b'\nr.i;,s S drTiyf \n\nlinok -Ji joy \n\n\n\nPRESENTED I\'.Y \n\n\n\n\nj^>- \xe2\x96\xa0^H^^^L. \n\n\n\n\nSamuel Morris Dodd \n\n\n\nSixty Years Upbuilder of Business \nHelper of Men, in St. Louis \n\n\n\nBY \n\nWalter B. Stevens \n\n\n\nPrinted for Private Distribution by Friends \n\nSt. Louis \n\nMDCCCCXII \n\n\n\n*>* \n\n\n\nThe story of his life, if it were written in full, \n\nwould be more fascinating than the dreams of fiction. \n\n\xe2\x80\x94 Rev. Dr. Samuel J. Niccolls. \n\n\n\nPublisher \n& MNI913 \n\n\n\nPL* (MjvdrftioJ^ \n\n\n\n\nDear Sir: \n\nIn behalf of a few intimate friends of the late S. M. \nDodd of this City who have co-operated with his family \nin bringing out a biographical sketch of Mr. Dodd, I am \nsending you a copy of it with our compliments. We were \nfortunate in securing as biographer Mr. Walter B. Stevens, \na well-known journalist of this City. Mr. Stevens had \nbeen acquainted with Mr. Dodd for more than forty \nyears. When the matter was proposed to him he replied: \n"I certainly think some one should do it. Mr. Dodd\'s \ncareer, properly written up, should have a wholesome \ninfluence upon young business men. *\' With this inspiration \nMr. Stevens applied himself "con amore" to the task. \nThat he has performed it well will be appreciated by \nMr. Dodd\'s numerous friends. \n\nRespectfully, \n\n\n\n\n1654 Pierce Bldg. \nSt. Louis, Mo. \nDecember, 1912. \n\n\n\nThe Inspiration \n\n\n\ncAd \n\n\n\nSamuel Morris Dodd lived in St. Louis from 1851 \nto 1912. He loved the city of his adoption. He never \nlost faith in it. He saw it grow from a fever and fire \nstricken border community without a mile of railroad \ninto the recognized commercial and industrial center \nof the mid-continent section in a period of prosperity \nat high tide. In that development Mr. Dodd had \nnotable part. He was an upbuilder. He was busy \nevery one of the sixty years from the summer he assorted \ngreen buffalo hides to the winter when he sat for the \nlast time in the directorates of four of the city\'s chief \nenterprises. Certain elements of success in his career \nwere distinctive. In range his activities were extra- \nordinary. They were continuous. Mr. Dodd never \nretired. His capital was not transformed into securities \nand locked up in a safe deposit box. The man and his \nmoney were employed to the last days. The effort of \nthe one and the use of the other were devoted in the \nmain to St. Louis interests and enterprises. They \nachieved wonders in more than one industry\'s crisis. \nBut longer than the recollection of his upbuilding in \nmaterial forms will live the memory of his widespread \ninfluence as helper of men. Samuel M. Dodd shared \nwith the other fellow. "I never knew a man more \nready to help men, " is the testimony of Rev. Dr. \nSamuel J. Niccolls, the oldest of his intimate friends. \nLong time associates of "Uncle Sam" Dodd, as they \ncalled him in respectful affection, felt that such useful \ncitizenship was worthy of more than passing note; \nthat it deserved place in the annals of St. Louis; that \nit offered inspiration to those coming after. Hence \n\nthis narrative. ljr n \n\n\xe2\x80\x94 W . IS. s. \n\n\n\nKUTTERER-JANSEN PRINTING CO. \nSAINT LOUIS \n\n\n\nSamuel M. Dodd, \nBoy and Man \n\n"The race of Dodds" some one called the virile \nfamily of which Samuel M. Dodd was a member. \nThere was a Rev. John Dod who lived ninety-six \nyears, from 1549 to 1645, in England. He had \ntwelve children. His brothers and sisters numbered \nsixteen. In the "Lives of the Puritans" Rev. John \nDod is given place as "a divine of great learning \nand popularity." He was called commonly "the \nDecalogist" because of "An Exposition of the Ten \nCommandments." For his bold preaching on the \nneeded reformation of the church Rev. John Dod \nwas suspended. After him his son Rev. Timothy \nDod was ejected for non-conformity. Descendants \nof Rev. John Dod are said to have been among the \n20,000 pilgrims who came into New England about \n1630-40. One of these Dods was Daniel of Branford, \nConnecticut. From him descended the Dodds of \nNew Jersey. Half a century ago the origin of the \nnumerous New Jersey branch of the family was told \nin verse: \n\nFrom England came they o\'er the stormy main, \n\nDaniel and Mary in their youthful prime, \n\nSeeking a home here in the wilderness, \n\nWhere roamed the Indian\xe2\x80\x94 destined soon to die, \n\nLeaving behind them children, four of whom \n\nSons under age. By that dear Hand that leads \n\nThe blind by unknown ways to a large place \n\nProvided for tnem, tnese were brought to dwell, \n\nBeside the River, called in red man\'s speech, \n\nPassaic, where stands to-day the city fair \n\nOf Newark, famous for its avenues \n\nAnd parks adorned with trees, laid out \n\nAnd planted by forecasting sires, \n\nAnd for its workshops, numerous and vast, \n\nWhose products fill the markets of the world. \n\n\n\nOut of these four, three married in due time, \nDaniel the eldest, Stephen, Samuel, \nFrom whom, during two centuries, have sprung \nMany descendants; not a few choice men, \nThat in times past and now, by honorable sweat \nOf brow or brain, have won a good repute, \nAnd public mention due for service done \nIn cause of God, or country, or mankind. \n\nThere were enough Dodds to give the name of \nDodd Town to a community. They peopled the \nOranges \xe2\x80\x94 Orange, East Orange, West Orange and \nSouth Orange. In the ninth generation 431 male \ndescendants of Daniel Dod of Branford were living. \nThere are now more than 1,000. Descendants in \nthe female line number ten times as many as in the \nmale. Samuel M. Dodd was born in what is now \nEast Orange, on the 3rd of June, 1832. Eight \nchildren had Stephen Dodd and Mary Condit, \xe2\x80\x94 \nseven of them boys. Samuel Morris was the third. \nThe grandfathers on both sides, Eleazer Dodd and \nSamuel Condit, were soldiers in the Revolutionary \nwar. Sqme time after the Connecticut Dods moved \nto New Jersey the family changed the name to \nDodd. When Samuel M. Dodd was becoming known \nas a rising young business man in St. Louis he had \nnine cousins of varying degrees, descended from \nDaniel Dod of Branford, who were ministers of the \ngospel; they were scattered in six states and one \nforeign country. The piety of Rev. John Dod, the \nPuritan, was bequeathed. \n\nStrong religious sentiment has been a trait of \nthe Dodd family down to the present generation. \nSamuel M. Dodd shared it. On Orange mountain \nis a monument erected to mark the path where the \nDodds in early days went across to church. It is \nof stone and bears the chiseled words: "The \nChristian Path." \n\n\n\nSamuel M. Dodd took great pride in that monu- \nment. On one occasion when they were visiting the \nold home Mr. Dodd took his pastor, Rev. Dr. \nNiccolls, to see the stone cross and pointed to the \ninscription: \n\n"The Christian Pilgrims, \nWho this pathway trod, \nAre now in Heaven \nAnd walk with God." \n\nAll of the Oranges and the adjacent small towns \nhad a population of only 3854 when Samuel M. \nDodd was a boy. The village school and Bloomfield \nacademy supplied the education that the youngster \nthought