business affairs and trade organizations throughout the world.
He has been a delegate to several imperial trade congresses, the
last being held in Sydney, Australia. By invitation he was a
delegate to Newfoundland to assist in the formation of a board of
trade there in 1909. He was presented in 1903 with a testimonial
from British delegates to the imperial trade congress at Montreal
in acknowledgement of courtesies and services rendered by him.
In 1905 he was elected an honorary member of the International
Board of Foreign Trade and was made honorary secretary of the
King Edward memorial committee of Montreal in 1911. His position
has brought him into close connection with many important civic
and municipal projects with which the Board of Trade has been
intimately associated.
In 1891 Mr. Hadrill married Emmeline Lilian, the daughter of
J. Albert Copland of Chelmsford, England. Mrs. Hadrill died in
December, 1902. Mr. Hadrill has been a director of St. George’s
Society of Montreal and is an Anglican in religious faith.
The Montreal Herald has written of him that he is “a man of
great natural abilities as a statistician and accountant.” “He
possesses unusual qualifications for his office, which calls for
a display of diplomacy, tact and social qualities as well as for
purely business ability,” writes another paper, and this opinion
is corroborated by all who have come in contact with him. While
thoroughly systematic and methodical in managing the duties of
his position, he has at the same time that ready resourcefulness
which enables him to meet an emergency and secure from it the
best possible results.
CHARLES MELVILLE HAYS.
The tales of heroic conduct in times of war will always arouse
the enthusiasm and call forth the praise of those who hear them,
but heroism is by no means confined to the men who wear their
nation’s uniform and march to the sound of the bugle. It has been
manifest where there were none to witness and none to record the
story and with nothing but an individual sense of duty for its
inspiration. The world thrilled with the story of the heroism
of the men, who, in the silence of the night, gave women and
children over to the care of the few who manned the lifeboats
and quietly awaited death on the decks of the steamship Titanic
when it sank on its maiden trip across the Atlantic, April 15,
1912. Included in the great toll of human lives exacted by
this catastrophe, was that of Charles Melville Hays, president
of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railways and one of the foremost
railroad magnates of his generation. His was the master mind
in the development of the Grand Trunk Pacific and his work for
the Grand Trunk Railway has become a part of the history of the
Dominion. One of the elements of his success was that he was
always essentially and strictly a railroad man, never dissipating
his energies over too broad a field but concentrating his efforts
along that single line of activity.
A native of Rock Island, Illinois, Mr. Hays was born in 1856, and
was but a child when his parents removed to St. Louis, Missouri,
in which city he was reared and received his educational
training. He was but a boy of seventeen when he started out in
life on his own account as a clerk in the passenger department of
the Atlantic & Pacific Railway. From that time on his advancement
was continuous and rapid, solely the result of his thoroughness,
efficiency and genuine merit. After a year he was transferred to
the auditor’s department and later was called to a position in
the office of the general superintendent, where his aptitude,
enterprise and initiative were soon recognized. From 1878 until
1884 he was secretary to the general manager of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad and in the latter year was offered and
accepted the position of secretary to the general manager of the
Wabash & St. Louis Pacific Railway Company.
[Illustration: CHARLES M. HAYS]
In 1886 he was appointed general manager of the road and the
following year became general manager of the Wabash Western,
comprising all of the Wabash lines west of the Mississippi and
also between Chicago and Detroit. In 1889 he was appointed
general manager of the reorganized and consolidated Wabash
system and controlled the important and manifold interests of
the railway for six years or until he resigned to become general
manager of the Grand Trunk, succeeding L. J. Seargeant. Five
years later he left the Grand Trunk to take the position of
president of the Southern Pacific Railway Company but remained
in that connection for only a year, as the railway passed under
the control of the Harriman interests, whose policy differed from
that of Mr. Hays. About that time he received a communication
from Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, again offering him the position
of general manager of the Grand Trunk and he returned to the
latter road late in 1901 as second vice president and general
manager. His connection therewith was continuous from that
time until his demise, and on the retirement of Sir Charles
Rivers Wilson in October, 1909, he was appointed president. In
the meantime his connection with railway interests constantly
broadened, making him one of the notable figures in railway
circles on the American continent. He became president of the
Central Vermont Railway, the Grand Trunk Western Railway, the
Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway, the Toledo, Saginaw &
Muskegon Railway, the Michigan Air Line Railway, the Chicago,
Detroit and Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railway, the Detroit &
Toledo Shore Line, the Southern New England Railway Company, the
Canadian Express Company, the Grand Trunk Railway Insurance &
Provident Society and of various corporations featuring largely
as factors in commercial and industrial development. He was
chosen to the presidency of the St. Clair Tunnel Company, the
International Bridge Company, the Montreal Warehousing Company,
the Portland Elevator Company and the New England Elevator
Company. He also represented the Grand Trunk Western Railway as
a director of the Chicago & Western Indiana Railway and Belt
Railway of Chicago.
