the Treasurer of the United
States, yet he receives a higher salary.
When Mr. Roberts was appointed assist
ant treasurer at New York the office car
ried a salary of $S000. atlhough the Treas
urer of the United States received only
$600 salary.
This dirTerenoo I. nrnh.kl. i-. ..
the fact that the assistant treasurer of
the United States at New York Is re
quired to give what, with a single excep
tion. Is the largest bond exacted from
any officer under the Federal Govern
ment. The bond is for $00,000. The as
sistant treasurer is personally responsi
ble for the safety of the many millions of
funds of which he Is the custodian.
After President McKlnley was inaugu
rated in 1S97 Mr. Roberts, who. durlns
the second term of President Cleveland
had served aa a bank president In New
York, having yielded the office of as
sistant treasurer to one who was of
President Cleveland's party, was rec
ommended by the party leaders either
for the offke of Treasurer of the United
States at Washington or for the office
formerly held by him, assistant Treas
urer of the United States at New York
Mr. Roberts for a time was In a quan
dary v, ere he to be named Treasurer of
the United States be would hava the
higher honor, the greater influence and
authority, although ha would receive
fMOO a year less than the salary paid
the assistant Treasurer at New York.
The office of assistant Treasurer at
New York is a purely perfunctory and
clerical one. He Is. in one sense, a sort
of dignified cashier, receiving and paying
out large sums of money, and is the cus
todian of the funds received at his office-
It is an easy life, whereas to be
Treasurer at Washington involves the ex
ercise of Judgment without much respon
sibility. But there Is opportunity for as
sociation with the leading public men
and for gaining accurate knowledge of
fiscal and financial operations, and of the
relation of the National banks to the
Treasury Department.
For these reasons Mr. Roberts accepted
the higher office at toe smaller salary
serving as Treasurer of the United
States for nearly six yeara. Today as
president of a Chicago bank, he la one
of the best known financiers of the great
Middle West.
(Copyright, 1909. by the Associated Lit
erary Press,)
V
EH 105.2