The following day a special train took Mr. Plant and his party to

Leesburg, where arrangements had been made by the people of that

beautiful little town to give Mr. Plant and his friends another ovation

of most healthful pleasure and exquisite enjoyment. The Mayor and

leading citizens of the place met the party at the railroad station and

welcomed them with marked cordiality to their best hospitality and

friendship. At the close of a day’s most delightful sailing up Lakes

Harrison and Griffin, and many carriage rides on the shores of those

beautiful lakes, situated as they are in some of Florida’s most

picturesque scenery, the party sat down to a banquet in the hotel given

by the Leesburg Board of Trade. “It was truly a feast of reason and flow

of soul,” for nothing could have been in better taste or evinced more

genuine esteem and friendship for the guest of the occasion than was

shown there.

On the next day a special train took Mr. Plant and his party to Eustis.

At the station all the prominent people in town were gathered to welcome

him. Carriages were in waiting to take him and his friends through the

beautiful little town. It was with visible emotion that he looked upon

the withered, lifeless orange trees bared by the terrible frost of the

preceding winter, a drear and desolate scene as compared with the bloom

and beauty of other days. Mr. Plant, however, was never given to

fruitless murmuring. To a young editor in the carriage with him he

said: “No, we must make the best of even the adverse situation. It might

be worse. You must publish words of cheer and hope to your people, and

do all that you can to help them over this trying time. Suggest to them

the planting of other crops, the rearing of other fruits. It will not do

to be altogether dependent on oranges. The soil is capable of raising

many other things besides oranges, and it may be that this calamity will

become a blessing in disguise.” So he ministered good cheer and

practical instruction to the people, who felt that he loved them, and

who were very responsive to his encouraging words.

I doubt not these people uttered the true sentiments of their deep

feeling when they said as they bade him good-bye: “Mr. Plant, you have

done us all a great deal of good, we shall never forget you for this

visit you have made us. It will be a pleasant memory to us always, and

if you and your friends have enjoyed your visit half as much as we have

enjoyed having you, then is our happiness increased a hundred fold.”

Never have we witnessed anything more beautiful and tenderly impressive

than the kindly interest which Mr. Plant’s visit called out among these

people. His every want was anticipated, luncheons, rare and delicious,

were carefully stored away on boat and train and brought out at the

right time. After sail or ride in train and carriage in this most

appetizing atmosphere had made the party hungry as prairie wolves, then

a sumptuous repast was served and enjoyed to the full. Rooms, and rest

and care in hotel, cars, or boats were provided with a skill and tact

that made one think of the Plant System.

Honesty is the foundation and keystone of every noble character. It is

the quality that must pervade the whole nature. Nothing can take its

place or atone for its absence, nor can there be a perfect manhood where

it is not the warp and woof of the whole man. “Honesty is the best

policy” says the policy man, but he who is honest only from policy and

not from principle, is not an honest man, but a knave, if not a fool as

well. Genius, scholarship, wit, humor, brilliancy are worse than

worthless when they do not rest on a foundation of honesty. Never was a

greater tribute paid to man than when President Lincoln’s neighbors

dubbed him “Honest Abe.” Nor did poet ever rise to higher flights of

truth than when Scotia’s Bard wrote “An honest man’s the noblest work of

God.” “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of

ten thousand,” says Shakespeare. In the history of the human race men of

all ranks have ever paid the highest tributes to honesty and accorded to

it the first place in human character. It is this quality, combined

with his great energy, which has enabled Mr. Plant to carry his

undertakings to so successful an end.

One of his associates in business for long years said: “Mr. Plant does

not rashly promise but when he does, performance is sure, cost what it

may. Were I having a business transaction with Mr. Plant for any amount,

and knew that he would live to fulfil his engagement I would ask neither

bond nor written contract. His word would be just as good to me as any

security that could be drawn by the best legal authority in the land.”

“I should name honesty as the dominant principle of Mr. Plant’s

character,” said another.

It has been naïvely said that no “man is a gentleman to his valet,” but

the testimonies here quoted are from men of long and most intimate

acquaintance, and might be multiplied by hundreds of those who were once

in his employ as well as by those still connected with the great System

over which Mr. Plant presides. Careful scrutiny and good judgment have

characterized all Mr. Plant’s dealings with his fellow-men, but crooked

ways and mean advantage never. He has rendered to his generation an

invaluable service in that he has demonstrated to it that honesty is the

best _principle_ and the surest way to the greatest success. And he has

done this in departments of commerce proverbial for their unjust and

unfair methods of dealing.

He has a wonderful amount of unconscious power which moulds those who

come within its influence. Hence his associates have remained long with

him even when tempted by other positions. The following extracts from a

letter of ex-Governor R. B. Bullock will be found of interest in this

connection.

“REV. Dr. GEO. H. SMYTH.

“Reverend and Dear Sir:--

“Replying now to your esteemed favor of March 17th, would say that Mr.

Henry B. Plant came to this city in 1854, representing the Adams and

other express interests, which were then being extended through this

section of the country; and he continued to make this city his

headquarters in that connection until ’69 or ’70, when he made his home

in New York. There are no ‘incidents’ within my knowledge connected with

Mr. Plant’s life here, which would be of special interest to incorporate

in a biography. He developed then the same persistent, conservative and

industrious perseverance in planning for and directing the interests in

his charge, which have since developed into the important and widespread

interests over which he now presides.

“Naturally, in the development and establishment of the business in his

hands in those early days, it became necessary for him to select proper

men to fill the various positions connected therewith and it is a

notable fact, by experience shown, that the selections so made by him,

were wise and judicious, and one of the marked features of his executive

action has been the kindly exercise of unlimited and undisputed

authority. There is no recollection of his having displayed impatience

or irritable temper, even under very vexatious circumstances. His manner

was always friendly, frank and appreciative, so that the disposition of

the men subject to his control, was always found to be actuated by a

desire to accomplish all that was possible for the interest of the

institution over which Mr. Plant presided, sufficiently encouraged and

cheered by the hope of his approbation. So close an eye did he keep upon

the services rendered by the most insignificant employee, that no

service well rendered failed to receive his personal endorsement and

approval.

“By reason of his evenly balanced judgment and temper, his relations

with the chief officers of railroad and steamship companies over and by

which express service was transacted, and with bank officials--who were

then our chief patrons--were always of the kindliest character, and he

always enjoyed their perfect confidence and highest respect.

“In fact, all of the characteristics, which have made his later life the

magnificent success which the country appreciates, were developed and

maintained throughout his early business experience.

“There is nothing new or peculiar about the facts to which I have

referred, because they are well known and appreciated by hundreds of men

now in the service, who have been continuously with it since its

organization.

“Very respectfully and truly,

“RUFUS B. BULLOCK.”

[Illustration: text decoration]

[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER IX.

Mr. Plant’s Industry and Power to Endure Continuous Strain--Labor

of Examining and Answering his Enormous Mail--Letter from

Japan--Mail Delivered Regularly to him at Home and Abroad--His

Private Car, its Style, Structure, Hospitality, and Cheering

Presence--Numerous Calls--The Secret of his Endurance--The Esteem

and Love of the Southern Express Company for its President--Mr.

Plant Enjoys Social Life--He is a Great Lover of almost all Kinds

of Music--Mr. Plant a Medical Benefactor--Some of the Progress Made

in the Healing Art--Bishop of Winchester’s High Estimate of the

Value of Health--Dr. Long’s Opinion of the Gulf Coast as a Health

Restorer--Unrecognized Medicines in Restoring Lost

Health--Nervousness among the American People--The Soothing and

Strengthening Effect of Florida Climate--Mr. Plant’s Part in

Facilitating Travel and Providing Comfortable Accommodations for

the Invalid.

Mr. Plant’s industry and power of endurance are a marvel to those around

him in office work. Over five hundred letters a week received is no

unusual thing. These are read to him by his private secretary, and

answered under his direction or dictation. They come from the three

different departments of the Plant System, which extends over many

thousands of miles, by land and by sea, and in its Express department

forwards goods over a mileage greater than the circumference of the

globe.

Some of these letters require deliberation, skill, care, and sound

judgment in replying to the many complex questions of such a large and

important business as the Plant System covers. Others are less

complicated and more easily disposed of, while many are of a social

character, from Mr. Plant’s numerous friends scattered, I might say,

over the world. One day while sitting in his office at Tampa Bay Hotel,

he said: “I had a very pleasant letter this morning from Japan. Some

lady missionaries there write me of an excursion I once gave them in

Florida, which afforded them much enjoyment and of which they write in

enthusiastic appreciation though it occurred many years ago, and I had

forgotten all about it.”

This large mail is a matter of daily occurrence. No day in the whole

week is free from its arrival. If he travels, as he often does in his

own elegant private car, his mail is delivered at important stations all

along the road. Being in constant communication with all departments of

the System by telegraph, telephone, or messenger, his mail is forwarded

to him promptly at all railroad stations named for its delivery, is

examined and replied to as readily as if in his main office in New York

City, for he has an office, desk, and all needed facilities in his car

for sending out telegrams, letters, or messages from the different

stations by the way. His car is a model of convenience, comfort, and

elegance in all its appointments. It is finished in richly carved

mahogany, upholstered and curtained in rich blue velvet, with numerous

windows and mirrors of heavy French plate glass. It is numbered “100,”

and known all over the South. Its entrance at any station causes

sunshine to break on every face, and the old colored men who come,

bucket in hand, to wash and polish it where it happens to remain over a

night or a day at the station, are fairly beaming when they greet “Massa

Plant” and are always paid back in their own coin with United States

currency added. Every old “uncle” at the railroad stations in the Cotton

States knows “Car 100,” and asks no better holiday than to “shine her.”

To return to the enormous office work of the President of this great

system of transfer and traffic, it is a marvel how he has stood it all

these years. It is no unusual thing for him at Tampa to spend two hours

in hard work in examining his mail before breakfast, then till luncheon,

with perhaps an hour’s intermission, and then work until late in the

afternoon. His numerous calls from all sorts and classes of people, are

a constant strain upon brain and nerve, not to say heart at times. The

secret of this endurance of long and fatiguing work, is found in the

fact that to a sound constitution, inherited from a hardy, thrifty

ancestry, Mr. Plant has added a temperate life and great moderation in

the use of stimulants. While a man of quick intuition and keen

sensibility, he has shown the most wonderful self-control in the most

trying circumstances. When others would be agitated and wholly thrown

off their balance Mr. Plant would remain calm, quiet, cool, and

clear-headed to a degree that stilled the tempest all around, and

effected an amicable adjustment of matters most important as they were

most complicated and difficult of settlement. This self-control is

joined with great fertility of resources, great charity for the

peculiarities of men, and withal a kindliness of nature, a disposition

not to hurt any one, that have enabled him to render services to his

associates and to his country that may not now be told, and perhaps will

never be known until the great day when the “cup of cold water” shall be

rewarded. Mr. Plant is never in a hurry, much less is he ever flurried,

chafed, or worried about anything. All he does is done deliberately,

systematically, easily, and once done it seldom or never has to be gone

over again. “Make the best of everything,” is his motto.

A gentleman occupying a prominent position in the express department of

the Plant System writes:

“It affords me great pleasure to acknowledge the esteem and love of the

Southern Express Company’s employees, known to me, for Mr. Plant, who

has favored us so often with his kindness, liberality, and mercy even

when we were at fault. My knowledge extends back about thirty years,

having commenced with the Southern Express Company in North Carolina in

1866, and having worked in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia,

Kentucky, and Mississippi since that time, mingling very freely and

socially with my fellow-employees. I have never heard one word of

condemnation of Mr. Plant during all that time but, on the contrary, a

hearty, free expression of respect and affection for the man who, by

divine aid, had done so much for the whole South as well as the great

number of employees in the Southern Express.

“Faithfully

“I. S. S. A.”

In long years of intimate association with Mr. Plant I have never heard

him utter a profane word or a bitter expression against any one.

“Greater is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city,” said

the wise man. Mr. Plant has told me himself that if he learned of any

one made unhappy by anything he had ever done or said, or if any

misunderstanding should arise, he could not rest until all was settled

to mutual satisfaction, and that, too, just as speedily as possible.

“Charity for all, malice toward none,” briefly expresses the spirit,

tone, and temper of this great and good man. Hence he has been saved the

consuming force of friction and hatred which grind and wear out so many

before their time. The young men now entering public life will find

most valuable suggestion even in this brief record of a life so large,

useful, and honored, through a period of our country’s history the most

intense as it has been the most important since the days of the

Revolution and the formation of a free and independent republic.

His busy life has made him neither a recluse, a pessimist, nor a slave

of the world. He has been a good deal in society--both as guest and host

he has mingled freely with his fellow-men and enjoyed to the full the

pleasures of friendly reciprocity.

