Carnegie Mellon University - Thistle Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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promptness with which he took advantage of it arc very marked even in his earliest investments. He never speculated. l ie never put his money into an enterprise with which he was not acquainted. Mr. Carnegie took some part in the early development of the oil industry. His attention, however, was soon attracted in another direction. About tliis time the railroads began experimenting with iron bridges. With his accustomed farsightedness Mr. Carnegie saw here an open field awaiting development, and consequently formed a syndicate and started the Keystone 1'.ridge Works. His next step, and the one which made him the undisputed head of the steel industry in America, was the manufacturing of steel rails to replace the iron ones which had been used up to this time. The plant known as the Kdgar Thompson Steel Works was erected for this purpose. Front these foundations Mr. Carnegie gradually built up what is now the leading industry in the manufacturing world. The company which lie organized for this purjH»se was destined to become the leading member in the largest industrial combination in the world. Throughout Mr. Carnegie's successful business career it was his wish and intention to retire from business Ik-fore he should Ik. comi e!!cd to do so on account of old age. He wished to spend the later years of his life superintending the distribution of the wealth he had l ccn accumulating. Evidences of the fulfilment of this desire may Ik seen everywhere. No man has ever used his wealth so exclusively and judiciously in the interest of his fellowmen as has Mr. Carnegie. In accordance with his desire to retire early from business, when the formation of the United States Steel Corporation afforded him an opportunity to dispose of his extensive interests, he gladly handed over to others the active management of his affairs, and was free from business cares for the first time in many years. lie was now at liberty to return to his native land. or. if he chose, to remain in his adopted home. Since both countries had some claim u|X n him and since he had lasting ties in cither place, his friends were interested to know where lie would make his future home. He hail formed many intimate and lasting friendships during his business career in America, while, on the other hand, many must have been the pleasant memories clustering around the scenes of his boyhood days in Scotland. Mr. Carnegie solved the problem by a compromise. He has a residence in Scotland, where he spends a jxirt of each year, but his home is in New York, on Fifth Avenue. Hy thus living among and keeping in touch with both nations he will hasten the fulfilment of his prophecy in regard to the political project that has always been very dear to him, the sentiment of which lie expressed in the 17

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nent in the formation of his character. In return for this his principal ambition, while she lived, was to secure her happiness. Mr. Carnegie's father was a master weaver, and owned a factory, containing several hand looms, in Dunfermline. When Andrew was ten years of age the steam loom was introduced into England, thoroughly revolutionizing methods of weaving. As a result his father’s business was completely destroyed. Acting on the advice of friends in America. Mr. Carnegie moved, with his family, to Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, where it was known letter opportunities existed for him to repair his broken fortune and for Andrew and his brother Thomas to obtain a start in life. The breaking up of their old home in Dunfermline must have lnren a trying ordeal for the whole family. Something of Andrew’s feeling toward his native home may be seen in his own words when shaking of it in later years: What Bemares is to the Hindoo. Mecca to the Mohammedan. Jerusalem to the Christian—all this and more Dunfermline is to me. Soon after his arrival in Pittsburgh Andrew Carnegie began his career as bobbin boy in a cotton factory at five shillings a week. At the age of thirteen he was employed to fire the boiler and run the steam engine which drove the machinery of the factory. The heavy work and long hours soon l egan to affect ins health and his future prospects looked rather gloomy. But here he showed that determination to conquer difficulties and that keen foresight which served him so well in later years. Moreover, lie was optimistic enough, and had sufficient confidence in himself, to believe that this state of affairs would not last long. With Xil desperandum for his motto, these difficulties served only as incentives to more determined effort. When fourteen years of age. through the influence of a friend. Mr. Carnegie received a position in a telegraph office. While engaged in this work he l erformed his duties with such punctuality and thoroughness, and showed such extraordinary ability for hard work, that lie attracted the notice of the superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania railroad, and was offered a jxisition in his office. This proved to be the turning jK int in his life. From this time on his career has been a series of successes. His advancement while in the service of the Pennsylvania railroad was very rapid. By the time he was twenty-five years of age lie had been made general superintendent of the Pittsburgh division. During this time he had made several lucrative investments, all of which were characterized by the same shrewd foresight as his more extensive ventures in later years. Not the least factor in Mr. Carnegie’s success has been his method of investing. The insight with which he determined the true worth of a pro]x sition and the 16

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following words at the close of an address before an English audience.- Let men say what they will, therefore. I say that as surely as the sun in the heavens once shone upon Britain and America united, so surely is it one morning to rise, shine upon, and greet again, ‘The Re-United States.' ‘The British American Union.’ His home at Skilx Castle, in the northern part of Scotland, is beautifully situated on a large estate in a district teeming with legends and traditions of early Scottish history. Besides the finest golf links in the country and splendid opportunities for yachting. Mr. Carnegie has access to as good shooting and fishing as arc to l e found in Scotland. Is it at all surprising that he should prefer this to life in New York? Strenuous as has been Mr. Carnegie’s business life he found some time to devote to literature. Besides the work already mentioned he is author of Around the World,” An American Four-in-1 land in Britain. The (ios-j)cl of Wealth. and other Itooks. all of which have been read with interest. He is a forcible sjjeaker anil does considerable reading, his favorite authors being Shakesj care and Burns. An eminent English biographer, in summing up his life has said: “Without any previous training for the position. Mr. Carnegie may be said to have leaped almost at a single bound from obscurity to eminence— front poverty to fortune.” 18