he needed for business life. Early in his \nteens the youth got a clerkship in the country store \nof one of his cousins, Samuel W. Baldwin. In the \nDodd family were several hatters. Samuel M. Dodd \ndid not learn this trade. His taste led in the direc- \ntion of selling and bookkeeping. He went from the \ncountry store to the New York wholesale house of \nWilliam C. Booth, dealer in hats and caps. At the \nage of nineteen he felt qualified to move westward \nand grow up with the country. Mr. Baldwin had \nestablished business connections in St. Louis. A \ndistant cousin, Bethuel Dodd, had been one of the \nearly settlers of St. Louis and had made a fortune \ntrading with the Indians. \n\nWhen Samuel M. Dodd left home there was no \nrailroad west of Cumberland, Md. The journey in \n1851 was by stage through the Alleghany Moun- \ntains to Brownsville, Pa., on the Monongahela \nriver and thence by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers \nto St. Louis. Mr. Dodd found a position with \nNourse, Crane & Co. When that house was bought \nby Baldwin, Randell & Co. he continued with the \n\n7 \n\n\n\nnew firm. "Hats, caps and furs" was a quite \nnatural business association in the St. Louis fifties. \nThe finest hats were made of beaver skins. Pelts \nof lesser valued animals entered into the manu- \nfacture of headgear. A coon tail dangling from the \nback of a fur cap was widely popular. Samuel M. \nDodd began his career in St. Louis with the assort- \ning of buffalo hides, the most disagreeable task in \nthe business. Day after day and week after week he \nopened up the packs of a dozen or a score of hides, \ngreasy and ill smelling. In one pile he placed the \nrobes on which the Indian squaws had worked their \nrude curing processes, emblazoning in pigment the \nmystic signs of the tribe. These were the most \nhighly valued skins. In the second grade young \nDodd piled the hides which had been taken from the \ncarcass with such care that they were whole. Into \nother heaps went the hides which were in parts or \nwhich had been slashed in the skinning. The as- \nsorting required a rather dose examination of each \nhide. In those da}^s the great fur companies were \nno longer monopolizing and systematizing the trade. \nThe shipments came from many hunters and traders. \nBuffalo hides by the tens of thousands reached St. \nLouis every season. The assortment was the work \nof spring and summer time. In after years Mr. Dodd \nreferred with good humor to these trying exper- \niences, he could recall the sights and smells of that \nhide loft on Main street. One day when he was in \na reminiscent way with a friend he wondered "how \nmany of our young fellows these days would be \nwilling to begin business life assorting buffalo skins." \nFrom the clerkship which involved the drudgery \nMr. Dodd advanced to the position of traveling \nrepresentative of the house. He rode on horseback \nthrough the trade territory of St. Louis. In this \n\n\n\nway while on his trips to Springfield Mr. Dodd came \nto know and admire Abraham Lincoln. \n\nHe rose to head bookkeeper of the firm. Mar- \nvelous stories are told of his facility with figures. \nThis readiness remained with him in after years. \nMr. Dodd sitting in meetings of directors frequently \nastonished his associates by the rapidity with which \nhe made calculations. \n\n"I was present/\' Isaac S. Taylor, the architect, re- \ncalled, "when a member of the firm of Shickle, Har- \nrison & Valle laid before Mr. Dodd an itemized \nstatement of the iron work furnished for a large \nbuilding. Mr. Dodd took the paper and glanced \ndown the long column of figures in a casual way. \n\n" \'What\'s this?\' he asked. \n\n" \'Our statement of the iron work for the build- \ning.\' \n\n" \'But it isn\'t correct.\' \n\n" \'Oh, it must be; our head bookkeeper prepared \nit; he is a very careful man.\' \n\n" \'No,\' said Mr. Dodd, handing back the paper, \n\'The footings are several thousand dollars out of \nthe way.\' \n\n"Mr. Dodd was right. He had added up that long \ncolumn by glancing over it and had caught the \nerror." \n\nIn the house of Baldwin, Randell & Co., Mr. Dodd \nmade such an impression of business capacity that \nhe was taken in as a junior partner. He advanced \nto the position of manager. Even then he had that \nfacility, so conspicuous in his later enterprises, of \nbringing out the best in those associated with him. \nHe organized and directed with such executive en- \nthusiasm that Baldwin, Randell & Co. obtained and \nheld a foremost position in their line of business. In \n1862, eleven years after his coming to St. Louis, \n\n9 \n\n\n\nMr. Dodd bought out his partners and became the \nsole proprietor of the house. When the war closed \nhe saw the opportunity to expand in a new direction. \nThe wholesale dry goods house of Dodd, Brown & \nCo. was established in 1866. The first year\'s sales \nreached the astonishing total for those days of $1,- \n250,000. At the beginning the firm did business in \na building fronting 25 feet on Main street. In three \nyears the increasing sales prompted removal to a \nlarge store on M^ain between Pine and Olive streets. \nTwo years later Mr. Dodd became the pioneer of \nthe most radical trade movement in the commercial \nhistory of St. Louis. He arranged for the construc- \ntion of a five-story building at Fifth and St. Charles \nstreets. Thus, in 1870, was inaugurated the west- \nward movement of the wholesale houses of St. Louis. \nMr. Dodd\'s announcement that he was going to \nleave Main street was regarded as unwise by the \nmerchants who within five years followed his \nexample. \n\nMr. Dodd continued in the dry goods business \ntwenty years. His forecast of the growth of St. \nLouis westward was vindicated not only in the trans- \nfer of the business center but in respect to real \nestate. He saw that Washington avenue was a com- \ning thoroughfare. The tobacco warehouse occupied \none side of the avenue near Sixth when Mr. Dodd \nwas negotiating for his great store on Fifth street or \nBroadway, as it was afterwards named. In the \nseason when the warehouse wasn\'t occupied by \nhogsheads of Missouri tobacco the volunteer firemen \nheld their annual balls there. John G. Copelin \nbought the site of the old warehouse. Some people \nwere questioning his sanity. \n\n"That\'s the best transaction in real estate this \ntown has known in many a day," commented \n\n10 \n\n\n\nMr. Dodd. "If that\'s all the evidence they\'ve got, \nMr. Copelin isn\'t crazy." \n\nReal estate investments were the anchors which \nMr. Dodd cast to the windward and which saved \nhim in time of commercial stress. They vindicated \nrepeatedly his accurate judgment of prospective val- \nues. Soon after Mr. Dodd established himself on \nFifth and St. Charles streets he organized a real es- \ntate coterie to acquire ground in the adjoining block, \nfrom St. Charles street to Washington avenue. Mr. \nDodd\'s partner, Mr. Brown, and the late George A. \nMadill joined in this investment. The Broadway \nreal estate company was formed later. Beginning \nwith a purchase at $50,000 on the St. Charles street \nside of the block Mr. Dodd and his associates