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.’”