Mr. Plant’s love of music, in a man of his years and busy life, is

remarkable. He says: “Music rests me, and helps me to sleep when I

retire for the night, while I find it a great enjoyment in my waking

hours. It is medicine to me.” Hence he is often seen spending the last

hours of the day in the music room of the Tampa Bay Hotel, enjoying with

the guests the delightful music rendered with such exquisite taste by

the skilled orchestra. Mr. Plant is familiar with the best of the modern

operas as well as with the finest classical music of the past. Among his

favorites are Haydn, Handel, and Mozart. He is also fond of popular

ballads and songs, such as Moore’s melodies and national patriotic

songs. He says he enjoys even the hurdy-gurdy.

Mr. Plant might be termed a medical benefactor,--a health

restorer,--because of the results of his work for the South and the

North as well. In no department of scientific advancement during the

last half-century has progress been more marked than in the department

of medicine. The healing art, in its lessening of pain and in the

prevention and cure of disease, has made, and is daily making, the most

wonderful discoveries. What a boon to suffering humanity was the

discovery of ether by Dr. Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, in 1846, who

found that by the inhaling of this anæsthetic the patient is rendered

unconscious of pain. Vaccine inoculation, introduced by Dr. Jenner in

1799, has prevented the spread of that much dreaded disease, small-pox.

The name of Dr. Koch will long be held in grateful remembrance for his

earnest efforts to cure consumption, as will those of Pasteur to cure

hydrophobia. The Southern States to-day have thousands of people in

ordinary good health, many of them in excellent health, who, ten,

twenty, or thirty years ago, were given up by their physicians as past

recovery and soon to die. But thirty years ago the modes of travel to

the South and the lack of adequate provision there for invalids were

such as only a person in fair health could bear. Through Mr. Plant’s

efforts in large measure, both of these requisites for a sick man, or a

delicate woman, have reached a state of perfection difficult to

improve.

At the banquet given to Mr. Plant at Leesburg, Florida, in the winter of

1896, one of the speakers referring to what Mr. Plant had done for the

North as well as for the South, said: “In the ‘Dixie’ land he has made

the desert to bloom like the rose, changed waste places into fertile

fields, the swamps into a sanitarium, the sand heap into a Champs

Élysées, the Hillsborough into a Seine, and reproduced the palace of

Versailles on the banks of Tampa Bay, and away up in freezing, shivering

New England and Canada, when the doctor had written his last recipe and

the druggist had emptied his last bottle and the undertaker was at the

front door, our friend has placed the patient in a wheeled palace, and

signalled, ‘On to Richmond,’ not to die, but to live; and old Virginia

has smiled on the dying man, North Carolina has fairly laughed aloud,

South Carolina has taken him into her warm embrace, and Florida has

thrown flowers not on his coffin but on the resurrected Lazarus, and the

family have invited their friends, not to a funeral, but to a feast. The

Plant System ships have ploughed the Gulf of Mexico and spanned the

Caribbean Sea, and have brought health and happiness to many homes over

which bereavement and sorrow were hovering like the black angel of

death.”

The Bishop of Winchester once said: “The first thing is good health, and

the second is to keep it, and the third to protect it. Then arises the

question, where shall we go?” It is not known that the noted physician

had ever seen the Bishop’s question when he wrote: “Were I sent abroad

to search for a haven of rest for tired man, where new life would come

with every sun, and slumber full of sleep with every night, I would

select the Gulf Coast of Florida. It is the kindest spot, the most

perfect paradise; more beautiful it could not be made, still, calm and

eloquent in every feature.” This was said by Dr. Long, an army physician

in charge at Fort Brook, Tampa. The power of the fine arts over the

mind, and of the mind over the body, are demonstrated facts. The most

frequent and depressing of ailments among Americans is nervousness in

various forms, and in different stages of progress, from morbid

sensitiveness to utter prostration. In many cases medicine merely

aggravates it. Its chief symptoms are irritability and wretchedness,

often ending in suicide. Healing must come largely through the mind in

rest, peace, comfort, and pleasant occupation.

While the mind in this condition cannot bear strain, neither can it be

idle. Idleness induces morbidness and misery. Physical comfort must not

be neglected, but there must be wholesome, nourishing food, pure air,

and proper exercise. Hence, the value of the well-equipped and elegantly

finished Pullman palace car, and the well-built steamer designed for

comfort and safety, furnished and finished in a style that delights the

eye and ministers to the enjoyment of every faculty. Hence the luxuriant

hotel, with all its home comforts, its artistic adornments, and its

princely entertainment, beauty for the eye, music for the ear, feasting

the æsthetic while feeding the materialistic nature of man. All this

enjoyment, while a soft, balmy air is breathed beneath a clear, blue

sky, and while the invalid is bathed in the bright, warm sunshine of a

southern clime, induces repose, peace, content, happiness, and health.

The spirit loses its irritability, the mind regains its elasticity,

sleep refreshes the tired brain, food nourishes the exhausted body, the

whole man is renewed, and life that was not worth living has become an

inspiration, a joy, an heroic and manly achievement.

It should be said here that up to the time that Mr. Plant established

the steamship line between Tampa and Havana, there had been no regular

communication between those two ports during the quarantine season.

There were some irregular opportunities of transfer when passengers were

detained for days to be investigated, fumigated, and harassed by

quarantine regulations. Mr. Plant held that ships could be built and

managed that would make communication as safe in summer as in winter,

and he has proved the correctness of his theory. In ten years of regular

service, the steamer _Mascotte_ has never had a case of yellow fever.

Through Mr. Plant’s suggestions, the Tampa Board of Health has

established rules and regulations for travel to the West Indian ports

which make it perfectly safe at all seasons of the year, so far as

contagion from disease is concerned.

How much Mr. Plant has done to bring this blessed change to thousands,

many beautiful tributes testify in the public press of our times. The

expressions of enjoyment in the following letters could be extended

almost indefinitely. In the Saint Augustine _News_ of March, 1895, an

enthusiastic correspondent writes: “It was early in the present century

that this man of brains and bounty appeared on the great stage, and

began a career scarce equalled by any in the annals of American

financiers, and it is to him that Florida owes a debt of gratitude,

deeper than to any other man--and this man is H. B. Plant. Favored

indeed is Florida, not only in climate, scenery, and fruit, but with the

munificence of these mighty-hearted millionaires, who have Alladin-like

metamorphosed the sunny peninsula into a veritable fairyland. I had the

pleasure of meeting Mr. H. B. Plant, who has transmogrified Tampa, and

ribboned Florida with his railroad system. As usual with men of great

minds and means, he is wholly unpretentious, as much so as his humblest

employee. He is anything but fastidious; yet he is a clean-cut man of

the world, of vast business capacity, a keen, penetrating financier, and

altogether lovable in his domestic life. His shipping interests extend

from Halifax to Boston, his express and rail lines from New York to

Tampa and New Orleans, and his connecting vessels run from Cuba and all

Gulf of Mexico ports. Mr. Plant’s homes are the family place in

Branford, Connecticut, a palace on Fifth Avenue, New York, and the Tampa

Bay Hotel in winter. Mr. Plant’s family consists of a son who will

succeed to his great responsibility and estate.”

Writing from Cuba in January 1888, “J. C. B.” says in his “Notes”:

“In the language of an intelligent observer, writing from Havana early

in the present month, it would be difficult to find any other

interesting foreign land, when its accessibility is considered, so

worthy the attention of American travellers as Cuba. To the average

thought of one who has not visited it, it seems far and repellent. It is

neither of these.

“The improved special fast facilities furnished by the Pennsylvania

Railroad, the Atlantic Coast line, the Plant system of railways, and its

new, swift, and superb steamships, carry you from the American to the

Cuban metropolis in three days.

“While the north shore of the island has three important

harbors--Havana, Mantanzas, and Cardenas--the former is incomparably the

finest and most spacious; the city, to the west of the gleaming bay, is

a rare study in Moorish, Saxon, and Doric architecture. The scene has

been thus pen-pictured:

“‘On the east side, where the close jaws of the harbor open, and

clambering up the mountain side where frown the landward outworks of

Moro Castle, is Casa Bianca, with its queer villas and structures, each

one standing out in this wonderful daylight of the tropics in such

distinctness, and with such a strange seeming of approaching and growing

proportions, that, in your fancy, the houses individually become great

pillared temples. In and over and through this dreamful spot, away up

the side of the mountain, thread and run such indescribable wealth of

vegetation that, as you look again and again, the clustered, shining

houses seem like great white grapes bursting through a glorious wealth

of vines and leaves.

“‘Beyond Casa Bianca the bay debouches to the east. Here is a veritable

valley of rest. Every half a mile is a little cluster of homes set in a

marvellous wealth of rose and bloom. Beyond this valley are seen pretty

villages, each with its half-ruined church, whose only suggestion of use

or occupation is had in the din of never-ceasing chimes; and still

beyond these are uplands which almost reach the dignity of mountains,

upon whose far and receding serrated heights an occasional cocoa tree or

royal palm looms lonely as a ghostly sentinel upon some mediæval tower.

“‘Farther to the south lie the great Santa Catalina warehouses, where

the saccharine source of Cuba’s wealth is stored in huge hogsheads, or

rests dark as lakes of pitch in tremendous vats. Behind these is Regia,

the lesser Havana, across the harbor, with its churches, its quaint old

markets, its cockpits, its ceaseless fandangoes and its bull pen. Over

beyond this, set like a gleaming nest in the crest of the mountains, a

glimpse is caught of Guanabacoa, full of beautiful villas, beautiful

gardens and fountains, and in the olden times the then oldest Indian

village of which Cuban legends tell. Beyond Regia to the south, and upon

the shores of the bay, is the ferry and railroad station, whence

thousands reach the outlying villas, or leave the capital for the

various seaports of the northern coast; and right here, night and day,

is as busy and interesting a spot for the study of manner and character

as may be found in all Cuba. At this station is seen a famous statue to

Edouard Fesser, founder of the Havana warehouse system. The entire

southern portion of the bay, where some day the barren shore line will

be lined with great warehouses and docks, is filled with old hulls of

sunken steamers and ships, conveying the keenest sense of desolation,

and the shore here rises to uplands bare as Sahara, until, skirting to

the right, the bold mountain, Jesu del Monte, is seen; and then come

the great outlying forts extending far around to the sea. Between you

and these, if still aboard-ship, you see Havana’s domes and minarets,

and, to all intents, you are anchored in a sceneful harbor of old

Spain.’

“This schedule of the quick mail service performed by the elegant

steamers, _Mascotte_ and _Olivette_, of the Plant line, in connection

with the railway system heretofore mentioned between Tampa and Key West,

in the east, affords but a few brief hours of rest in the harbor at

Havana. Upon the first appearance of the _Olivette_, fresh from her

conspicuous performances in distancing the fleet of steamers which

accompanied the racing yachts of the international regatta, the writer

had the good fortune to be among the invited guests who paid a visit to

this magnificent vessel, which is justly the pride of her distinguished

owner, Mr. H. B. Plant, the President and Managing Director of the Plant

System of railways and steamships.”

[Illustration: text decoration]

[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER X.

Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant--_Descriptive

America_, December, 1886--_City Items_, December, 1886--_Railroad

Topics_--_Home Journal_, New York, March, 1896--F. G. De Fontain in

same Journal--Ocala _Evening Times_ June, 1896--_Express Gazette_.

In the following chapter are given a few press notices of Mr. Plant and

his work in the South, because they contain reliable information of some

of that work which we have left to them to chronicle, and because they

are public expressions of the appreciation of that work and of the

justly high esteem, and friendly regard in which the worker is held by

the people among whom and for whom he has spent the best part of his

life. Instead of a brief chapter, a volume of such complimentary

sketches might be presented, written in even stronger language than is

here used and by masters in the art of writing. But these few will

suffice to show the deep interest of the people in the life and work of

their friend and benefactor, Mr. H. B. Plant.

The following extract is taken from the _Florida_ number of _Descriptive

America_.

RAILROAD AND EXPRESS PRESIDENT.

“In our _Wisconsin_ number we gave the life-history of one man who,

beginning as a farmer’s son, had, by his energy, ability, and integrity,

come to occupy a position of great power, wealth, and usefulness, and we

emphasized the point, that, while he had been wonderfully successful,

his highest claim to our admiration, lay in the fact that, whenever the

opportunity offered, he had sought the prosperity of the nation, the

state, or the city of his adoption, and had made his own gain and

increasing wealth subordinate to the public weal. In this number we have

some similar characters, who, if their wealth does not equal that of the

great banker and railroad king, have at least followed his good example.

“Such men are always modest, their achievements seem to them very small,

compared with what they might and should have done, and they shrink from

publicity with genuine dread. One of these men is the subject of our

present sketch, Mr. H. B. Plant.

“Mr. Plant is of pure Puritan stock; his earliest American ancestors

left England about 1640, and if they were not among the little company

who came with John Davenport to Quinnipiac, afterward called New Haven,

they followed very soon after. They settled in Branford, Connecticut, a

town lying between New Haven and Guilford, at which place some of

Davenport’s most eminent men soon established themselves. The Plants of

Branford were a good family, and they have always borne a high

reputation through the eight or nine generations which have elapsed

since they first established themselves in Branford. They were

intelligent, thoughtful farmers, industrious, sound thinkers, orthodox

in faith, and leading those quiet country lives, of which the old New

England towns presented so many examples. The village minister was a man

greatly reverenced by all his people, and if a youth of more than

ordinary promise could be instructed under his direction, it was

something to be proud of.