ac- \nquired one small piece after another until they owned \nmost of the property now occupied by the Nugent \ndepartment store. One of the last purchases was \nthe corner of Broadway and Washington avenue, \nthen in use for a saloon. For this the price of $62 \na square foot, enormous in that day, was paid. \nWhen he died Mr. Dodd held the controlling interest \nin the Broadway real estate company. He had \npassed through one period when he thought that all \nhe might have left was his interest in that Broadway \nground. \n\n\n\n11 \n\n\n\nMr. Dodd in the \nAmerican Central \n\n"Losses paid since organization, $22,924,744.17." \nSo reads the golden legend on a plate glass front of \nthe financial "street" of St. Louis. Below is the more \ndetailed record: \n\n"This company paid losses in full in the following \nconflagrations : \n\n"Chicago, 111., \n\n"Portland, Me., \n\n"Boston, Mass., \n\n"Waterbury, Conn., \n\n"Paterson, N. J., \n\n"Baltimore, Md., \n\n"Rochester, N. Y., \n\n"Chelsea, Mass., \n\n"San Francisco, Cal." \n\nOn the ninth of October, 1871, began "the great \nChicago fire." Early next morning fire apparatus of \nSt. Louis was taken across the river by ferry and \nwas loaded on flat cars to go to the burning city if \nneeded. All that day the members of the Merchants\' \nExchange were filling a train with cooked provisions \nfor the homeless thousands. The second day the \ndirectors of the American Central Insurance com- \npany met and adopted this resolution: \n\nWhereas, this company has sustained a loss of some two \nhundred, and fifty to three hundred thousand dollars, by the \ngreat fire in Chicago. \n\nResolved; That it is expedient for this board to make a \ncall upon the stockholders of twenty per cent upon the stock \nsubscribed, to liquidate this loss and keep our capital un- \nimpaired, and do now authorize and instruct the officers of \nthe company to make said assessment to be collected in two \n\n12 \n\n\n\nequal installments of ten per cent each, payable on the first \nday of November and the first day of December next. \n\nAlso for the information and benefit of Chicago policy \nholders: \n\nResolved; that the American Central Insurance Company \nwill pay all losses immediately on adjustment. \n\nThe director who offered the resolution and moved \nits adoption in the face of doubters was one of the \nyoungest members of the board. The meeting was \nheld in his office. Samuel M. Dodd was taking the \nstand for financial faith and commercial courage \nwhich he was to maintain in the community stead- \nfastly and consistently through forty-one years. The \ncompany\'s losses by the Chicago fire were $275,000. \nThe company\'s total assets were $300,000. Mr. \nDodd and his fellow directors on a joint note raised \nthe amount necessary and met the Chicago losses \nnot only in full but without delay. The proposition \nproved profitable, just as Mr. Dodd had argued it \nwould. "Here\'s our opportunity," he had said, \n"We\'ll raise this money and pay off every obliga- \ntion." \n\nIn three or four years the company had made it \nall back. Then came other conflagrations. Port- \nland was taken care of by the earnings of the year. \nBoston, however, hit hard. Where Mr. Dodd and \nhis associates thought they had the safest risks, they \nlost an immense amount. When they got by Boston \nthe gain was steady and succeeding conflagrations of \n$250,000 to $500,000 were taken care of with the \nearnings. Finally came San Francisco with a loss \nto the American Central of $1,680,000. This blow \nimpared the reserve fund. \n\n"What shall we do Uncle Sam?" asked his fellow \ndirectors. \n\n"Increase the capital stock; I\'ll take my share, \nyou take yours," was the advice in that subdued, \nsoftly modulated tone. \n\n\n\nAnd they did. American Central was capitalized \nat $2,000,000 paid up and President George T. Cram \nwent to San Francisco with the money to pay every \ndollar called for by the American Central policies. \n\nThe American Central Insurance company goes \nback for its beginning to the Atlantic Mutual. Or- \nganized in 1853, such men as John F. Darby, Way- \nman Crow, John S. Cavender, D. A. January, James \nSmith and half a score of others gave it character. \nIn 1869 the name of American Central was taken, \nMr. Dodd being one of the directors and becoming \nwith the action on the Chicago fire a leading spirit. \nFor a long time he was vice-president. One day a \nyoung man, Edward T. Campbell, who had made \nsomething of a name for himself as an insurance man \nin New York came to St. Louis on a vacation. He \ncalled to see Mr. Cram and the head of the American \nCentral took him down to see Mr. Dodd. \n\n"We want to shape our business differently in the \nEast," said Mr. Dodd. "They\'re burning us up \nthere. If we could only get going right down there \nwe\'d have the world by the tail." \n\nThe visitor was encouraged to give his views on \nthe proper methods to be pursued by a St. Louis \ncompany doing business on the Atlantic seaboard. \nMr. Dodd listened and broke in with: \n\n"Campbell! That\'s the whole matter." \n\nTurning to President Cram, Mr. Dodd said: \n\n"George! There\'s your man." \n\nMr. Campbell was persuaded to take up his resi- \ndence in St. Louis. He was given a small title and \na large responsibility in the American Central \norganization. One day Mr. Dodd strolled into the \noffice and said casually: \n\n"Campbell! You ought to be vice-president of \nthe American Central in name as well as in fact. \n\n14 \n\n\n\nI\'m vice-president but I never do anything. I\'m \ngoing to resign and make you vice-president." \n\nHe did it, thus placing the present executive in \nline to become the head of the organization he was \nbuilding up. \n\n"Uncle Sam Dodd beat any man to hold on to a \nbusiness proposition I ever saw," is the testimony of \nPresident Campbell who was with him through the \ntribulations and triumphs of the American Central. \nWhen Mr. Dodd died he was the largest stockholder \nin the company. \n\nIn their tribute spread upon the record his as- \nsociates recall that "for forty-three years Mr. Dodd \nwas connected with the American Central Insurance \nCompany as a director; twenty-nine years as hon- \norary vice-president, and seven years preceding his \ndeath as treasurer." They say: \n\nIt is impossible to fittingly describe the strong and fine \ntraits of character of Mr. Dodd; his generosity and sterling \nintegrity; his love for participation in various forms of phil- \nanthropic work; his patriotism and civic pride, or his re- \nmarkable business ability which made him one of the fore- \nmost and most successful citizens of St. Louis. He had the \ngift of kindliness of heart and gracefulness of expression which \nmade his presence always welcome. \n\nDuring his long and useful life his courage and confidence \nwere ever helpful to the officers and directors of this company. \nBeyond all, we cherish the memory of his support, his at- \ntractive personality and warm-heartedness which endeared \nMr. Dodd to the wide circle of his friends, and this is the loss \nthey will feel in the closing of his long and useful life. He \nhas left us the legacy