In 1905 he was made a member of the permanent commission of
the International Railway Congress and also a director of the
United States Mortgage & Trust Company. He was a delegate to
the Imperial Trades Congress in 1903. He became a director of
the Royal Trust Company and the Merchants Bank of Canada and
a director of the Canadian Board of the London & Lancashire
Life Assurance Company. He was also a director of the Montreal
Horticultural and Fruit Growing Association--a fact which
indicated much of the breadth of his interests. His executive
ability was sought as an element in the successful management of
various benevolent, charitable and philanthropic enterprises.
He was a governor of the Montreal General Hospital, a governor
of the Royal Victoria Hospital and a governor of the McGill
University. In 1907 he was decorated with the Order of the Rising
Sun (third class) by the emperor of Japan.
He was a man of remarkable personality. Obstacles and
difficulties seemed but a stimulus for renewed effort on his part
and he was never happier than when he could grasp an opportunity
and utilize it to the fullest extent or untangle a knotty problem
in railway management and control. Mr. Hays was a well known
figure in club circles, belonging to the Mount Royal, St. James,
Canada, Forest and Stream, Montreal Jockey, Montreal Hunt, St.
Maurice Fish and Game Club and the Laurentian Club of Montreal
and the Rideau Club of Ottawa. Sir Wilfrid Laurier had termed him
“a valuable acquisition to Canada,” and the Montreal Witness said
he was “a splendid example of what brains, pluck and industry can
overcome and accomplish,” while the Montreal Standard styled him
“a man of quiet dignity, whose sanity and strength are seen and
felt in all his undertakings.”
Mr. Hays was survived by his widow, who was Miss Clara J. Gregg,
a daughter of William H. Gregg of St. Louis, Missouri, and
four daughters, Mrs. George D. Hall, of Boston, Mrs. Thornton
Davidson, Mrs. A. Harold Grier and Mrs. Hope C. Scott, of
Montreal.
One of the ships that hastened to the relief of the Titanic
recovered the body of Mr. Hays, which was brought back to
Montreal for interment and laid to rest following one of the most
imposing funerals ever accorded a civilian in this city. Mr. Hays
worshipped at the American Presbyterian church of Montreal and
was one of its trustees, but retained his membership in the First
Presbyterian church of St. Louis, Missouri, and in the memorial
services held in the former on the 25th of April, 1912, a sermon
by the Rev. Dr. McKittrick, pastor of the First Presbyterian
church of St. Louis, following the death of Mr. Hays, was read.
He said in part: “The colossal catastrophe of the seas which has
so recently startled and dismayed the civilized world could not
pass today entirely unnoted in the temples of the living God.
Among those who went down to their unexpected and, it seems to
our vision, their untimely death, there was no man who worthily
had a higher position in the social, industrial and financial
world than Mr. Charles M. Hays, president of the Grand Trunk
Railway of Canada. Since commonly the boy is father of the man
we might almost refer to him as ‘our Mr. Hays’ for he was once
in our Sunday School, and afterwards a member of our Board of
Trustees. His is an inspiring example to all our boys and to
every boy in the land of what may be accomplished by rightful
purpose, industry, determination, all these by the worthy motives
which variously constitute character. It took all the elements
which are found in a manly man to make first so notable a record
as was his in this city, and then to create for himself the
distinguished name and for his undertaking the great prosperity
which concerning both the history of today reveals.”
The following reference to Mr. Hays’ life and work was made at
the close of public worship in the American Presbyterian church,
Montreal, on Sabbath, April 28th. Dr. Johnston said: “The subject
that we have been considering this morning has unavoidably
suggested to you, as it has to me, many thoughts regarding the
life, the death and the work of Mr. Charles M. Hays whose loss
our land mourns today.
“Much has already been said of Mr. Hays as the railway magnate,
the man of enterprise, the devoted husband and father and the
loyal friend. Upon these phases of his character I will not
therefore further dwell, but there remains something to be said
of that feature of his life which, though less conspicuous to
the general public, nevertheless lay deep and strong behind
all these other characteristics, and was indeed the inspiration
of them. We all in this congregation know the large place which
Mr. Hays gave to the work and worship of the church, and the
readiness with which his time and influence were always lent
to its interests. He loved the House of God. That love, in a
measure, was doubtless the result of early training in a home of
whose deep religious character he ever loved to speak in terms of
affection and appreciation. It was also due in part to his deep
sense of what he owed in his place of great prominence to the
community at large, and to a younger generation in particular,
in the way of example. Most of all, however, it was due to his
appreciation of the place that worship should have in every
life, and to his deep sense of the need of every soul for those
things that the House of God and its services can give. This
attitude instead of lessening, as in so many lives it does, as
responsibilities increased, and honours accumulated, deepened in
Mr. Hays with the passing years.