“To one of these Branford families, the representative Plant family in

the town, several children were born in the earlier decades of the

present century; one of them, H. B. PLANT, gladdening their hearts in

October, 1819. He must have been a boy of considerable promise, for

after the usual course of study in the District Schools, not at that

time of a very high grade, he spent several terms in the Branford

Academy, then under the oversight of the Branford pastor, Rev. Timothy

P. Gillett, a man of high scholarship and great aptitude for teaching.

Whether he had any aspirations for a collegiate course, we do not know;

but he did not rest content, till he had completed his course of study

with John E. Lovell, of New Haven, the founder of the Lancasterian

system of instruction in America, and, at that time, the most celebrated

teacher in the country.

“His school days over, Mr. Plant soon found employment on the steamboat

line plying between New Haven and New York. Very soon, one of the first

express lines ever established in this country, known as Beecher’s New

York and New Haven Express, was started, and young Plant became

interested in it, and from that time to the present has always been

largely engaged in the express business. His first important interest in

it was with Adams Express. In 1853, he went to the South, and

established expresses upon the southern railroads, as a branch

enterprise of Adams Express. In 1861, he organized the Southern Express

Co., and became its president, and has continued so to the present time.

He is also president of the Texas Express Co. In 1853, he visited

Florida for the first time, for the benefit of the health of an invalid

wife. There was no means of communication with Jacksonville, except by

steamers up the St. John’s. The place was small and the accommodations

meagre, but the fine climate and mild and balmy air were the means of

prolonging her life many years, and from that time he made yearly visits

thither. During these visits the place grew, and he saw the necessity

for railway communication with that and many other points in Florida;

but he devoted most of his attention to his extensive express business,

until 1879, though owning large blocks of railroad stocks, particularly

in the Georgia and Florida Railways. In 1879, with some friends, he

purchased the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, and subsequently

organized the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad, of which he

became president. Soon afterwards he extended this railroad to the

Chattahoochee River, and he also constructed a new line from Way Cross

to Jacksonville.

“The Savannah and Charleston Railroad (now the Charleston and Savannah),

had been in the courts for many years, but, in 1880, Mr. Plant purchased

and thoroughly rebuilt it; his purpose being to perfect the connections

between Florida, Charleston, and the North.

“The immense labor connected with the management of these railways, and

of the vast business connected with the expresses, led Mr. Plant and his

associates to organize the Plant Investment Co., to control these

railways, and also to manage and extend, in the interest of its

stockholders, the Florida Southern and the South Florida Railway. The

former road was extended by the Investment Company to Tampa, and to

Bartow, and they are now building it to Pemberton Ferry, where it will

be joined by the South Florida line thus making connection via

Gainesville with South Florida, and _via_ Tampa for Key West and the

West India Islands.

“In connection with these railroads, we may well answer the question

which is of special importance to us in this _Florida_ number.

“What has Mr. Plant done for Florida? We answer in general, that he has

rendered the culture of the orange and of the other perishable products

of the State profitable, has greatly facilitated the occupation of the

best lands of the State, opened the way for the settlement of the lands

of Southern Florida, given free and ready access to the Gulf ports, and

thence to Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston, and established a regular,

frequent, and prompt steamboat service on the St. John’s River.

“How has he done this? When he had purchased and rebuilt the Charleston

and Savannah Railroad, access to the interior of Florida was difficult

and almost impracticable except by wagon road. There was irregular and

fitful navigation of the St. John’s River, but the steamboats ran when

they had sufficient freight, and only then. There had been some

railroads built (especially those of the Yulee system) but the country

was undeveloped, and as the orange groves required from five to ten

years of growth before they came into profitable bearing, meanwhile the

railways were suffering for want of freight and were unprofitable. Mr.

Plant was convinced that although a more rapid development was in

progress, there would still be delay before the railroads he proposed to

build would prove paying investments. He therefore determined to avail

himself of the land grants already made, and to keep them in repair.

“The orange product would not bear jolting over wagon roads, or being

stacked up on the wharves waiting for the uncertain coming of the

steamers. His first move was to build a railway direct from Way Cross,

Ga., to Jacksonville, thus bringing his Georgia roads into immediate

communication with a port on the St. John’s River. He then established a

steamboat line on that river which was regular, prompt, efficient, and

carried freight at low rates. Meantime a road had been constructed from

Jacksonville to Palatka, making connection with St. Augustine via Tocoi;

this road is now being extended to cross the river a few miles above

Palatka and thence by way of De Land and other places, re-crossing the

St. John’s a short distance north of Lake Monroe; thence proceeding to

Sanford where it will form a connection with the South Florida, thus

opening up the fine highlands west of the St. John’s and those east of

that river to a ready market, and giving choice of a river or rail

transportation at several points. The Legislature having granted a

charter for a railway connecting Palatka with Lake City by way of

Gainesville and thence down the peninsula it was taken in hand by

capitalists from Boston, and connection made by rail between

Gainesville, Palatka, and Leesburg.

“With this company Mr. Plant made arrangements for the construction of

the road from Gainesville west to a connection with the Southern

extension of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad which has been

constructed and is now in operation.

“A branch will soon be built to connect it with Lake City.

“By reference to our map, it will be seen that these roads traverse all

the counties of the interior, down to the Everglades, and open them to

settlement and to profitable orange culture and the production of sugar,

cotton, and rice. These roads have brought actual settlers by scores of

thousands to occupy these rich and fertile lands, the finest in the

State, and other railway companies, stimulated by their example and

encouragement, have constructed roads connecting with these. By the

charters of bankrupt railroads which they have bought, the Plant

Investment Company is entitled to a large amount of lands from the

State, 10,000 acres to the mile, in most cases, as well as later grants

on their newly constructed roads; but the State has not yet the lands to

deed to them, except to a small amount, though eventually it may have.

“Mr. Plant is a man of fine and commanding appearance, dignified and

quiet, yet genial in manners, and of the most genuine modesty and

gentleness in his intercourse with others. No judge of character could

fail to observe, however, that he is a man of remarkable executive

ability and sound judgment, or that he has a greater amount of reserve

power than most business men possess. His associates, and those with

whom he is brought into business relations, all speak of him in terms of

the highest admiration and esteem.”

The _City Item_ for December 4, 1886, says:

“Mr. Henry B. Plant is a very admirable type of that class of successful

men of enterprise who owe their prosperity to broad business views,

large public spirit, and commanding integrity of character joined to

solid capacity. Born in Branford, Conn., his entrance upon active life

was in connection with transportation on the New Haven steamboat line,

and his subsequent career has been identified with similar enterprises.

Ultimately entering the service of Adams Express Company, he was

instrumental in extending its business throughout the Southern States,

and finally, with others, purchased its lines, and formed the Southern

Express Company, of which he became president. This position he still

holds, having by his energy and enterprise greatly enlarged and extended

the business of the company. In 1853, when the delightful climate,

attractiveness and fertility of Florida were as yet but poorly

appreciated, Mr. Plant recognized the possibilities which that State

opened up, and an opportunity being presented for the extention of

transportation facilities by the sale of the Savannah and Charleston

Railway, and the Atlantic and Gulf Railway, those properties were

purchased and reconstructed by him, the name of the former being changed

to the Charleston and Savannah, and the latter to the Savannah, Florida,

and Western Railway. This last he extended to the Chattahoochee River,

to Jacksonville and Gainesville, in Florida. Subsequently he constructed

the road between Way Cross, Georgia, and Jacksonville, and Live Oak and

Gainesville, and also placed steamship lines on the Chattahoochee and

St. John’s Rivers, connecting the railroad at Jacksonville with Sanford

on Lake Monroe, and building the South Florida Railway thence to Bartow

and Tampa, establishing steamboat communication to the Manatee River and

other points on Tampa Bay. More recently he has established a steamboat

line between Tampa, Key West, and Havana. This service was increased on

the 1st inst. to tri-weekly trips, under special contract with the

Post-office Department. By this route, in connection with the railroad

from Tampa, the line from New York to Havana is only three days, thus

enabling the invalid or pleasure seeker of the metropolis to exchange

the rigors of our winter climate for the delicious temperature of Cuba,

with an ease and under conditions of travel which must make this line

increasingly popular with the lapse of years. The _Mascotte_, now

running on this route, is one of the most handsome and complete

steamships built, its appointments being in every respect really

luxurious, while in point of seaworthiness it is everything that the

most expert mechanism could make it. Its staterooms are dainty boudoirs,

while its saloon is as exquisitely fitted up as any drawing-room. A

second vessel, now building for the line, will be equally attractive in

all its interior arrangements. Mr. Plant, while a thorough man of

business, and deeply immersed in material pursuits, has never lost the

courtliness of manner and genial whole-heartedness which are Nature’s

choicest gifts to her favorites; and among all who know him he ranks as

the loyal friend and elegant gentleman.”

_Railroad Topics_ says:

“In this day of vast individual fortunes, it is no special compliment to

say of a man that he is rich. If the public takes any interest in his

wealth, there is generally more concern manifested in the manner in

which he made his money, than in the mere fact that he has it. But

conspicuous success and marked prominence do, and will always, command

attention and challenge admiration. The spirit of the American people

is to applaud achievement and honor distinction wherever they are

observed, and when found combined in one man, they make him a popular

object of praise and an interesting subject for biographical sketch.

Such a case we have in the person of Mr. Henry B. Plant, whose record we

attempt to outline in the following brief story:

“Mr. Plant was born at Branford, Conn., in October, 1819, and is

consequently now in the seventieth year of his age. It is indeed a

pleasure to contemplate the record of a man who has fulfilled the sacred

tradition of his allotted time, and stamped that rounded life with

innumerable evidences of steadily growing strength, constantly

increasing usefulness, continually widening reputation, and vastly

expanding possessions. The personal history of H. B. Plant, if shorn of

all details, would stand complete in that one paragraph.

“He has thus far lived to excellent purpose, and in the run of that

existence has accomplished in fullest measure all that is comprehended

in the descriptive suggestion.

“If we wrote not another line, we would feel that we had made a

practical analysis of his life and set forth the salient truths of it.

But when a man has attained Mr. Plant’s prominence, and compassed

achievements such as his, people are interested in the details of his

career, and naturally inquire as to his distinguishing characteristics.

In deference to that reasonable curiosity, and likewise for the pleasure

that there is in it to ourselves, we gladly make this sketch of him.

“It is nothing remarkable to say that he was born poor. Most men who

have ever amounted to much were. Hence in that particular he is not

exceptional. Neither would we be satisfied simply to class him with that

great multitude, popularly termed, “self made men.” He does belong in

that catagory, but is so far above the average, that we incline to think

of that descriptive fact more as an accident than as a cardinal virtue.

“The first account we have of him is only a meagre record of his school

days. He never went to college, but had to content his ambitious young

spirit with a good academic course, supplemented by a brief term of

finishing study under a thoroughly competent tutor. This, however, was

only a theoretical disadvantage, from the fact that the termination of

his school days was no interruption to his mental acquirements. He was

born with an ambition for knowledge, and does not to this day feel

himself too old, or too wise, to learn.

“Mr. Plant’s first experience in business, was when, a mere boy, he

secured employment on one of that line of steamboats, then running

between New Haven and New York. Although very young, he appreciated

even then that the only way to learn any business thoroughly was by

beginning at the bottom. Accordingly he took his first lessons in

steamboat life in a humble position. It was not long, however, before,

by faithfulness and efficiency, he lifted himself into higher and more

responsible places. That first and prompt promotion was the initial sign

of what his life would be, and from then till now, he has steadily

marched onward and upward, overcoming obstacles and mastering

difficulties with heroic energy, and winning success in the various

lines of his broadening operations with positive brilliancy.

“While employed by the New York and New Haven Steamboat Company, one of

the first express lines ever established in this country was inaugurated

between New Haven and New York, and the enterprise at once fascinated

young Plant. He bent every energy toward the acquirement of a small

interest in the new express company, and in reasonable time accomplished

his purpose. From that day to this, express business has been his best

love throughout the wide range of his material interests. His first

important connection in that line was with the Adams Express Company

about 1847. In that corporation he became a leading spirit and holds

such position to-day. His special pet, however, among the various

express systems with which he is identified is the Southern Express

Company which he established in 1862. This child of his wisdom has grown

to be a giant, and is to-day one of the richest, most influential, and

ably managed corporations in this country. It traverses all the Southern

States, and is, for all practical purposes, permanently established on

nearly every important railroad system in the South.

“Of late years Mr. Plant has been giving much of his attention to the

acquisition of railroad properties, and in admirable continuance of his

previous record, he has crowned this undertaking with splendid success.

He is virtually master and largely owner of the Savannah, Florida, and

Western Railway, and likewise of the Charleston and Savannah Railway.