of devotion to high ideals, which we \nshall treasure as an inspiration to us all. \n\n\n\nPhilosophy Taught \nby a Crisis \n\nA crisis in the career of Samuel M. Dodd came in \nthe seventies. During the years of his early man- \nhood he had applied all of the energy and thrift \ninherited from his Puritan ancestry to the establish- \nment of a good business reputation in St. Louis. \nThe most imposing commercial structure on Fifth \nstreet, now known as Broadway, bore the name of \nDodd, Brown & Co., wholesale dry goods. Every \ndollar that Mr. Dodd had accumulated he had \ninvested on his faith in the future of St. Louis. At \nforty years of age he was one of the master minds in \nthe community. Financial stringency caught him. \nAll in the world that he had Mr. Dodd offered to his \ncreditors. His offer was declined. Those to whom \nhe owed money urged that he make a fair settlement \nand continue in business. An assignee in the per- \nson of Gerard B. Allen was chosen. Such was the \nestimation in which Mr. Dodd was held that Mr. \nAllen would not accept compensation for his services. \nThe creditors were satisfied. They encouraged Mr. \nDodd and his partners to resume. With the restor- \nation of confidence Mr. Dodd found his assets were \nmore than his liabilities by a margin sufficient to put \nhim on his feet. One of his first acts after hopeful- \nness returned was to show his appreciation of Mr. \nAllen\'s kindness. The expression of gratitude took \non a form characteristic of Mr. Dodd\'s way of doing \nthings. Captain W. R. Hodges, the present city \nauditor, was recognized by the St. Louis public as a \nmost competent judge in matters of art. Mr. Dodd \n\n16 \n\n\n\nsaid to the captain with whom he was on terms of \nintimate friendship : \n\n"I want you to buy a picture which I can give to \nMr. Allen." \n\n"What kind of a picture?" \n\n"You are authorized to spend up to $1500. I \nleave the rest entirely to your judgment. You buy; \nI\'ll pay." \n\nCaptain Hodges went to New York and devoted \nseveral days to the search. He chose the painting \nof a woman, a sweet, pretty subject, and went the \nlimit of the commission. To-day, nearly forty years \nafterwards, George L. Allen says, "We think more \nof that picture than any other we\'ve got." \n\nIn those days of 1873-1880 that tried business \nmen\'s souls, a young St. Louis minister did a service \nof far-reaching effect. Mr. Dodd was much de- \npressed. Rev. Dr. Niccolls induced him to go to the \nAdirondacks. In the wild woods the nerves were \nsteadied; the spirit recovered its tone. The minis- \nter and the merchant lived in a cabin after the most \nsimple ways. Day by day Mr. Dodd in the prime \nof early manhood tramped through the wilderness, \nfighting and winning the battle with self. At times \nhe was gone for days, sleeping under rude shelter \nwhere night overtook him. He came back to St. \nLouis with pyhsical health restored, with a business \nphilosophy learned, with broader and better views \nof life, fit to take the commanding position which \nwas to be his through almost two generations. \n\nAfter that experience of the seventies, failure never \ndiscouraged Mr. Dodd. Temporary setbacks only \nstiffened him. It was his fortune to take hold \nof business propositions which called for heavy \nexpenditures and much time before success was real- \nized. Perhaps more than any other upbuilder of \n\n\n\nSt. Louis in the past thirty years Mr. Dodd has ven- \ntured his means and given his thought to great \nenterprises which were extremely hazardous in their \nbeginning. \n\n"I make it a rule never to think of my losses," Mr. \nDodd said one day when a friend mentioned some \ntransaction which hadn\'t turned out well. "I don\'t \nworry about them. I don\'t fret over my losses." \n\nAnd he didn\'t. There was a serenity of manner \nwhich did not fail even when the loss occurred \nthrough misplaced confidence. It prompted such \nexpression as this to Edward L. Adreon who occu- \npied the same office many years with him: \n\n"My thoughts and my feelings are with my friends. \nI never waste any on my enemies. I simply blot \nthem out." \n\n"Well, there\'s another fellow for oblivion," Mr. \nDodd would say when somebody had abused his \nconfidence. \n\n"Mr. Dodd never treasured resentment," Edward \nL. Adreon recalls. "When a man had done him a \ndirty trick he was done with him. But the exper- \nience never shook his faith in human nature. He was \nimposed upon but not in large affairs. He always \nappealed to the best in everybody; he saw good \nin everybody. He did not take an exaggerated view \nof human nature but a good clear estimate, and that \nguarded him. His loyalty to personal friends and \nto business associates bound them to him with the \nstrongest kind of ties." \n\nMr. Dodd was not of an inventive turn. He pro- \nfessed no extended knowledge of mechanics. His \nmental habit did not lead him into investigation of \npatents. But he had positive genius in judgment of \nmen. Yet he occasionally backed an inventor finan- \ncially, where judgment had little to do with it. The \n\n18 \n\n\n\npapers of which Marion S. Allcorn who was Mr. \nDodd\'s confidential secretary many years is cus- \ntodian include the records of thousands of dollars \nthus expended. But Mr. Dodd did this as another \nman of means might grubstake a miner. He took a \nchance. When, however, he ventured his capital \nin considerable amount and gave his time and \nthought to industrial development on a large scale, \nMr. Dodd\'s policy was very different. He paid little \nattention to the patents upon which such develop- \nment was based, but he selected with great care the \nmen to carry on the investigation and the develop- \nment. He was unerring in this direction. \n\n"Mr. Dodd," said Mr. Blair, "is to be credited \nwith the final success of the Pintsch lighting system \non trains. He achieved this through his faculty of \npicking the right man. In the early days of the \nPintsch company the capital was about exhausted \nwhen Mr. Dodd stepped in and insisted the business \nshould be left in the hands of R. M. Dixon, now \npresident of the Safety Car Heating and Lighting \nCompany. He saved that enterprise as he did the \nAmerican Central, the American Brake and the \nWagner companies." \n\nFrom the American Embassy at Vienna, Richard \nC. Kerens wrote to Marion S. Allcorn, when the \nnews of Mr. Dodd\'s death reached him: \n\nSoon after my coming to St. Louis nearly thirty-six years \nago, it was my good fortune to become acquainted with Mr. \nDodd. He was then one of the large merchants of St. Louis. \nOur acquaintanceship ripened into friendship and later into \nbusiness association. Mr. Dodd participated in many enter- \nprises with which I was also connected. I was also associated \nwith Mr. Dodd\'s undertakings. No more delightful associate \nin business than Mr. Dodd could be found, and social inter- \ncourse with him was always a pleasure. \n\nWhat the present generation of the business world \n\n19 \n\n\n\nof St. Louis thought of Mr. Dodd is well voiced by \nGeorge L. Edwards: \n\n"There have been two men in the presence of \nwhom I always felt like taking