Every word he spoke had the ring of honest sincerity. To the men he
spoke more plainly even than I, and him they never resented. I think
their trust in him exceeded their trust in me. True he was Irish and I
was not, and then they had known him much longer than me; and so, small
blame to them, said I. One good thing for the society I managed to do. I
induced the directors to treble the company's annual contribution to its
funds, a substantial benefit, of course, to the men. I remained chairman
of the society, and Michael O'Neill its deputy chairman till 1912, when
the National Insurance Act came into operation. Then, by a resolution of
a majority of its members, it was wound up, to the regret, however, of
many of them, who preferred their own old institution which they knew so
well, and in the management of which they had a voice, to what some of
them styled "a new-fangled thing."
The occasions on which I have met, for the first time, men eminent in the
railway world, and for whom I have had great admiration, have always left
upon me very clear impressions, and this was particularly so in the case
of Sir George Findlay, the General Manager of the London and
North-Western Railway.
Pages:
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243