This gives him a direct and popular line from Charleston, South

Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida. He has also made various branches

from his main line, penetrating the principal districts of Florida, and

by this wise railroad building has done far more than can be computed or

told, toward that marvellous development of Florida which has been

accomplished within the last ten years. Mr. Plant was truly a pioneer in

this praiseworthy work, and there is probably no man who deserves more

than he does the grateful acknowledgements of the Florida people, as

well as the hearty gratitude of the countless thousands who have gone

from all other sections of the country to enjoy the healing benefits of

that curative climate, and the sweet restfulness of that floral

dreamland.

“The Plant Investment Co., of which Mr. H. B. Plant is the head, and in

which he has associated with him several sagacious millionaires, is a

powerful corporation which was organized for co-operative investment in

valuable southern railroad properties and advantageous control of the

same. This company is managed with exceptional ability, and by its vast

acquisitions and extensions, has become a great power in the railroad

world, and is rapidly accumulating for its stockholders untold wealth.

This Investment Company is practically controlled by Mr. Plant, and its

entire policy is shaped by his judgment. One of his latest enterprises,

under the auspices of the Investment Company, is the establishment of a

fast line of steamers from Tampa, Florida, to Cuba. At Tampa, Mr. Plant

has extended one of his railroads out to deep water, and thereby made it

an excellent port for even heavy draught ships. The whole of Florida

bears the impress of his energy, enterprise, and wisdom.

“Mr. Plant’s home is New York City, where he has a palatial residence on

Fifth avenue, and luxurious business quarters at No. 12 West 23d street.

Whenever a man amasses a fortune he naturally drifts into Wall Street,

the financial centre of America. Mr. Plant is a conspicuous exception to

this rule. He rarely treads the narrow golden street leading from

Trinity Church to East River. There is no speculative element in his

nature. He is conservative to the last degree, and works on no plan that

is not founded on reason and justified by a positive trend from cause to

effect. He has all the vigor and alertness usually to be found in a man

of fifty years of age. He is keenly alive to all the possibilities of

affairs that come under his observation, and quick to determine any

question that is presented to him.

“He is a thoughtful man and extremely reserved. It is necessary to know

him well to appreciate the excellent fairness of his mind, and the

kindness of his heart. He is ostentatious in nothing, but under all

circumstances conducts himself with modest dignity and irresistible

reserve force. He is emphatically what might be called an extractive

man. That is, he has an inexplicable faculty for drawing any one out,

without ever appearing inquisitive, or leading on by talking much

himself. If he has one characteristic stronger than all others, it is

his wonderful genius for keeping his own counsel. He never lacks

cordiality of manner, but is always gracious and genial. Another

forceful point of his character, is that inexhaustible patience which

has enabled him to live undisturbed in the faith that ‘all things come

to him who knows how to wait.’

“He thoroughly systematizes every department of his life, and keeps his

house in such perfect order that if he should shake the harness off and

quit work to-morrow, all those far-reaching plans which have had their

foundations laid under his wise direction, would by his faithful

followers be worked out to rounded completeness and finished perfection.

“And thus by the mighty working of his master brain he has achieved

success, won renown, accumulated an immense fortune, done great good,

and made for himself an undisputed place among the leaders of this day.

And besides all these victories, he has set on foot gigantic plans that

may not fully mature for many years to come, but in those very plans he

has laid the corner-stone of a great monument to his worthy memory, and

those who come after him, if faithful to their trust, will build on as

wisely as he has planned, until the capstone of his imperishable

memorial is fitted in its place, by the final accomplishment of each and

every purpose of his well-spent life.”

_The Home Journal_ says:

“Henry B. Plant, president of the Plant System of hotels, railways, and

steamship lines, is one of the men of to-day, whose work will influence

the future. He controls twelve different railway corporations with a

mileage of 1941, and 5506 employees; is president of the Southern and

the Texas Express Companies, employing 6808 men; president of steamship

lines, covering the coasts of the Gulf, going to Cuba and Jamaica, and

skirting the coasts of the North, running to Cape Breton and the

maritime provinces; founder of the most palatial winter resort in

America, the Tampa Bay Hotel, and owner of five other beautiful resorts

within the State. To Mr. Plant may be accredited the development, if not

the real discovery, of the grand West or Gulf Coast of Florida. He is an

American, and is seventy-seven years old; a man of tireless energy,

wonderful ability, and remarkable industry. His career is marked by

honesty, uprightness, straightforwardness, and business-like dealings.

These qualities, together with a broad intelligence and keen perception,

have brought him success. Withal, he is modest and unassuming, and has

no pride but that which he takes in good works.”

From the Ocala _Evening Star_, June 22, 1896:

“H. B. Plant, the railroad king, has again stepped into our midst and

proposes to add to the new improvements of our city a large and elegant

passenger depot.

“Notwithstanding the fact that he has done much already to advance the

prosperity of the beautiful perpetual summer land of flowers and

sunshine, he is still, at the present time, losing no opportunity to

add to the beauty and upbuilding of the State of Florida.

“If every railroad running into our State would feel as much interest in

her welfare as does the Plant System, but a few years would elapse

before this section would be the most prosperous in the Union.

“Thousands upon thousands of dollars are spent every year by the

officials of this road in the improvement and erection of property

within our borders.

“H. B. Plant is indeed a friend to Florida, and if other roads would

spend as much money in our State as he does, there would not be such a

cry for free silver, as there would be plenty in circulation, and every

one, from laborer to governor, would have his share.

“While Mr. Plant is somewhat advanced in life, the _Star_ hopes that his

years may yet be many and his love for the sunny peninsula as great in

coming years as in the past.”

From the _Home Journal_, New York, March 11, 1896:

“If, comparatively a few years ago, one had ventured the prophecy that

the time would arrive when we could leave New York at half-past nine one

morning, and wake up at daylight the next morning in Charleston, a court

of inquiry would have been called to pass upon his mental condition.

Such, however, are the facts to-day.

“You leave Jersey City in a sleeper, supplied with all of the latest

appointments for comfort; a courteous conductor takes your tickets, with

which you have no further concern until you reach Charleston, when they

are handed to you in an envelope. What a comfort not to have to be

pulling out the everlasting ticket just in the midst of conversation or

while reading an interesting magazine article!

“If the cars are not crowded, you feel a sort of proprietary right to

roam around at pleasure, change your seat as often as you desire, and

wash your face and your hands whenever they need it in the cosy little

toilet-room. What a change from the old-fashioned water-cooler, where a

cupful of water was wont to be poured over a pocket-handkerchief, and

the face and hands wiped with it, leaving arabesque designs in black and

white wherever it touched!

“Then, instead of rushing to a railroad eating-house in order to refresh

the inner man, having to put up with ‘railroad coffee,’ and experiencing

a nervous shock every time a whistle blows, your meals are taken at

dainty little tables, in your own compartments, where polite and

efficient waiters do your bidding.

“Instead of the tiresome, old-fashioned trip of two days and a night,

the trip now is twenty hours. Verily the twin powers of steam and

electricity have wrought wonders in the conditions of life.

“The Plant System, to which the Atlantic Coast Line is ‘a feeder,’ has

emphatically gridironed the South. To-day Mr. Henry B. Plant is the

president of a railroad system that embraces twelve different

corporations, and whose mileage extends to 1941, with a list of

employees numbering 5506. He is also president of the Plant steamship

and steamboat lines, covering the coasts of the Gulf, Cuba, and Jamaica,

and skirting the coasts of the North, running from Boston along Nova

Scotia to Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. In addition to these

interests, Mr. Plant is president of the Southern and Texas Express

companies, which do a business as express forwarders over 24,412 miles

of railway, and have lines in fifteen States, employing 6808 men and

using 1463 horses and 886 wagons. Mr. Plant is seventy-six years of age.

He needs no eulogy; his works speak for him. Although of Northern birth,

he is as much beloved and respected at the South as if native-born.

“Thirty-six years ago, President Jefferson Davis, of the Southern

Confederacy, demonstrated his confidence in, and admiration of Henry

Bradley Plant by giving him a pass entitling him to move hither and

thither at will through army headquarters, or wherever he pleased, in

the interest of the Adams Express Company, which he then represented,

although Mr. Plant declared that he did not sympathize with the

political movement which sought to rend the States.

“The Tampa Bay Hotel, Port Tampa Inn, and the Seminole, Winter Park,

Florida, are monuments of Mr. Plant’s enterprise and a portion of the

System. From one of these palatial hotels one can catch a fish on the

back porch and pluck a lemon to dress it with from the front porch. In

Charleston the name of Henry B. Plant is a synonym for success, and a

name which many a young man mentions with veneration, as one to which he

owes a lasting debt of gratitude.”

The May number of the _Express Gazette_, Cincinnati, Ohio, has this

appreciative paragraph:

“The editor of the _Advertiser_, Key West, Florida, pays the following

eloquent tribute of praise to Mr. H. B. Plant, President of the Plant

System of Railroads and the Southern Express Company:

“‘Mr. H. B. Plant, the president, the founder, and the controlling

spirit of the great Plant System, is held in high estimate by the

citizens of this island. He found it, years ago, isolated and remote

from the great centres of commerce, and his partiality to us soon

changed a semi-occasional connection with the mainland, by vessels of

inferior character, into a tri-weekly communication by the finest

coastwise steamers in the Southern waters. Brought in ready touch with

the marts of trade, factories sprang into existence, commerce grew, and

a city with millions of revenue supplanted a fishing hamlet. Through his

enterprise we are enabled to write our history in a line--a village, a

city, a metropolis--and all this in a decade.

“‘The debt of gratitude which Key West owes to Mr. Plant is beyond

estimate. Indeed, so accustomed are we to the conveniences at hand, that

we are prone to fail in appreciation of what we have, in our greed for

more. That Mr. Plant has been and is still our best friend cannot be

questioned in the light of past experience; and while we cordially

welcome and hail with delight the coming of other transportation, our

city should never be forgetful of the man who was our friend when we had

no other.’”

[Illustration: text decoration]

[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XI.

Mr. Plant’s Close and Constant Contact with the Great System as

Seen in the Following Letters--Letter Written on Board the Steamer

_Comal_--Letters on Trip to Jamaica, West Indies, March 15, 1893,

and Published in the _Home Journal_.

Mr. Plant keeps himself constantly informed of the workings of the whole

System over which he presides, by daily communication with every part of

it. The head of each department writes to the president every day, or

telegraphs, or does both if necessary, and in return, Mr. Plant, through

his secretary, replies daily to each communication received. So close

does he keep to the workings of the System that wherever he travels in

the country his mail is regularly delivered to him at points arranged

for the purpose, and it is as promptly answered from his private car as

if he were at his own office in New York City. Nor are all these letters

which pass between the president and his associates about hard business;

they are often social, familiar greetings, and interchanges of friendly

intercourse. The following extract from a letter, written by Mr. Plant

when traveling to Galveston, Texas, is an illustration of this:

NOTES OF THE VOYAGE.

“Left wharf on Steamer _Comal_, Saturday, July 22, 1893, 4 P.M., wind

southwest. Passed Sandy Hook about 5.30, found sea smooth; well off the

coast, shore houses vaguely seen in the distance.

“_Sunday, 23d._--Had a still and comfortable moonlight night; smooth

seas; wind southwest; off Cape Charles, twelve o’clock. About one

o’clock wind all died away. The sea perfectly smooth until 2.30, when a

light breeze came in from the southeast, which lasted until sunset, then

died away and came out again from the west about six o’clock. Passed

Body Island Light with light breeze. No sea.

“8.10 P.M.--Hatteras Light fairly abreast--ten sailing vessels and one

steamer in sight. Weather being fine, captain concluded to cross the

Gulf Stream and run down on the east side and along the Bahama Banks. We

have now been out twenty-eight hours, and I have felt very well. No

annoyance from the stomach so far in any particular.

“_12 o’clock noon, Monday, 24th._--We are bowling along in the Gulf

Stream with a good breeze from the west--smooth sea. Had a fairly good

sleep. Room being on the port side and the wind from the west made it

rather warm. At noon to-day the temperature of the water is eighty

degrees and the air is eighty-two degrees, which is not so bad as might

be. We are now well off Charleston and about abreast of the Bermudas.

“_Tuesday, 25th._--The wind continued from the west until about four

o’clock, when it ceased, and from that until nine we had a dead calm and

a smooth glassy sea. Now at ten o’clock a light breeze comes in from the

east, and we have prospect of a comfortable day.

“Yesterday P.M. we had crossed and were entirely east of the Gulf Stream

and there was no wind, of course, in still water. While in the Stream we

had a current of about three knots against us. Our course is now

bringing us again near the stream, which we shall cross in the course of

the day and will probably pass Jupiter before bedtime, say, nine

o’clock. We are having a delightful voyage so far, and I seem to be

doing quite well.

“P.M.--The southwest wind has died out and we have a gentle breeze from

the east; this gives promise of the northeast trades for to-night, which

will be quite acceptable and will put me on the windward side of the

ship; have been on the lee side so far.

“5 P.M.--Have not seen a sail to-day, and am having a very restful time.

“9.30 P.M.--Have been with the captain since dinner, and for the last

half hour on the lookout for Jupiter Light. The lead informs us that we

are too far off the coast to enable us to see the Light just yet.