off my hat. They \nwere James E. Yeatman and Samuel M. Dodd." \n\nMr. Dodd made life-long friends. In the earliest \nof his sixty years of business life in St. Louis he \nwon the good will of his employer, John M. Randell; \nhe never lost it. The high esteem continued with \nthe family toward Mr. Dodd throughout his life. \nMr. Randell had been associated with Robert Camp- \nbell, one of the most successful of the mid-century \nfur and Indian traders in St. Louis. He retired from \nthe business with what in those days was esteemed a \nfortune and moved to New York. Mr. Dodd in \nrising step by step to the management and finally \nto the proprietary control of the business had the \nhearty encouragement of Mr. Randell. He showed \nhis appreciation by giving attention to the St. Louis \ninterests of Mr. Randell and later of the Randell \nestate. The daughters of Mr. Randell, Mrs. C. K. \nGarrison and Miss Lillie B. Randell of London con- \ntinued to look upon Mr. Dodd as a valued friend \nand to regard his advice in business matters. When \nthe crisis in his affairs came and the future looked \nblue, these ladies loaned Mr. Dodd $25,000 to aid \nin his re-establishment. Mr. Dodd paid the interest \na number of years and was about ready to return \nthe principal when the two ladies declined to receive \nany more return and cancelled the note. In the \nlittle group of those nearest by ties of blood and \nlongest in friendship assembled at Belief ontaine last \nFebruary were a son and grandson of John M. \nRandell. \n\nWriting to a friend in St. Louis about the esteem \n20 \n\n\n\nin which Mr. Dodd was held by her family Miss \nLillie B. Randell said: \n\n"He was a cultured, refined and clever young gen- \ntleman. Both my father and mother had a great \nregard for him personally, which continued all \nthrough their lives. Mr. Dodd felt very grateful to \nmy parents and when my father died he related to \nus many generous acts which my father had done \nbut had never mentioned to us. Mr. Dodd never \nfailed to refer to their kindness in writing for the \npast twenty-two years I have been abroad. All of \nour family have always been his greatest friends. \nWe admired his grand, noble and generous charac- \nter." \n\nBoth Mr. Randell and Robert Campbell were pol- \nished gentlemen with high business ideals. Mr. \nDodd coming without financial capital but with good \nprinciples and willing ambitions quickly won the \nconfidence of these men and maintained it with \ntheir descendants. With Hugh Campbell, the son \nof Robert Campbell, he held through all of the years \nthe same cordial relation that he did with the children \nof Mr. Randell. \n\nColonel Charles D. Comfort as a boy entered the \nstore of Dodd, Brown & Co. in 1871, advancing to \nthe position of confidential secretary and then to \njunior partnership. \n\n"From the first day Mr. Dodd became my friend," \nColonel Comfort said, "and he was my friend as \nlong as he lived. That was his way to continue his \nfriendship when it was once formed. Although I \ndidn\'t always do as he wanted or advised, still he \nstuck to me. Mr. Dodd was the best friend I ever \nhad." \n\nCompetition in the wholesale dry goods business \nwas strenuous in the seventies. Four great firms \n\n\n\nwere rivals. They were Dodd, Brown & Co., Samuel \nC. Davis & Co., Crow, McCreery & Co. and Chase \n& Cabot. Commercial St. Louis looked on and \nmarveled. When one of these commanders of \ncommerce came back from a trip he was good for \na two-column interview. A Franklin avenue re- \ntailer reviewed the situation in vigorous comment \nwhich was repeated up and down Fourth and Fifth \nstreet business houses and in every bank on Third \nstreet. He said: \n\n"Chase & Cabot does der talkin\'. Crow, McCreery \n& Company make der money. Samuel C. Davis, \nhe\'s got de money. Dodd, Brown & Co., dem fel- \nlers sell der goods." \n\nA matter of record is that Dodd, Brown & Co.\'s \nsales, beginning in 1866 with $1,500,000, reached \n$6,000,000 a year in the seventies. But the compe- \ntition cut the margin close. When in 1878, Mr. \nDodd and Mr. Brown encountering financial stress \nfelt that they could not go on and offered to turn \nover everything, the 350 creditors represented claims \nto the amount of over $1,000,000. They united in \na request that the firm make a fair settlement and \ncontinue in business. Dodd, Brown & Co. accepted \nthis proposition and the first year after resuming \nbusiness the house cleared $125,000, evidence of the \nesteem in which Mr. Dodd and Mr. Brown and their \nassociate partners were held. \n\n\n\n22 \n\n\n\nAs Rev. Dr. Niccolls \nKnew Him \n\nAfter that first season in the Adirondacks which \ndid so much for him Mr. Dodd went back to the \nwoods twenty-eight summers. He shared Dr. Nic- \ncolls\' cabin three or four years. Later he joined \nColonel Soper in building the place which was \nrented one season to President Benjamin Harrison. \n\nWhat the woods had done for him, Mr. Dodd \nwanted done for others. He became an active spirit \nin the Adirondack League which acquired 100,000 \nacres. More than one nerve- worn St. Louisan had \noccasion to remember thankfully the day that he \nhad been a guest at Mr. Dodd\'s cabin. Edward L. \nAdreon had a personal experience. On a visit to \nthe camp he was asked by Mr. Dodd to look over \nseveral pieces of ground which the latter had bought \nand give an opinion as to the most eligible. He did \nso, never thinking that the request meant more than \na desire for his judgment, and reported that he \nthought No. 46 was the best. Two or three years \nlater, having become more familiar with the physical \ngain of these vacations in the woods, Mr. Adreon \nsaid to Mr. Dodd: \n\n"Uncle Sam, I believe I\'d like to buy a lot if I can \nget one and join the colony." \n\nMr. Dodd smiled. \n\n"Your lot is ready for you. That No. 46 is yours." \n\nAnd then he indicated the spot which Mr. Adreon \nhad selected as his choice two years previously; he \nhad held it for him all that time, looking forward \nto the possibility that Mr. Adreon might want mem- \nbership, nursing his plan but never saying a word \nabout it. \n\n23 \n\n\n\n"He was the happiest man I ever saw," Mr. \nAdreon said, "and his main source of happiness was \ngiving happiness to others. He enjoyed immensely \nevery smile he would create." \n\n"Mr. Dodd thought there was no other place like \nthat for recreation," Dr. Niccolls said. "Every day \nwas a bright day with him. He loved to get away \nin the woods. He would get a guide and be gone two \nor three days camping where night overtook him. \nHe saw the funny side of everything. One time when \nwe were fishing on the river and the trout were \npretty thick, Mr. Dodd landed his catch in the brush. \nHe looked at the badly mangled line and said, \'I \nwonder if I couldn\'t throw as well as that with my \nfeet.\' He was marvelously successful in catching \nlake fish; he always got his limit. He had the quiet \npatience for that kind of fishing. He was a good \nshot and went out on the stand but he couldn\'t fire \nwithout his glasses. The first time he brought into \nthe woods a hammerless gun he boasted enthusi- \nastically of the merits. One day soon after he started \nout and took his stand the deer came rushing by; \nMr. Dodd held out the gun but it didn\'t go off. He \nput on his glasses and began to examine the lock. \nI said, \'I want you to get me one of those hammerless \nguns.