“The continent-wide enterprises with which his name will always
be associated were not simply enterprises and interests to him.
They constituted a work, a ministry, which it was given him
to administer for man, and through man for God. The tens of
thousands for whom he had already thrown open the door of their
exodus from European stagnation and oppression were his Israel,
whom he, in God’s name, was leading out into liberty and larger
life. These broad prairies and boundless stretches of Northern
Saskatchewan and the Peace River district, those hitherto
impassable Rockies, giving gateway to the flowering farmlands
that slope toward the silver sands of the Pacific--these were
his Canaan, which it was his to conquer, not with sword and
clash of battle, but with genius and enterprise and the power of
science, so that into the good ‘Land of Promise’ he might bring
the oppressed peoples of the world, to make a nation strong in
liberty and in righteousness.
“Did time permit I could tell you much of how Mr. Hays carried on
his great heart, the toiling multitudes of earth and their needs,
and of how it was to him a vision glorious that he was permitted
in some measure to contribute to their uplift and redemption. He,
too, like Israel’s leader, had looked upon the burdens of the
people. To us it seems that, like Moses, he has been permitted
only to view his promised land from afar. On the threshhold of
completion he has been bidden to lay down his work. A broken
column? A work incomplete? Yes, if this world is all, and this
life the only life, but if death is indeed for the life that
lives in Christ, not extinction but expansion, not frustration
but promotion, than surely in some other of the many mansions in
our Father’s one great house, they still serve who have ceased
from labor here, and work with gladness for the bringing in of
that day when throughout all the universe of God there shall be
nothing to hurt nor to destroy, but ‘God shall be all and in
all.’”
The press throughout the American continent united in tribute to
Charles Melville Hays and under the caption of Montreal’s Loss
the Gazette of April 19, 1912, said editorially: “Among the
many places which will have home reasons for bearing the loss
(April 15, 1912) of the steamship Titanic in sorrowful memory
there will be few to rank before Montreal. Of residents who had
won or were winning honorable places of usefulness in the city’s
commercial life, no less than four ended their earthly career in
the dark hours of Monday when the Atlantic waters closed over
the wreck of what had been one of the world’s noblest vessels.
First of these, of course, ranks Mr. Charles M. Hays, president
of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railways and director and adviser in
many allied and other enterprises. Mr. Hays came to Montreal as
a stranger, when the condition and fortunes of the Grand Trunk
Railway were low indeed. The life had apparently gone out of the
direction and a great property, with greater potentialities, was
in danger of passing into bankruptcy. He and his associates found
their task harder also because they were strangers. It was only a
little while, however, before the city and the country, as well
as the proprietors of the railway, recognized that in the new
general manager, which was the title Mr. Hays then had, they had
a man who for capacity ranked with the highest in his profession.
With a slight interruption Mr. Hays has had chief executive
control since 1897 of the Grand Trunk Railway. In that time it
has been lifted physically to the standard of a high class, well
equipped road, with few superiors in America. Financially it
has been so improved as to meet the interest charges on the new
capital raised for betterments and has been able to pay dividends
on some of the older issues that once seemed to have lost all
value as investments. In late years he was a chief moving spirit
in the projection and construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific
Railway, which is now approaching completion. His work in these
connections speaks of his executive ability louder than can words
written or spoken. It is only to be added that in all relations
of life, business or social, he was a plain, courteous and kindly
gentleman, to whom all were ready to pay in full measure the
respect that he deserved.”
The memorial service read in the American Presbyterian church
to which previous allusion has been made, was one of the most
impressive ever held within the borders of Canada and the
tributes to Mr. Hays on that occasion attested how high was the
position which he held in the regard of business colleagues,
of eminent educators, ministers and others. Principal Peterson
of McGill University said in part: “We have done well to come
together in this solemn manner, not to meet in a useless parade
of grief and sorrow, but to pay a sincere tribute to the worth
of one who has gone to his last reward and to express our
sympathy to those who suffer the loss of one so dear, and who
have scarcely yet survived the shock of their sudden bereavement.
Our men died like heroes--in that last dread extremity they bore
themselves nobly and well.
“And I doubt not that foremost in fortitude was that
great-hearted man who today is mourned throughout the world,
Charles M. Hays, who was then eagerly returning to take his
controlling part in those great enterprises with which his name
will always be associated, and no doubt looking forward with joy
to returning to his accustomed work and surroundings here. The
vast transportation system over which he so well presided, and to
which he gave fresh life, has just paid him well earned tribute
in those moments of organized, concerted, silence stretching
across this continent--the awed hush of reverent respect and
tender sympathy from every section of the railway service and
from every rank and class in the community at large. It was a
moving incident, but only a slight indication of the esteem in
which he was held everywhere, and of the loss which the railways
and the people have sustained.