“9.50 P.M.--Now we just have a glimpse of the Light from the bridge, and

as ‘All’s well,’ I will to my couch for the night. The winds are

favoring those on the port side, having swung around to the northeast,

giving a promise of the southeast trades for to-morrow; so good-night.

“_Wednesday_ A.M.--Had a splendid shower this A.M. just after daylight,

and right after the northeast wind died out and was soon followed by the

good southeast trade, and now (10.30) we are sailing along just outside

the reefs, having passed Cape Florida early this A.M. During the night

we have passed Palm Beach (Lake Worth).

“10.30 A.M.--We are now directly abreast of Carysfort Light, and a more

pleasant day to be at sea could not be desired. While at breakfast we

passed near the wreck of the English steamer _Earl King_. She went on

the reef about a year and a half ago; nothing now in sight but a portion

of what looks to be the bow--a good beacon to warn others from this

dangerous reef. She is reported to have been an old ship loaded with

cement and other cheap freight, bound for New Orleans, and well insured.

“The indications are that we shall arrive at Key West about seven

o’clock this P.M. and in time to meet the _Mascotte_ on her return from

Havana. As we have but a small freight for Key West, we shall not be

long detained there, and shall expect to arrive in Galveston early

Saturday night. Temperature of air at one o’clock 81¾ degrees; water 83

degrees.

“_Wednesday_ P.M.--Passed Aligator Light one o’clock; this will bring us

to Key West about eight o’clock, and enable me to place this on

_Mascotte_ without much to spare, and probably place us ashore at

Galveston Sunday morning, and as you may not be in Darien Sunday, you

will only receive the message at office on Monday A.M. Send to Mrs.

Plant at Branford on arrival, so she may receive the information same

day. Would like to have you make at least a synopsis of the daily notes

to Mr. O’B., that you may send to him should he be absent. We are now

well up with American Shoal Light; next we shall have Sombrero, and then

Sand Key and Key West. We are likely to fall in with the _Mascotte_.

“We are jogging along very pleasantly with wind well on the port quarter

and temperature quite comfortable.”

The following letter from Mr. Plant, published in the _Home Journal_,

New York, March 15, 1893, speaks for itself. It shows its author to be

at home on shipboard, and as much at his ease as in his own parlor;

while carefully noting all points of interest and enjoying to the full

all that was enjoyable.

ON BOARD S. S. “HALIFAX,”

SUNDAY, Feb. 26, ’93.

“We sailed from Port Tampa on Thursday, February 16th, and after a

delightfully smooth and pleasant trip arrived at Nassau, N. P., on

Saturday morning. A number of our party were entertained by the

Honorable Sir Ambrose Shea, governor of the island; others of us

preferred to pass the few hours in riding and driving, seeing something

of the beauties of the place. We returned to the steamer in the

afternoon and got under way, passing out of the harbor through the “Hole

in the Wall,” as it is called. We steamed down over the banks, passing

along the eastern shore of the island, and leaving Cape Mayce on our

starboard, until away over to port were seen the highlands of Hayti.

“All the way from Port Tampa to Jamaica, the weather was simply

delightful, and the sea as smooth as the waters of our Seneca Lake. We

arrived at the wharf at Kingston at seven o’clock Tuesday morning. Our

excursionists all went to the Myrtle Bank Hotel, where choice

accommodations were provided. We received a call from the Consul-General

of the United States, Mr. Dent, and also visits from other important

people of the city of Kingston. In the afternoon we received an

invitation, conveyed to the party through our conductor, Mr. A. E. Dick,

a hotel man well known in New York, to attend a garden party given by

Lady Blake at King’s House. Lady Blake is the wife of Sir Henry Blake,

the governor of the island. We found a large crowd of people, a gracious

welcome, exquisite music and bountiful refreshment. Only think of it--an

out-of-door reception on the twenty-first day of February!

“In the evening we were surprised to learn that a grand ball would be

given in our honor by the citizens of Kingston. It proved a very

brilliant affair. The beautiful costumes of the ladies formed a striking

contrast to the military costumes of the officers of the British West

Indian Squadron; there were eight ships in the harbor.

“We were called very early in the morning, coffee and fruit being served

in our rooms, and took carriages to the Western Railway station, whence

we started by rail for Bog Walk, on the Rio Cobre River. We arrived at

half-past ten. After leaving the train our attention was called to a

group of negro men and women who were engaged in loading bananas into a

car for transportation to the city of Kingston and thence to the United

States.

“At Rio Cobre, we enjoyed one of the most beautiful drives that your

correspondent has ever experienced, down the valley of the Rio Cobre, a

most beautiful sheet of water, and after a ride of two hours, reaching

Spanish Town, one of the principal cities on the island of Jamaica. It

was at Spanish Town that a son of Christopher Columbus settled when he

came to the island of Jamaica. We were entertained by the proprietor of

the Rio Cobre Hotel, where we remained until the afternoon, when we

again took train for our headquarters at Myrtle Bank, in Kingston.

“Early the following morning we were called, fruit and coffee were again

served in our rooms, and we started at six o’clock for a drive of

twenty-five miles over and across the beautiful mountain ranges and

towards the north coast of the island. At ten o’clock we arrived at the

Castleton Gardens, a beautiful spot owned and sustained by the

government as a garden of acclimation. Here are found the grandest of

all tropical palms. At the hotel connected with the gardens we partook

of a royal breakfast, into which entered many different kinds of fruit.

After a stop of two hours we resumed our journey over the mountains, and

in the distance we obtained a good view of the lovely Annotta bay.

“En route, we visited a sugar estate where we saw the conversion of

sugar-cane into Jamaica rum of the first quality. Most of the labor is

performed by Malays, brought from the valley of the Ganges in India, who

while here are compelled to labor in competition with the negroes. The

men are paid at the rate of one shilling and six pence per day, while

the women receive only one shilling per day. I can assure you, from the

manner in which they work, it is evident that they earned every penny

they received. By the way, the coachman who drove us, informed me that

his wages were ten shillings per week of seven days’ continuous work and

he has to board himself out of that pittance.

“On the afternoon of this day, Friday, we were well off the coast of

Jamaica, homeward bound. Now as I write, Sunday morning, we are

approaching Egmont Key, which is situated at the entrance of Tampa Bay.

Soon we shall be docked, and soon thereafter at that haven which has

been so often described but to which no writer to my mind has done

justice--the Tampa Bay Hotel.”

[Illustration: text decoration]

[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XII.

MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM WORTHY

OF ADMIRATION AND IMITATION.

There is perhaps no greater source of waste in our country than that of

labor strikes, which have become of frequent occurrence during the last

two decades. There is great waste of material from the destructive

violence of infuriated mobs. In 1877, the great railway strikes of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Pennsylvania and Erie Systems,

resulted in the destruction of sixteen hundred cars, one hundred and

twenty-six locomotives, and five million dollars worth of property. A

report made in 1895 by the United States Commissioner of Labor (covering

a period of twelve years and six months, that is, from January 1, 1881,

to June 30, 1894) on strikes in the United States, gives the following

suggestive statistics. We read that the number of strikes was 14,390,

affecting 69,167 establishments. The number of employees thrown out of

work was 3,714,406. Loss of wages during this period to the striking

workmen amounted to $163,-807,866. From lockouts the loss was

$26,685,516. The losses to employers from the same cause were, from

strikes $82,590,386, and from lockouts $12,235,451. The losses to

employees and employers amount to the enormous sum of $285,319,219. And

this is only a part of the losses, for it does not take into account the

cost of police, detectives, and soldiers, required to protect persons

and property. In one strike eight thousand of the latter force alone

were needed to subdue riots, and save life and property. What estimate

can be made of the damage to commerce, the disorganization of labor, the

demoralization of the laborers, the families broken up and scattered,

the hate and bitterness engendered? The corporation, therefore, that can

co-operate peacefully with its working force adds much wealth and moral

progress to the nation, as well as legitimate profits to its own

treasury, and comfort, well-being, and happiness to its employees. There

is mutual advantage on both sides, and far reaching and beneficial

influence on all sides. There must be justice and consideration for the

workman from the employer, and there must always be justice and

appreciation from the workman to the man who gives him work,--mutual

interest, benefit, and advantage. It is greatly to the credit of the

Plant System, that the public has never suffered inconvenience in travel

from strikes among its large working force, that the men have not

suffered in person or estate, and that the company has been saved losses

and crosses from this hydra-headed monster, “Conflict between labor and

capital.” That these evils have been avoided, is due to the head of this

great System, due to his sense of justice, to his personal knowledge of,

and friendly interest in such a large number of the employees, and to a

large-hearted consideration for the weaknesses of human nature. Mr.

Plant was one day riding in a baggage car, when he saw an expressman

turn wrong side up a box that had been marked “Glass.” He called

attention to the fact. “That box,” said he to the man, “is marked

‘Glass’ and should be kept ‘glass’ side up as marked.” “Oh I know it is

marked ‘Glass,’ but I never pay any attention to that,” said the

expressman. Mr. Plant said no more. When the man and the superintendent

of the express office were alone together, the superintendent said to

the man, “Do you know who that gentleman was who spoke to you about the

box marked ‘Glass’?”--“No.”--“Well, that was Mr. Plant, the president of

the express company.”--“Oh my! that means my dismissal sure.”--“Yes, I

think it does; I shall have to dismiss you”; and he said, later, to Mr.

Plant, “I shall dismiss that man of course.” “No,” said the president.

“Don’t discharge him; call him to your office and impress it upon him

that that is not the way this company does its business, and he won’t

forget it.” The man has been long a faithful and efficient employee of

the company. Mr. Plant’s name does not figure as often as do some others

in lists of large donations to churches and charities of deserving

character, though they have not been passed by without recognition, and

kind and generous treatment of the deserving men in his employ have

never been wanting. While travelling with Mr. Plant to Atlanta, one of

the heads of a department reported to him that an old gentleman who held

an honored and important position in the System was greatly broken down

with nervous prostration. “Send him to his home to remain until he is

well, and remit his salary all the same.” It was remarked by a bystander

that he thought that that was very kind of the president. “Oh,” was the

answer, “that is only a regular occurrence to those of us who have been

with President Plant as long as I have.”

Those who have read the blood curdling accounts of some of the strikes

that have occurred within the past ten years, and have experienced some

of the inconveniences and dangers resulting from them, will contrast

such accounts with what was seen on “Plant Day” at the Atlanta

Exposition, and on all other days throughout the South as well, and will

feel that the account of that day was worthy of a place in the record of

the noble life we are endeavoring to preserve as an example to public

men and as a lesson and inspiration for coming generations. We let the

associates and employees of the Plant System tell their own story. It

was printed in a beautiful pamphlet as a souvenir of the day, and was

specially designed for those whose devotion to duty prevented them from

sharing, in person, the pleasures of that memorable day. With the

exception of a few paragraphs of biographical matter contained in other

sections of the volume, or merely of temporary interest, the account is

published in full in a later chapter.

It is as creditable to the men who have stood around their president

most faithfully in his arduous labors, as it is honorable to him who has

led them on to noble achievement, and deserved success. Mr. Plant’s

methods of management are worthy of highest commendation, and would

repay careful study in like conditions. If any man were to discover a

plan for extinguishing fire that would to save the country $285,390,219,

in the course of a dozen years, the insurance companies would purchase

his patent for a large sum of money, and the country would raise

monuments to his honor. Mr. Plant’s method is even better; it is on the

philosophical principle of prevention. It prevents the kindling of the

flames, and while it may not be absolutely fire-proof, it has stood a

long and severe test. We honor him and his loyal associates and

employees for the more than peaceful course they have left on record. We

say “more than peaceful” for it has been a course of mutual concessions,

personal interest, and friendly association, as the following chapters

will show. Nor is the view taken in these chapters narrowed to special

and individual cases. It is as broad as the South linked to the North,

and covers the whole United States; for no part of our country can be

advanced without every other part sharing in the uplift.

It would not be surprising if the best part of Mr. Plant’s work should

fail to be recognized. People see the material progress of a State, the

things that can be measured, weighed, and valued at a price; the subtle

forces that produce the material are often overlooked. The intellectual,

moral, patriotic, and philanthropic spirit that moves the man and

diffuses itself throughout the State or nation is not the first thing

that arrests attention. Yet this unrecognized force is the great

uplifting power of a people in all that is best and noblest in their

onward march of progress. It is now an axiom that the North and South

did not know and understand each other previous to the late war; that if

they had understood each other, a war such as the revolt of the Southern

States would never have occurred, would, in fact, have been impossible.

The facilities afforded for travel and the superior hotel

accommodations which have been provided by, and have resulted from, the

Plant System, have brought North and South together in mutual interest

and friendly accord to such an extent that a war can never again take

place, for these two sections of our country are so interlaced,

interdependent, and identified in interest, and withal in such friendly

association, that the misunderstandings of the past can never again

arise. It is a fact of history, that in proportion as nations, races,

and religions come closer to each other, the causes of conflict are, to

the same degree, lessened. A homely illustration of this fact is

contained in the story of the Irishman who was walking along the Strand

in London one morning, when through the fog he discovered a monster from

which, at first, he was going to run away; then, grasping his shillelah,

he came close up to the monster intending to kill the “baste,” when “lo

and behold,” said Pat, “it was me brother John!” So it often comes to

pass that the monster in the distance to be annihilated, in closer

proximity is a brother to be loved.