\' He enjoyed the joke as well as the rest of \nus and he gave me a beautiful gun. I never knew \na man who delighted more in the life of the woods." \n\nThe close companionship of many years prompted \nfrom Dr. Niccolls this touching tribute to Mr. Dodd \nat the obsequies: \n\nThe sorrow which we feel at this hour, is not merely that \nwhich arises from sympathy with others in the hour of their \nbereavement. It is intensified, with a sense of personal loss. \nIt has in it the pain of a personal bereavement, for the man \nwho has just left us, through the gates of death, was bound \nto most of us by the tenderest ties of friendship. For myself \n\n24 \n\n\n\nif I were to consult my own feelings my choice would be to sit \nin the silence of grief and dwell in tender recollection upon \nthe life that has meant so much to me during all the changes \nand trials, the hopes and labors of well nigh fifty years. I \nwould let memory which the atmosphere of death cannot \nbenumb but rather quickens set before me in radiant light the \nfaithful friend whose love never faltered in its helpful min- \nistries. But alas! \n\n"Open converse there is none. \nSo much the vital spirit sinks, \nTo see the vacant chair and think \nHow good! How kind! and he is gone." \n\nBut what remains to you and to me is worthy of being \ncherished in our memories. It is not for us with our limited \nknowledge to pass final judgment upon human lives; but \nsome of them have been so rich in service and are so plainly \nmarked with qualities of high worth that failure on our part \nto appreciate them would proclaim our own baseness. And \nnever do they appear more beautiful than in an hour like \nthis, when the presence of death silences all envy or resent- \nment and makes us alive to their true worth through the \nrealization of the loss that has come to us. So it is with this \nbereavement. \n\nOur friend was not a perfect man; he had his faults and \nfrailties as we all have. With him as with other men there \nwas the old conflict between the flesh and the spirit, often \nbitter and sorrowful to him: but it was not a losing battle, \nfor he came off conqueror and more than a conqueror through \nthe grace of God. The story of his life, if it were written in \nfull, would be more fascinating than the dreams of fiction. \nEven as partly known to us it is fu\'l of instruction and en- \ncouragement. It is the story of a young man without fortune \nor influential friends but with that priceless capital which \nany young man may possess, a determined will and steadfast \nadherence to righteousness and truth, who entered business \nlife in this city half a century ago. Beginning his career as an \nobscure clerk, he ended it as one of our foremost citizens, a \nman of recognized power, with a fortune honorably acquired. \nHe accepted with youthful enthusiasm the drudgery and toil \nof the apprenticeship to business life. The school through \nwhich he passed was a severe one, but he did not flinch from \nits training. The result was that he became a man of rare \nbusiness capacity and sound judgment in financial affairs, a \ntrusted leader in great financial and industrial enterprises. \nThree of the leading commercial and industrial institutions \nof our city stand as memorials alike to his foresight, his zeal, \nand his business sagacity. \n\nBeyond this, and of vastly more value, were his moral \nqualities, the features of his character which secured for him \nthe affection and confidence of his fellow citizens. He was \nno seeker after place or honor; rather was it his ambition and \n\n25 \n\n\n\ndesire to serve others. His genial and loving nature responded \nto the needs of others, moved him to assist them in their \nlabors and to help bear their burdens. A generation ago, it \nwas the custom among business men, to a greater degree than \nnow, to aid each other by endorsing notes or going on the \nbonds of others as a guarantee for their fidelity. In accord- \nance with this prevailing custom, no one was more ready to \nrespond to the requests of his friends than Mr. Dodd, though \nin many cases it resulted in serious and enlarged financial \nlosses to him. Yet this did not quench the outflow of his \nliberality. He had the happy art of forgetting his losses, and \ncontinuing hopefully and serenely in new endeavors. His \ncharity, exercised through the various philanthropic institu- \ntions of the city, was large and constant. Every good \ncause appealing to him met such financial support as he felt he \ncould afford to give it. Like the patriarch of old, whose life \nhad the seal of Divine approval, "he delivered the poor that \ncried and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him." \nNothing so truly tests a man\'s character as the reverses and \ntrials of our mortal life. Wealth conceals a man\'s defects \nfrom himself oft times, and it is only when stripped of his \npossessions that he comes to realize how much of character \nhe really possesses. Through these testing vicissitudes of life, \nMr. Dodd passed as gold is tried in the furnace. Adversity \ndid not cast him down or rob him of his strength. He \ncame out of his trials steadfast in faith and hope and with \nan unshaken determination to again resume the struggle. \nHopefulness and courage were characteristic qualities with \nhim. He did not mourn over losses of his past or bewail or \ngrow bitter on account of the calamities that had fallen \nupon him. In spite of ingratitude and wrongs inflicted upon \nhim, he cherished no bitterness toward his fellow men. \n\nPublic spirited, he was ever interested in those enter- \nprises and institutions which had for their object the welfare \nof the community and the advancement of art and science. \nGifted by nature with a taste for the beautiful, he had a \nremarkably clear and fine judgment of works of art and early \nbegan a most notable collection of paintings. He was specially \nthe friend of young artists and there are not a few to-day \nwho have reached eminence in their profession who are ready \nto acknowledge their indebtedness to the encouragement \nwhich he gave them and the aid which he secured for them \nin their struggling years. \n\nTrained in a God-fearing home, the faith of his childhood \nnever forsook him. It had a profound influence alike in the \ndevelopment of his character and the shaping of his conduct. \nThough for a time it may have been obscured by the darkness \nof trial, yet in the later years of his life it came forth with \nrenewed beauty and simplicity. For him, death had no \nterror, and though he loved life here, he welcomed the hour \nof his release from it with the assurance that he would enter \ninto the inheritance which faith finds and secures in Jesus \nChrist, the saviour of sinners. By his death no ordinary loss \n\n\n\nhas come to our community. A man of strength, integrity \nof purpose and courage, he stood for the things