“Mr. Hays came to Montreal in 1896, shortly after I came here,
and since then it has been my privilege to know him well, and
to meet him frequently in university and other affairs. Only a
short time before Mr. Hays left for Europe I had a walk with him,
when he talked to me of his plans for the future, and discussed
university and other educational matters, with the grave and
serious hope for future advancement which marked his thought.
Little then did either of us think it possible that so terrible
a disaster should cut short his vigorous and useful career. He
was a real leader of men, a true captain of industry, carrying
a huge burden of work and responsibility on his shoulders, and
always carrying it as a strong Christian man should. We shall go
forth from this solemn service to our customary duties, graver
and sadder men. It may be that we shall not have the melancholy
duty of following to the grave the remains of this man whose
work interlinked a vast continent. He has found his grave in the
ocean, and it may be literally said of him that the whole world
is his tomb. Certainly his memory will not soon die; for long
will the memory live of this impressive memorial of his sad fate
and the sorrow of his stricken family. And when the far-reaching
plans for which he stood sponsor are realized we shall often go
back in thought to what this city, this dominion and the empire
at large owes to the ability, the integrity and dauntless energy
of Charles Melville Hays.”
One of the glowing and well deserved tributes paid to the memory
of Charles Melville Hays was spoken by Rev. T. S. McWilliams. D.
D., of Cleveland, Ohio, who said: “The man whose loss we mourn
today, and whose memory we would honor was not merely a national,
he was an international figure. The great enterprise of which
he was at the head, and, to an unusual degree the guiding and
animating spirit, was not merely a national, but an international
railway. It seems fitting therefore that one from the United
States should have a small part in this memorial service. The
humble tribute which I bring is not merely that of a former
pastor--as such I was privileged to say a few words on Sunday
last. Nor is my tribute that of a personal friend--as such my
place would not be here in the pulpit, but in position with the
mourners, amongst those who most deeply and genuinely feel a
sense of personal loss. Mine is the privilege today of bringing a
neighboring nation’s tribute, if you will; of assuring you that
many of the American people share with you the sorrow and sense
of loss which you feel so keenly. In the United States the late
Charles M. Hays was born, and there he spent the larger part of
his life. Of our country he remained a citizen to the last. Yet
there were few men more genuinely devoted to the interests of
Canada or more intelligently attached to British institutions
than he. Few, if any, in Canada saw with clearer vision the great
possibilities of the future of your country and believed more
intensely in the great destinies of Canada.
“To speak of Mr. Hays’ preeminent ability as a railway man is
scarcely necessary. We have only to look around to see the
monuments to his genius. There are two immense office buildings
that ornament your city; there is that wonderful steel bridge
over Niagara’s gorge and the great station at Ottawa. There
is the rejuvenated and vastly extended Grand Trunk Railway.
And, perhaps greatest of all, there is the Grand Trunk Pacific
Railway, destined at no distant date to span this continent,
making accessible natural resources of incalculable value, and
bringing into practical part of the national progress vast
regions at present inaccessible to the agriculturist. These are
great enterprises which have attracted the admiring attention of
the world and stimulated rival systems to greater activity, while
bringing millions in money to your land, and, what means much
more to you, an unprecedented tide of immigration. It is but just
to say that such enterprises as these have been no small factor
in the building up of that great progress and prosperity which
characterizes Canada at the present time.
“The credit of such achievements is, of course, to be shared
with Mr. Hays’ earnest colaborers--and he would have been the
first to give them such credit--but to Mr. Hays is certainly
due the credit of the initiative. For a man at the early age
of thirty-eight years to rise from the bottom of the ladder
to the presidency of such a railway system as the Wabash, and
later to be selected as president of the Grand Trunk, charged
with its rehabilitation, and to so conduct its affairs that
after only five years its securities had enhanced in value by
eighty-six millions of dollars; to be called to the presidency
of the Southern Pacific, and then called back again to the Grand
Trunk to consummate yet vaster plans--these are proofs positive
and sufficient of his preeminent railway genius. The tribute
of silence in which we a few minutes ago reverently joined--a
silence in which we were joined by that great army of employes
from ocean to ocean--was not the silence of obedience to an
enforced order. It was the genuine heart-felt tribute of men of
all ranks to a leader whom they had loved and lost.
“The contagion of his example spread through every part of
that great system. Himself a hard and rapid worker his own
example was a sufficient incentive to do away with indolence and
incompetence. His presence anywhere on the system encouraged and
thrilled to better work not by fear of the tyrant’s command to
go, but they thrilled at the leader’s call to come.