[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XIII.

Plant Day at the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895

at Atlanta, Georgia--Preparations for its Celebration--Impressive

Observance of Mr. Plant’s Birthday at the Aragon Hotel--Mr. Plant’s

Remarks in Acknowledging Presentation of Gifts.

The Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition was created

through the zeal and enterprise of a number of the patriotic citizens of

the city of Atlanta and of the State of Georgia, and, on the 18th day of

September, 1895, when its doors were opened to the world, naught but

words of admiration and praise could be spoken for the men, who, through

the devotion of their energies, time and money, had made it in every way

a success.

There are already extant records of the speeches of the prominent men

who, from the Auditorium platform in the Exposition grounds, addressed

the public on that day and proclaimed to the world the reasons which

actuated the creation of this Exposition, not only for the advancement

of the mercantile interests of the southern section of the country, but

as well for the education of its people.

While it is, therefore, futile to reproduce here the history of the

Exposition, it might be well to say that as far back as December, 1894,

Mr. H. B. Plant was called upon by a committee of gentlemen representing

the Cotton States and International Exposition Company and urged to make

an exhibit at the Exposition. In recognition of his acquiescence, and

the erection of a building by the Plant System of Railways and Steamship

Lines, in which was placed a most creditable exhibit from the sections

of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida traversed by the Plant

System of Railways, the Exposition Company determined that a day should

be set apart, to be known as “Plant System Day,” and as the founder and

president of the System, Mr. Henry B. Plant, was to celebrate the

seventy-sixth anniversary of his birth on October 27, 1895, it was

decided that in his honor the two events should be commemorated as a

unit. This plan was impracticable, as the 27th fell on Sunday, but that

the celebration should be as closely connected as possible, the day

following, October 28th, was named by the Committee and announced to the

public as “Plant System Day” at the Cotton States and International

Exposition.

From the time of this announcement until the day of the festivities,

preparations were made to make the occasion in all ways enjoyable. Mr.

Plant, accompanied by his family, arrived in Atlanta on Saturday, and

on the succeeding morning, the seventy-sixth anniversary of his birth,

was greeted by the following article, written by Mr. Clark Howell, and

published in the _Constitution_. It served as an index to a time replete

with pleasure, and as a welcome to Mr. H. B. Plant, President, and to

the Plant System in Atlanta, Georgia, October 27 and 28, 1895.

From the Atlanta _Constitution_, October 27, 1895.

“No more important day will be celebrated during the present Cotton

States and International Exposition than to-morrow, which has been set

aside in honor of Mr. Henry B. Plant, the head of the great Plant

railway and steamship lines. The importance of the day will spring not

only from the successful life of which Mr. Plant is an example, but from

the fact that above any other man living he represents the great

industrial revolution which has come over the face of the Southern

States, and which marks the success of free over slave labor.

* * * * *

“To-day Mr. Plant might be called an international developer. Of this,

however, the story of his life will be the best witness. To-morrow he

will have completed his seventy-sixth year, forty-one of which have been

spent in the South, during which time the twin powers of steam and

electricity have wrought wonders in the conditions of life. To-day he is

the president of a railway system which embraces twelve different

corporations, and whose mileage extends to 1941, with a list of

employees numbering 5506. He is also president of the Plant steamship

and steamboat lines, the one covering the coasts of the Gulf and going

to Cuba and Jamaica, the other skirting the coasts of the North, running

from Boston and along Nova Scotia to Cape Breton and the maritime

provinces of Canada. In addition to these interests, he is still

president of the Southern and the Texas Express Companies, which do a

business as express forwarders over 24,412 miles of railway; have lines

in fifteen States, employing 6,808 men, and using 1,463 horses and 886

wagons. As a complement to the handling of railroads, and the sailing of

ships, and the expressing of freightage, Mr. Plant has erected four

winter resort hotels in Florida, one of which, the great Tampa Bay

Hotel, is probably the largest winter resort hotel of its kind on the

continent. It will thus be seen that this great man, who is to be the

toast at the Exposition to-morrow, does service under three flags, those

of America, England, and Spain.

“Such developments as these are enough to make his life history of

interest to the old and of profit to the young, as showing the vast

possibilities which our country affords, and the immense rewards which

come to industry, tact, and intelligence.

* * * * *

“The coming of Mr. Plant to the Southern States really marked the

opening of Florida to the people of this country as a winter resort. It

was in 1853, the year of Mr. Plant’s arrival, that he visited Florida

for the sake of his invalid wife, when access could only be had by

steamboat, by the St. John’s River. The mild climate of that State

prolonged Mrs. Plant’s life for years. He saw the necessity of railroads

in the State, and it was in this way that he began buying stock in

various Florida and Georgia railroads, though he did not engage in any

railroad enterprise as a manager until 1879. In that year Mr. Plant

purchased the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, and subsequently

reorganized the company as the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway,

of which he is still the head. The Savannah and Charleston Railway was

next purchased in 1880, and the story of the completion of the Plant

System--now extending to Charleston on the one side, to Montgomery,

Alabama, on the other, covering Florida and forming a perfect

network--would be to repeat the story of railroad development in that

entire section.

“In these enterprises it was the purpose of Mr. Plant and his

associates to extend and add to the various properties, and they

believed this could best be accomplished under a single organization

with ample powers. With this object in view, several of his associates

being residents of Connecticut, the birth-place of Mr. Plant, a charter

was obtained in 1882 from the legislature of that State, and the Plant

Investment Company organized. Mr. Plant became president, and remained

such to the present time. Among his associates were W. T. Walters and B.

F. Newcomer, of Baltimore; E. B. Haskell, of Boston; Henry M. Flagler

and Morris K. Jessup, of New York, and Lorenzo Blackstone, Henry

Sanford, Lynde Harrison, H. P. Hoadley, and G. H. Tilley, of

Connecticut. Since the formation of the Plant Investment Company,

several properties have been acquired by purchase. In 1885, they bought

the South Florida Railroad, at the time running only between Sanford and

Kissimmee, which was changed from narrow to broad gauge, with an

extension of the line to Port Tampa, Florida, which is the port of entry

for the West India fast mail steamers (Plant Steamship Line) between

Port Tampa and Havana, Cuba. Subsequently the line was extended north

from Lakeland to a connection with the Savannah, Florida, and Western

Railway (Gainsville division) at High Springs, thus completing the line

from Charleston, South Carolina, to Port Tampa, Florida. Thereafter the

company acquired, in 1887, the Brunswick and Western Railroad, between

Brunswick and Albany, Georgia, via. Waycross, which road was rebuilt; in

1889, the Alabama Midland Railway, from Montgomery, Alabama, to

Bainbridge, Georgia; and in 1892, the Silver Springs, Ocala, and Gulf

Railroad, extending from Ocala to Homosassa and Inverness, Florida. In

1893, the Tampa and Thonotosassa Railroad was constructed, from Tampa to

Thonotosassa, and the Winston and Bone Valley Railroad was purchased to

accommodate the people of the phosphate mining districts. In 1894, the

Abbeville Southern Railway, from Abbeville, Alabama, to a junction of

the line of the Alabama Midland Railway, was built. The system has been

extended in 1895 by the purchase of the Florida Southern Railway and the

Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad, both narrow gauge roads, and

preparations are now being made to change them to standard gauge.

“In addition to the railway properties enumerated, Mr. Plant established

two lines of steamboats: one, in 1880, to run between Sanford and

Jacksonville, which was discontinued upon the completion of the railway

between these two points; the other on the Chattahoochie River, known as

the People’s Line, plying between Columbus and Bainbridge, Georgia, and

Apalachicola, Florida. In 1886, he established the Plant Steamship Line

for regular service between Port Tampa, Key West, and Havana, Cuba,

under contract with the United States Post Office Department, for the

carriage of the Key West and Havana mails, and for occasional service

between Port Tampa and the island of Jamaica, with regular service

between Port Tampa and Mobile, and Port Tampa and points on the Manatee

River.

“Subsequently the line of the Atlantic, Canada, and Plant Steamship

Line, Limited, running between Boston and Halifax, was acquired by

purchase, and chartered under the Dominion Government as the Canada,

Atlantic, and Plant Steamship Company, Limited. In 1893, the North

Atlantic Line of steamers was added to the line through purchase, and

the route between Boston, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island is now

operated by the company of which he is at the head.

“The Plant Investment Company had widened the gauges of its various

roads to the standard measure, has organized the fast mail steamships

between Port Tampa and Havana, and has in many other ways developed the

country and revolutionized the face of nature in that section. A reading

of the names of the directors of the Plant Investment Company shows that

through Mr. Plant other men, such as Mr. Flagler, have been led to

investments in the Gulf States, which are of incalculable value, and

which will perpetually influence the destiny of the South.

“Without entering into the statistical and prosaic relation of railroad

names and technical details, it may be said Mr. Plant stands foremost as

a developer, and that while honor is due him for the creation of so much

wealth, for the integrity of his life, for the energy with which he has

built up the country, yet it is as a public benefactor and as one who

has contributed vastly to the possibility of such an Exposition being

held in the South, that he will be spoken of to-morrow. When he came

here, in 1854, he found the country wedded to a slave-labor system,

which necessarily meant a purely agricultural condition, and under which

it would be impossible to develop manufacturing and other corporative

industries. Without having been connected in any way with the war or

with the politics which preceded it or followed after it, yet he was the

pioneer of that new business which the war made possible, and which

marks the end of the old and the beginning of the new. His career is a

remarkable example of what can be accomplished by untiring industry and

indomitable will. The people of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and

Alabama cheerfully acknowledge the great obligations under which they

have been placed by the labors of this energetic and capable man.

“In recent years he has made his home in New York City, spending each

summer in Branford, Connecticut. He is a member of the Union League Club

and of the New England Society of New York, a man of commanding

appearance, genial of nature, dignified and courteous of manner, and as

modest as he is competent.

“Such a man needs no eulogy. His works speak for him. Such a people as

those of the South need no incentive to recognize worth wherever they

see it. Mr. Plant will be royally received to-morrow, and in the closing

years of his life he may well rest satisfied that a people for whom he

has done so much will not easily forget it, and that his name will be

remembered as one of the men who have served their time and generation,

and who deserve the laurel wreath of immortality.

“Forty-one years of his eventful life have been spent in the South; and

his great fortune has been made in the South. How many important volumes

of history are crowded into those forty-one years! Within that period

this man of affairs has seen four million slaves emancipated; he has

witnessed the greatest war of modern times; he has practically witnessed

the birth of those twin powers--steam and electricity--whose combined

forces have created new conditions of life; he has been an eye-witness

to the tearing down and the upbuilding of States and the adjustment of

the American people to a new environment. And yet, amid all this

kaleidoscopic change, this quiet business man has gone on adding to his

fortune in peace and in panic, in storm and in sunshine, and his

potential force in Southern development will be fittingly recognized and

crowned to-morrow, in a day set apart among the great days of the

Exposition in his honor.

“What superb judgment and business sagacity make up the background of

this picture! Mr. Plant has never sought or held office. His name is not

on the roster of military heroes, nor is it emblazoned on the roll of

those who have won renown in the evolution of statecraft. But in that

great battle of rebuilding States and industrial life in the South he

stands to-day pre-eminent. Behind him, and loyally supporting him, is a

busy industrial army of 12,639 men, and, counting their families, an

army of 60,000 people.

“The lessons of Mr. Plant’s life are simple and should be an inspiration

to young men throughout America. He has avoided politics and

speculation; he has never bought nor built a railroad to sell; he has

never wrecked a property in order to purchase it. He lives, and his

companies live, within their income. He is scrupulously exact in keeping

his engagements, and always acts within the limits of that truth, which

he often quotes, ‘It is easier to promise than it is to perform.’

“The lesson of his life, which the occasion justifies in emphasizing, is

this: Faith in the South and her possibilities is the basis of his great

fortune. When others have faltered he has gone on investing the earnings

of his properties in the South. In his loyal friendship to the South,

and his unwavering faith in her greatness and her coming glory, he has

proven his faith by his work.

“Mr. Plant is one of those remarkable men who master all conditions and

create environment. He is a builder--a creator. A whole State blossoms

at the touch of his magic wand. Thousands and tens of thousands bless

him that he uses and does not bury his talents. Long may he live--an

example to all young men, an inspiration to investors, a true, a loyal,

and a royal friend of the South.”

Surrounded by many of his friends and associates, who had assembled to

pay their respects, Mr. Plant’s anniversary was most auspiciously

ushered in by the foregoing remarks of a representative of the Atlanta

people. But it yet needed the remembrance of the officers and employees

of the Plant System of Railway and Steamship Lines and of the Southern

Express Company to testify the admiration and esteem in which he was

held by the men who served under him. This tribute on the part of the

officers and employees was an unexpected pleasure to Mr. Plant. In

referring to the event, the Atlanta _Constitution_ published the

following account of the presentations and of Mr. Plant’s response:

From the Atlanta _Constitution_, October 28, 1895.