that are fair, \njust, honorable, and approved of good men. The service of \nhis life was fruitful in benefits to the city in which he was a \nforemost citizen and whose welfare he sought. Rich in the \nesteem and affection of a multitude of friends, ripened in \ncharacter by the experience of fourscore years and meriting \nthe confidence of all who knew him, he has left with us a \nname to be honored and an example worthy of imitation. \n\n\n\n27 \n\n\n\nThe Story of the \nAmerican Brake \n\nWonderful as romance is the story of the Amer- \nican Brake Company. As the rise of this St. Louis \nindustry is traced it reveals the upbuilding qualities \nof Samuel M. Dodd. Moreover the story will pre- \nsent a striking instance where a business enterprise \noriginally without merit was by dint of insistent \neffort ultimately carried to a successful issue. \n\nW. L. Card, a traveling auditor on the Wabash, \ncame from Moberly to St. Louis thirty-odd years \nago with his invention of an automatic brake. The \nrailroad world was looking for something better than \nthe man on the car roof twisting a wheel at the end \nof a rod. Several young men joined Card in the \norganization of a company which took the name of \nthe inventor. Among them were David S. Ran- \ndolph who kept the English Kitchen, a famous res- \ntaurant on Fifth street; Edward E. Chase, whose \nuncle was the senior partner in Chase & Cabot, the \nwholesale dry goods house; S. W. McMunn, a rela- \ntive and protege of George L. Joy. Albert Blair \nwas the legal adviser of the young men and took a \nfew shares of stock. The Card Company was capital- \nized at $50,000 with a model of the patent as the \nchief asset. It had nothing to sell. After a time the \nstockholders became discouraged. Railroad officials \nwere skeptical. Mr. Blair was appealed to for ad- \nvice. A reorganization was effected with increased \ncapital in the form of treasury stock which was to be \nsold. Card\'s interest was bought by the others. \nThe name of American Brake Company was chosen. \nA lawyer was employed to investigate the legal \n\n28 \n\n\n\nmerits of the patent to determine whether there was \ninfringement on any other brake device. He came \nback from Washington with information that he \nhad examined every one of the 600 or 700 brake \npatents on file; he had taken the opinion of an ex- \npert; there was only one patent, that of two French- \nmen, Lefevre and Dore, taken out earlier than Card\'s \nwhich might give trouble. The expert advised the \nSt. Louisans to get hold of it. There appeared no \nother way of meeting the difficulty. Accordingly \nthe Brake Company requested a St. Louis man then \nin Europe to visit Paris and look up Messrs. Lefevre \nand Dore and, if possible, buy their American patent. \nThe inquiry revealed that M. Lefevre had died, \nbut that M. Dore, his associate, still survived. \nIn due time the patent was purchased and the St. \nLouis promoters felt greatly relieved; they believed \nthat so far as the patent rights were concerned they \nstood on solid ground. Then the campaign for \ncapital and for tests was renewed. One day Dwight \nDurkee was invited by Albert Blair to look at the \nmodel which under the practiced fingers of Chase \nworked to a charm. \n\n"My! Isn\'t that fine," the venerable capitalist \ncommented. But the next day he said to Mr. Blair, \n"I\'ve retired from business. My working days are \nover. Do you know General John B. Gray? Well \nhe\'s just closed up the affairs of the Exchange Bank \nsuccessfully. I think he might like to take hold of \nthis. If he does he has friends who have confidence \nin his judgment and who would put in capital." \n\nGeneral Gray saw the model and studied it. He \ntalked with Samuel M. Dodd, A. W. Soper, William \nH. Waters, W. F. Gauss and perhaps two or three \nothers. These men were impressed with Gray\'s \nopinion and advanced a little money. They told \n\n29 \n\n\n\nGray to go ahead with a practical trial of the brake \non a train of cars, saying that if the brake worked \nwell and stopped the train they would raise $20,000 \nto begin the manufacture. \n\nChase, Joseph Shippen who had become interested \nand Blair went to Chicago to present the proposi- \ntion before railroad men. They had laid the basis for \nnegotiations by correspondence with the Pullman \nand the Eastern Illinois people. Robert T. Lincoln \nwho had been at Harvard with Mr. Blair manifested \na good deal of interest in the patent and gave a \nluncheon which some of the Pullman officials at- \ntended. Shippen took up the subject with President \nHuidekoper of the Eastern Illinois and got a promise \nto equip twenty coal cars with the device for trial. \nThe three young men came back to St. Louis and \nreported to the other stockholders. Chase had been \nnegotiating previously with Captain Rogers of the \nFrisco. The two lived at the Lafayette Park Hotel, \nthen a popular family institution on Mississippi \navenue, but since burned. When Captain Rogers \nheard of the Eastern Illinois arrangement he said to \nChase, "I\'ll do that for you." The Huidekoper plan \nwas cancelled, a train on the Frisco was equipped \nand the trial took place at Dixon Hill, one of the \nhardest grades on the line. The stockholders and \nseveral railroad officials went out to see the trial. \nDown Dixon Hill the train thundered. At the \nappointed spot the engineer put on his locomotive \nbrake; the freight cars one by one bumped forward; \nas each one pressed on the preceding car the patent \nbrake clicked and was set on the wheels. "Buffer \nbrakes" they were called. Railroad men of 1912 \nsmile as they recall the principle which was deemed \nso promising in 1882. The principle was that when \nthe brake on the locomotive was set and speed was \n\n30 \n\n\n\n\n\n\nreduced the impact of the following car set the \nbuffer brakes in rapid succession from the front to \nthe rear of the train. Then when the engine started \nahead and the coupling was let out its full length \nthe brakes were released. The mechanical arrange- \nment worked automatically. It seemed to do very \nwell with ten or twelve cars and even with twenty \nwhen the conditions were such as produced uniformly \nthe impact and the release. \n\nThe promoters were enthusiastic over the ex- \nperiments on Dixon Hill. They began to prepare \nfor manufacture and installation on an extensive \nscale. There was a market for stock. Railroad \nofficials showed much interest. They said that if \nthe company had what the trials seemed to prove, \na capital of $2,000,000 would not be too much for \nthe business. Figuring on the cost demonstrated \nthat the buffer brakes could be put on for $9 a car \nand could be sold to the railroads for $15 a car at \nfine profit. \n\nAbout that time Captain Rogers gave the Amer- \nican Brake people some information that was en- \ntirely new to them. He said that there was a \nNational Railway Association, the members of which \ncould not accept and put in use any patent until its \nlegality had been passed upon by the association\'s \nlawyer who was George R. Pay son of Chicago. \n\n"Give me the papers," suggested Captain Rogers, \n"and I will send them to