A Young Millionaire not Afraid to Work in Overalls.
A TALL, slender young man walked into the office of the master of
motive power and construction, in the Grand Central Station, New York.
He was dressed in clothes that showed marks of travel, and his face
had a tired look. This was young Cornelius Vanderbilt, son of the head
of the house of Vanderbilt, and great-grandson of his namesake, the
founder of the Vanderbilt fortune. Cornelius had come to the office
to report to the man under whom he is working, for the heir to the
Vanderbilt millions was then serving his apprenticeship in the railroad
business, and had to report the work he had accomplished, just like
any other young mechanic on the road. Every clerk in the office stared
at him, but the stare was affectionate, for every employee of the road
has learned to like him. They have seen him with jacket and overalls,
working in the yards and in the round-houses and machine-shops all
along the system.
“It was not a sudden determination which led me to go out on the road
and study the practical side of the railroad business,” said young
Cornelius Vanderbilt, in answer to my question as to his motive; “I
had long intended to do it, because I know that the best way to learn
a business is to begin at the bottom and work up. So when Mr. Depew
arranged for me to begin in this department, I gladly accepted the
place. I have been out on the road, off and on, for several months, and
feel that I have learned a great deal that I could never have learned
in any other way.”