“Mr. H. B. Plant, President of the Plant System of Railway and Steamship

Lines, was complimented yesterday as few great railroad kings have ever

been complimented by the men who compose the vast army of workers under

their direction.

“It was the seventy-sixth birthday of the well-known giant of the

Southern railway world, and he was presented with rich and rare tokens

of the love, honor and affection which his employees bear him.

“It was a happy day all round, and the Plant people fairly revelled in

the privilege of paying such becoming tribute to the man who has done so

much for the Southern States.

“As for Mr. Plant himself, he declared that it was certainly one of the

happiest moments of his life, and the brightest, happiest birthday he

ever enjoyed.

“At a quarter to ten o’clock Mr. Plant was notified that a number of

prominent officials of his various systems of transportation lines were

waiting to see him at his private parlors at the Aragon.

“He met them, and was informed that they wanted to join with him in the

name of every employee of the lines to exchange the congratulations and

compliments of the season of his birthday. Mr. Plant at once summoned

his family and friends, who are with him here, and soon Mrs. Plant, Mrs.

M. A. Wood, Dr. G. Durrant, Rev. Dr. Smythe, and Vice-President M. F.

Plant were in the parlor. There were also present the following friends

and associates in the railway and express business:

“R. G. Erwin, Vice-President and General Counsel, Plant System; M. J.

O’Brien, Vice-President and General Manager, Southern Express Company;

D. F. Jack, Assistant to the President; B. Dunham, General

Superintendent, Plant System of Railways; J. W. Fitzgerald,

Superintendent, Plant Steamship Line; B. W. Wrenn, Passenger Traffic

Manager, Plant System; F. B. Papy, General Freight Agent, Plant System;

Hon. F. G. duBignon, General Counsel; T. W. Leary, Assistant General

Manager, Southern Express Company; G. H. Tilley, Secretary and

Treasurer, Southern Express Company; F. Q. Brown, President, Florida

Southern Railway; Hon. S. G. McLendon, Counsel, Plant System of

Railways; O. M. Sadler, Superintendent Southern Express Company,

Piedmont Division; H. C. Fisher, Superintendent Southern Division,

Southern Express; C. T. Campbell, Superintendent Southern Express

Company, Central Division; W. W. Hulbert, Superintendent Georgia

Division, Southern Express Company; Mark J. O’Brien, Assistant

Superintendent Southern Express Company, Central Division; F. DeC.

Sullivan, New York; E. M. Williams, New York; W. S. Chisholm, member of

the firm of Erwin, DuBignon, & Chisholm, Attorneys for the Plant System

of Railroads, Savannah.

“The room was a scene of rare beauty, there being on every side a huge

bank of flowers, fragrantly speaking the affectionate salute of the

employees of Mr. Plant and members of his family. On one side was a

beautiful vase of American Beauty roses, sent from the main office of

the Plant System in New York, by the employees there.

“Appropriate inscriptions were embroidered in letters of gold on the

ribbons of red, white, and blue tied about the long stems of the roses.

On the other side was a bank of carnations, chrysanthemums, lilies, and

roses from H. B. Plant, Jr. This pleased Mr. Plant greatly, coming from

a little son of Mr. M. F. Plant, a grandson of the distinguished

railroad magnate.

“On a pretty table in the centre was a huge and gorgeous silver cup--a

loving-cup--which was presented to Mr. Plant by Mr. S. G. McLendon, on

behalf of the employees of the railway department of his great System.

It is a most beautiful and elaborate solid silver cup, and will hold two

gallons of champagne. It is, perhaps, the finest and most artistic piece

of work ever made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, of New York. The

idea conveyed in the loving-cup is a most beautiful one. The cup has

two large handles, and around the festal board is turned from hand to

hand, each guest taking a quaff, the cup being held by two persons. The

cup never touches the board until it has made the round of the guests.

“This cup, presented by the Plant Railway System employees, is

handsomely engraved, and bears on one side this inscription: ‘The

Railway Employees of the Plant System to H. B. Plant, President.’ On the

reverse side is the date, ‘October 27, 1895.’

“In presenting this beautiful token, Mr. S. G. McLendon, attorney for

the Plant System at Thomasville, read the following testimonial on

behalf of the employees:

“‘Mr. Plant:--The employees of the Plant System of Railways extend to

you their sincere and heartfelt congratulations upon this, your

birthday.

“‘As a slight token of their affectionate and loyal regard, they present

you this loving-cup, filled with their best wishes for your continued

health and strength. It was no idle fancy which prompted the selection

of this modest testimonial; its name aptly marks the impulse which

prompted the gift, and which it but inadequately measures by its size.

“‘The author of a great railway system, such as that which bears your

name, must be to all mankind a genuine benefactor; but to you belongs,

in truth, an honor and distinction far more precious.

“‘To promote the well-being of one fellow-man, to upbuild the material

interests of great and growing States, and to see new life, hope, and

promise rise up with smiling face and outstretched, laden hands, is

indeed enough to fulfill the measure of any ordinary ambition; but when

to the gratification which springs from such a consciousness is added

the knowledge that those who labored with and under you in these great

enterprises, whose part it was to follow and obey, are each and all as

loyal and devoted to you personally as you have been, through many years

and trials, to the great interests confided to your care, satisfaction

must ripen into that contentment which only comes when the “softer green

of our better selves” is in the ascendant.

“‘It is the earnest prayer of the employees that for many, many years

yet to come your life and activity may be spared to the great properties

which owe their existence and prosperity to your foresight and sagacity,

and as the seasons come and go, they crave for themselves no higher

privilege than to refill this cup with renewed affection and esteem.

“‘For the employees of the Plant System of Railways.

“‘B. DUNHAM,

“‘General Superintendent.’

“The employees of the steamship lines of the Plant System sent a

handsome and perfect combination compass, barometer, and thermometer as

a fitting birthday present to Mr. Plant. Hon. Fleming duBignon, General

Counsel for the Plant System, read the following letter in making the

presentation on behalf of the men who manage this branch of Mr. Plant’s

vast business:

“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 27, 1895.

“‘Mr. H. B. PLANT, PRESIDENT.--Dear Sir: The love and confidence of

associates, neighbors and friends are to be valued more than silver and

gold. In this life the point set to bound one’s career ought to be the

esteem of his fellow-men. For such an honor good men strive in all the

protean forms of earthly contest. To gain this reward, to touch the

dust-covered goal with a glowing chariot wheel, is worthy of the

loftiest ambition. No human being can possess any greater glory than the

estimation of the people among whom he lives.

“‘Acting upon the principle that labor conquers all things, and that

time will bring its own rewards, you struck out for yourself into the

great ocean of busy life around you and struggled heroically with its

billows. You were strong and worthy, and your fellow-men were not slow

in making the discovery. Your unbounded faith in the future of this

marvellous section, coupled with your genius and intelligent direction,

have advanced the several States into which your enterprises now extend

into commanding positions of commercial superiority. Your ships have not

drifted like dead sea-weeds upon the tops of sleepy waves, but, laden

with the rich treasures of this and other climes, have travelled the

wide seas over as a public benefaction. The mind of man cannot measure,

nor can the tongue of man describe, the practical good your energies

have accomplished. The Plant System, consisting of many thousands of

miles of telegraph, express, railway, and steamship lines, founded by

your genius, is a monument to your memory more lasting than brass and

more enduring than marble.

“‘Concealing quick feelings under an appearance of reserve, you have

never deemed it a weakness to give sway to the influence of loving and

sympathetic emotions. Your benevolences, therefore, have made life

beautiful to many people. Associated with you for so long a time, it is

natural that we, the employees of the Plant Steamship Line, should feel

a filial pride in the success of your varied and various undertakings.

We are proud of the history you have made. We come to-day, therefore, to

bring you our greetings, to manifest our love and admiration, and to

express the hope that your useful and distinguished life may be spared

many years to your country, family, and friends.

“‘As an evidence of our affection and respect, we herewith present you,

as a fitting birthday gift, this compass, commonly used for directing

and ascertaining the course of ships over a waste of waters. This

compass is fitted with a magnetic needle which points ever to the north,

enabling the tempest-tossed mariner to hold his way over the stormy sea

when there is neither cape nor headland, sun, moon, nor stars, nor any

mark in the heavens or on the earth to tell him when or where or how to

steer.

“‘We pray that the star of destiny, like this mysterious needle, will

ever guide and help you to keep an unfaltering step along the dangerous

crags and treacherous precipices which beset the pathway of every man,

and that your life may be long and useful “in the land that the Lord,

thy God, giveth thee.”

“‘Truly yours,

“‘J. W. FITZGERALD.

“‘On behalf of the employees of the Plant Steamship Line.’

“The Southern Express men presented their president with a handsome

marine glass.

“The following testimonial, read by T. W. Leary, Assistant General

Manager of the Southern Express Company, which was organized by Mr.

Plant in 1853, explains the sentiment conveyed with the gift:

“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 27, 1895.

“‘MR. H. B. PLANT, President Southern Express Company.--Dear Sir: The

employees of the Southern Express Company extend to you on this

anniversary of your birthday cordial greetings, fraught with sentiments

of highest respect and esteem, inspired by the kindly courtesy and

impartial consideration which have ever marked your intercourse with

them.

“‘Regarding you not alone as an official superior, but also as a

personal friend, sensible to their welfare and the true relationship of

the employer and the employee, exemplified by your long career in

friendly association with those with whom you have called around you in

the conduct of the company’s affairs, they are glad to avail themselves

of this auspicious occasion to manifest the interest it inspires within

them by an offering in token of their appreciation and good will.

“‘It is, therefore, the privilege and pleasure of the undersigned, in

behalf of the employees of the Southern Express Company, to present to

you the accompanying testimonial, coupled with heartfelt wishes that as

things viewed through its lenses are brought clearer and closer to

vision, so with each succeeding return of the day this glass

commemorates, may you see the nearer fruition of the unremitting labor

of years devoted to the upbuilding of those important enterprises with

the history of which your name is indissolubly connected.

“‘Commending this souvenir to your acceptance with the united hope of

those from whom it comes that continued health, strength, and success

may be granted you in the future, we are, yours faithfully,

“‘F. L. COOPER, “‘W. A. DEWEES, “‘W. M. SHOEMAKER, “‘Committee.’

“After the above letters were read, Mr. Plant addressed those present in

substance as follows:

“‘Gentlemen of the Plant System of Railroads and Steamship Lines and of

the Southern Express Company, and my Friends: I thank you sincerely for

the beautiful presents which you have given me on this the anniversary

of my birth, and for the loving words of congratulation which accompany

them.

“‘While it reached my ears that there was to be some observance of the

occasion, I am wholly unprepared for the magnificence of the gifts and

the demonstration of fidelity and affection with which they are

accompanied, and I am, therefore, unable to do justice to myself in

expressing to you the appreciation I feel. I speak from a full heart,

and can more than fill this beautiful loving-cup with affection and

esteem for you, and for the employees whose feelings towards me are

manifested not only by this testimonial, but as well by their constant

and untiring devotion to the trusts confided to them through many years.

To them, in a large measure, is due such success as has crowned my

efforts in railway construction and management, and I now take pleasure

in making this acknowledgment, and in assuring them of my continued

confidence in them, and of my gratitude to them; without their

unflagging efforts no measure of success could have been achieved. I

look to them all with the fall assurance that the future, with their

assistance, will result in still greater accomplishments in our railway

enterprises.

“‘This compass, the gift of the employees of the Plant Steamship Line,

brings to my mind the thought that, whatever may have been my mistakes

in life, I have always had one aim, which, like the needle, though

oscillating and varying at times in some slight degree, pointed ever to

one end, and that was to endeavor to do what was right and just.

“‘Our steamships were the children of my later years, and they, with the

faithful employees who operate them, are, and shall continue to be, very

near to my heart.

“‘The gift of the employees of the Southern Express Company brings to

my mind pictures of the past. The express business was my first love,

and I see here present those who were with me in troublous times, and

bore with me the heat and burden of the fight. Their affection and

loyalty have sustained me in many an anxious moment, and the knowledge

that I had around me those upon whom I could count in every peril has

enabled me to achieve some measure of success. To extend to them my

thanks for all that they have been to me and done for me would be idle.

They know how I feel towards them, and I am sure I know how they feel

towards me.

“‘I wish to say to you all that I am more apt to express my feelings in

acts than in words; many of the employees of our several companies have

been with me so long that they have become as members of my family. I

feel towards all the employees that in a business sense they are members

of my family and I want them to feel that they bear this relation to me.

“‘I see with us to-day one to whom I feel I owe much; I refer to Dr. G.

Durrant, of New York. I had a severe attack of illness last May, but did

not know until long after it was over how near to death I was. To his

untiring and faithful attention, both as a good friend and as a skilled

physician, I owe my recovery, perhaps my life, and it gives me pleasure

to take this occasion to express my confidence in him and my thanks to

him.

“‘These beautiful flowers on my left came to me from my little grandson,

and I bespeak in his behalf from you all the love and affection which

you have shown to me, and express the hope that in days to come, when I

am no more with you, he may be one of yourselves and a co-worker in the

enterprises which all the employees of our companies sustain by their

energies and their work.

“‘These flowers on my right come from those at our New York office, some

of whom cannot be with us to-day in person, but who are with us in

spirit and love and testify their memory of the occasion by this

beautiful remembrance.

“‘Mr. and Mrs. Frank Q. Brown, of Boston, have presented me with this

cane, which I appreciate very highly, but will hope that I may not need

to have immediate use for it, though if that time should come it will be

a staff upon which I will gladly lean. Mr. Brown is now one of us, and

though he has but lately come among us, I am sure you will all welcome

the President of the Florida Southern Railway in our ranks.’ [Applause.]

“It was the happiest of seasons for Mr. Plant, and his face beamed

brightly with the light of profound gladness.

“All day there was a stream of distinguished callers, who congratulated

him on the day with good wishes for many returns. Letters and telegrams

and cablegrams were read, all bearing the hearty congratulations of

friends and employees.”

[Illustration: text decoration]

[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XIV.

Tampa Bay Hotel, One of the Modern Wonders of the World--Its

Architecture, Furniture, Works of Art, Decorations, Tapestries,

Paintings, Inlaid Table and Three Ebony and Gold Cabinets from the

Tuileries, a Sofa and Two Chairs once Owned by Marie

Antoinette--The Dream of De Soto Realized--A Palace of Art for the

Delight and Joy of Those who are in Health, and an Elysium for the

Sad and Sorrowful.

The following account of the Tampa Bay Hotel, from the pen of W. C.

Prime, is taken from the New York _Journal of Commerce_:

“The most charming book in all the world of literature is the collection

of tales known to common fame as the _Arabian Nights_. Their charm

consists in the total freedom from all restraints of verities, of either

probabilities or possibilities. Events occur in dreamlike succession,

and transformations take place with such delicious swiftness and ease

that, if you read the story as you should, with forgetfulness of self,

and without any of the folly of critical judgment, you are removed into

another world than this--a world of refreshing liberty, wherein thought

has no bounds and imagination flows in glorious revelry.

“That which the unknown Saracen story-teller created in words and

fancies, this late nineteenth century seeks to create in reality, by the

aid of wealth and steam and electricity. It does not succeed. But it

comes so near to success that we may wonder and admire, and for a moment

at a time we can forget that the result is artificial, not natural, and

that it is a miracle of human invention which dazzles and astonishes our

senses. All this by way of introduction to my letter....

“The scene changed suddenly. The train emerged into a blaze of electric

light. By this blaze of light you could see, high in the air and

stretching a thousand feet to right and left, bright domes and minarets,

appearing and disappearing with all the swiftness of magic. It was

bewildering. A few steps lead into the blinding light of the grand hall

of the new hotel, a wilderness of all that is gorgeous in works of

modern art. Rich furniture in gold and ebony, velvets, tapestries, grand

vases of porcelain, massive figures in pottery, bronzes in groups, small

and of life size, oil-paintings, works of masters, etchings, engravings,

carvings, in short, countless examples of the most costly and superb art

productions of the age, under a flood of light from a hundred electric

bands; all this bursting on the gaze of the traveller at the end of his

journey, it forms what may well be considered a modern artificial

approximation to one of the transformations in dreams of the Saracens.

“It is not to be denied that this Tampa Bay Hotel is one of the modern

wonders of the world. It is a product of the times. It illustrates the

age, the demands of the people, what they enjoy, and what they are

willing to pay for. I have no space to enter into a description of it.

It would require a guide-book for a full description. ‘It is splendid,

but it is incongruous,’ said a friend. ‘Why should it be incongruous?’

was my reply. ‘It is a hotel, not a private house.’ There is,

nevertheless, a sufficiency of uniformity in the building and

decorations, while the general principle of the furnishing is in

harlequin style, which is most pleasing to the mass of visitors. Each

work of art (of which there are hundreds and hundreds) is chosen by some

one who has exercised taste of high order. The objects are good, each

worthy of examination. The many large tapestries are costly, and are

fine works. The paintings are of extraordinary rank. There is no more

striking feature of the furniture than the table porcelains. These are

exquisite works of ceramic art. The plates are of infinite variety. You

may have your beef on a very charming bit of French porcelain, your

salad on a reproduction of an old Vienna plate of semi-Saracenic

pattern, your ice on one of the little plates designed by Moritz

Fischer, and copied elsewhere, your coffee in a very perfect repetition

of one of Wedgewood’s simple and lovely bordered cups. In fact, there is

no end to the variety of these lovely porcelains. And just here I may

add, that the cooking and the service are unexceptionable. The table is

of the very best class, and equal to that of any hotel in the world.

This, too, is miraculous, in a new house at this remote point.

“I may sum up a sketch of the hotel in a few words. There is nothing

cheap, nothing inferior in it. Money has been freely expended in the

purchase of the most costly objects, in all departments of art, for

furniture and decorations; good taste has been exercised in the

selection of these objects, and they are brought together in lavish

profusion. The building is vast in extent. The grounds around it have

been rescued from savage nature and reduced to order and beauty. The

river is in front and Tampa lies across the river, which is narrowed to

less than three hundred feet wide. Some hundred palmetto trees have been

transplanted to form a grove near the river. Orange blossoms in

neighboring orchards fill the air with their odor. Pineapples grow in

luxuriance. To one who knew this spot as I knew it years ago, the

gorgeous hotel and its surroundings may well seem the creation of a

dream.”

Mr. Henry G. Parker, in the Boston _Saturday Evening Gazette_, writes:

“It was reserved for the sagacious and enterprising railroad and

steamboat magnate, Mr. H. B. Plant, to reap the honor of erecting in

tropical Florida the most attractive, most original, and most beautiful

hotel in the South, if not in the whole country; and it is a hotel of

which the whole world needs to be advised. It has one vase, which is the

admiration and wonder of all who behold it, in the grand office rotunda,

where ladies and gentlemen congregate at all hours of the day and

evening. The entire estate, including land and building, cost two

millions of dollars, and the furniture and fittings half a million more.

No one who does not see it and dwell in it for at least a day, can form

the faintest idea of the comprehensiveness of its purpose, the breadth

of its plan, the ideal refinement of its comforts, the noble scale of

its luxuries. Nothing offends the eye or the taste at any point, and

while the first view of the hotel exteriorly is impressive, the effect

produced by a first glance on entering its broad and inviting portals is

one of astonishment and delight.

“The architecture of the Tampa Bay Hotel is Moorish, patterned after the

palaces in Spain. The horseshoe and crescent are everywhere visible in

its design, and minarets and domes tower above the great building, which

is five stories high above the basement. The house is constructed of

Atlanta red brick with rolled steel beams, and brick partitions, floors,

and ceilings, and so is absolutely fire-proof.

“Numerous flights of stone steps lead up by easy ascent to the long

verandas that extend along each side of the structure. These piazzas

vary in width from sixteen to twenty-six feet. The length of the main

building is 511 feet, but with the solarium and dining-room, which are

connected with it, the house affords a continuous walk of twelve hundred

feet, and the walk around it on the outside is exactly one mile. On the

building there are thirteen minarets and domes, each surmounted with a

gilt crescent, making in all a complete lunar year. The hotel contains,

nearly five hundred rooms.

“The drawing-room, in perfect taste throughout, is a museum of beautiful

things, embracing fine contrasts, rich harmonies, and pleasant

innovations that render it indeed ‘a joy forever.’ Here there is an

inlaid table which once graced the Tuileries, as did also three ebony

and gold cabinets. On the table is a rare bit of sculpture, _The

Sleeping Beauty_, in Carrara marble. There are a sofa and two chairs

that were owned by Marie Antoinette. A set of four chairs may be seen

that belonged to Louis Philippe. Then there are numerous French and

Japanese cabinets, and above each is suspended a dazzling crystal

mirror. All these and hundreds of other wonderful things were

personally secured in Europe by Mr. Plant and his accomplished wife,

while Boston, New York, and Grand Rapids have been drawn upon for what

is best in their specialties in useful and ornamental furniture.

“The dining-room is octagon in shape, lighted from above, and is

decorated with costly and elegant tapestries and Japanese screens. Its

tables and nicely upholstered chairs are the very acme of comfort, and

the whole apartment is tempting, aside from the unsurpassed excellence

of the cuisine. The waiters are well groomed and well trained, having

gained their knowledge and their courtesy in the leading hotels and

clubs of New York. The _chef_ is Joseph P. Campazzi, celebrated all over

this country. He has fourteen first-class assistants, besides a dozen

others, in his kitchen, which is the largest, most thoroughly equipped

and most convenient to be found in the United States. He has arranged

his departments for the care of meats, game, and fish on a plan of his

own, which is worthy the attention and examination of every _chef_ in

the land. His ice-box contains between four and five tons, and he

provides also for The Inn (also Mr. Plant’s property), at Tampa Port,

and for the Havana steamers of the Plant Line. Meats are shipped in a

refrigerator car from New York, while game goes from Baltimore, and

largely from the sportsmen in and about Tampa. Fish is to be found in

great variety and abundance in Southern Florida, at very low prices, and

red snapper, pompano, sheepshead, and shad, deliciously cooked, are

always to be found upon the table. Giovanni Carretta, who for fifteen

years enjoyed a remarkable fame in New York at Delmonico’s and the Union

Club, is the pastry-cook, and his deft hand has lost none of its wonted

cunning. Rossi, from the Manhattan Club, is the baker.

“There are two hundred employees in the Tampa Bay Hotel, all of them

carefully selected with a view to their special fitness for the places

they fill. The chambers and suites are handsome and convenient

proportionately with the public rooms. The carpets everywhere are

harmonious in color, restful to the eye, and in the best of taste; more

than thirty thousand yards of them have been laid.

“The music-room is a special feature. It is large, well ventilated,

attractive in its circular form, simple in decoration, has a raised

stage, and its acoustic properties are fine. Moreover, the band is

superb. It consists of sixteen picked and skillful musicians, six of

whom were taken from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Their performances

of classical music, as well as of the tuneful and delicious dance music,

will stand the test of severe criticism, and not be found wanting. This

important feature of entertainment is to be maintained at any cost, and

it affords a great deal of pleasure to all who visit the Tampa Bay

Hotel.

“Tampa is of interest historically, being the place where Ferdinand De

Soto landed, May 25, 1539. From there he started on his search for the

mines of wealth supposed to exist in the New World, which resulted in

the discovery of the Mississippi River. There also Navarez, having

obtained a grant of Florida from Charles V. of Spain, landed with a

large force, April 16, 1528. Tampa is on the Gulf coast of Florida, 240

miles from Jacksonville. There are two trains daily, with Pullman cars,

from Jacksonville and St. Augustine to Tampa, passing through Palatka,

Sanford, and Winter Park, both having direct connection with all Eastern

and Western cities, and one being a through train from New York. Its

rapid growth during the past seven years, from eight hundred inhabitants

to as many thousands, has been brought about by the Plant System having

completed the South Florida Railroad to Tampa for the purpose of

developing it commercially. The climate is perfect, and it is the only

city in Florida with all the advantages of both inland and coast without

the inconvenience of either; the only city that affords all the delights

of a sportsman’s life to hunter and fisher, yachtsmen and horsemen,

along with first-class business facilities in all directions. No malaria

ever infects the delicious air, and the water is as soft as lavender. It

is the place of places for invalids, and a lapse of two years will see

Tampa the most important business city in its State. We are writing, not

for the interest of the Tampa Bay Hotel alone, fine as it is, but to

impart information and to convey suggestions that may be valuable to

many of our readers. By no means fail to go as far as Tampa if you visit

Florida in this tempestuous winter.”

AT TAMPA BAY.

“Was it not some old reportorial ruse played upon the credulity of the

ancients that made the story of Aladdin’s wonderful lamp to live in

literature and come down to us through the ages to make us listen with

open ears, gape with open mouth, and wonder with open eyes at the

wonders of it--and I wonder if that ancient reporter could prove in any

way the foundation of his story of the lamp and the rubbing of it. Aye,

there’s the rub--I think he couldn’t prove it. He might show the lamp,

but no palace would rise up at his rubbing, however hard. _But_, to-day,

the vision may be produced and the palace reared, and yet no lamp to

rub. I would lead to a land where balmy breezes blow and sigh among the

pines, and make the feathery palm trees wave as nodding plumes. Coming

out from under these, on a night when the moon is bright, to the banks

of a beautiful river with banks fringed with ferns, look across its

waters where the moon and stars are reflected and so many, many lights

that are on the river’s other shore, there the palace is, a brighter

than Aladdin’s, and more beautiful. That’s Tampa Bay. That your coming

under these pines and palms may be in a palace car, produces no

disillusion,--there’s a palace at Tampa Bay.