Mr. Pay son." \n\nIn the course of a few weeks Mr. Payson reported \nthat he could not approve the Card patent. He gave \nas the reason that there existed another patent for \na like device dating prior to that of Card\'s. He ex- \npressed the opinion it would not be safe for any rail- \nroad to adopt the American buffer brake. The prior \npatent had been taken out by Edward P. Vining of \n\n31 \n\n\n\nGrand Rapids. Then the officers and promoters got \nbusy with the new difficulty. They discovered that \nthe Vining patent had been issued in 1870 and ten \ndays later than the Lefevre and Dore devices which \nhad already been acquired by the American Brake \npeople. When this was laid before Mr. Payson he \nreplied, "That is true, but Mr. Vining may be able \nto prove he was the earlier inventor if not the earlier \npatentee." \n\nIt is a long story of the negotiations between the \nSt. Louisans and Vining who was at that time gen- \neral freight agent of the Union Pacific and located in \nOmaha. Mr. Chase, who was a good deal of a dip- \nlomat, adopted the role of a horse trader and called \nupon Mr. Vining with the suggestion that if he \ncould buy the patent cheap he might use it in some \nkind of a trade. In the course of his talk he looked \naround and saw a stenographer taking down all that \nhe was saying; he lost his nerve. \n\nBusiness with the American Brake Company \ndragged on until midsummer of 1881 when Gen. \nGray persuaded Albert Blair to take up the matter \nwith Vining. Mr. Blair went at negotiations squarely \nbut it was not until the spring of 1882 that terms \nmutually satisfactory were reached. By that time \nan important decision in another patent case had \ngiven the American Brake people an advantage. The \npurport of that decision was that the re-issue of a \npatent expanding the claims must be obtained within \ntwo years of the date of the original issue. The \neffect of this was to cut down thousands of expanded \npatents taken out after patentees had discovered \nother inventions whereby their original claims might \nbe improved. Vining came to St. Louis. He had \ninterested Jay Gould and Sidney Dillon in his in- \nvention and was represented by George H. Christie, \n\n32 \n\n\n\nattorney. After much negotiation the deal was made \nwhereby the American Brake Company bought the \nVining patent for #500 cash, #10,000 payable in one, \ntwo, three, four and five years, and 350 shares of \nstock. \n\nOnce more the St. Louis enterprise boomed. Col. \nSoper moved to New York and brought to bear \nupon his railroad friends the merits of the buffer \nbrake. The New York Central people, Pullman, \nSage, General Dodge and others in the East became \ninterested. In the West Mr. Talmage of the Wabash \ngave the American brake a trial. But there was a \ngreat deal of trouble in the brake operation. George \nH. Poor, a mechanician of great skill and an in- \nventor of ability, came into the American Brake \nCompany and worked upon the buffer brake. He \nsucceeded in simplifying the operation materially. \nAnd Mr. Poor did more than that. He invented an \nengine brake which proved to be of great value and \nwhich for several years gave the company the basis \nof profitable manufacture. This engine brake was \nso applied that the pressure on all of the wheels of \nthe engine was equalized. It was a great improve- \nment. The Baldwin Locomotive people recognized \nthe value of the power engine brake and ordered \nfrom the St. Louis company every month. \n\nThrough 1883, 1884 and 1885 the American Brake \nCompany wrestled with its problem of buffer brakes. \nDennis P. Slattery during a portion of that time was \nthe president and Edward Leigh was the secretary. \nAbout 1885 Samuel M. Dodd was persuaded to take \nthe presidency rather against his inclination, but \nCol. Soper said to him, "Sam, I want you to help \nus out." All through his life it had been character- \nistic of Mr. Dodd to go to the aid of business as- \nsociates when they most needed him. After this \n\n33 \n\n\n\nchange the mechanical talent was increased and the \nwork upon the physical difficulties of the buffer \nbrake continued. One day, in looking up proceed- \nings of railroad organizations in other countries, \nAlbert Blair came upon a discussion of the Guerin \nbrake in the account of a British association meeting \nas far back as 1859. Before that association an \neminent engineer had described the Guerin brake, \nbasing what he had to say upon a report the pre- \nvious year by the Commissioner of Bridges and Rail- \nroads of France. Mr. Blair obtained that report \nand learned that the brake acted precisely on the \nprinciple of the Card brake, the Lefevre and Dore \nbrake and the Vining brake and had been tried out \n\xe2\x96\xa0on French railroads previous to 1858. He showed \nthe report to General Gray who threw up his hands \nand exclaimed, "My God! Blair, what fools we are." \nThe St. Louisans had been devoting their time and \ncapital for six or seven years to the development of \na principle which had been tried out abroad and for- \ngotten by a past generation of railroad men. \n\n\n\n34 \n\n\n\nSamuel M. Dodd and \nGeorge Westinghouse \n\nIn the summer of 1885 the American Brake Com- \npany equipped a train with the buffer brakes and \nsent it through the country to a number of cities \nfor exhibition trials. The train which was supplied \nby the Wabash consisted of a locomotive, caboose \nand passenger car and about twenty coal cars loaded \nwith coal. The brakes had been thoroughly pre- \npared. The exhibitions included Chicago, Cleveland, \nBuffalo, Albany, Boston and New York. Mr. Poor \nwas in charge. These exhibitions as in the earlier \ntests did fairly well on level tracks. But the reports \nfrom practical operation continued unsatisfactory. \nFor example, sometimes cattle in a stock car, startled \nby a passing object, suddenly surge to one side of \nthe car, thereby tipping slightly the car body. \nIt was discovered that such a movement would \noccasionally cause the brake lever to drop into posi- \ntion for setting the brakes and so prevent the engineer \nfrom backing the train. The engineer would look \nout of the cab and make effort after effort, but the \ntrain would not back. Then the "brakey" would \ntake the coal pick and crawl under the cattle cars and \nsmash the buffer brake before the wheels would \nturn. Gradually some of those interested in the \nAmerican Brake Company were coming to the con- \nclusion that the buffer brake was a delusion. In \n1886 was given the crushing blow. Railroad officials \nannounced a commission to conduct a test of freight \ntrain brakes in competition at Burlington, Iowa. \nAt that time six companies were trying to solve the \nbrake problem. The Master Car Builders Association \n\n35 \n\n\n\nappointed the experts. Godfrey W. Rhodes, super- \nintendent of the Burlington system was chairman. \nTrains of fifty cars were loaded and tried under \nrigid conditions as to distance and speed with the \nvarious brakes. Mr. Poor made ready the American \nBrake train. President Dodd, Col. Soper, Mr. Blair \nand the other officers went to Burlington to witness \nthe results. The Westinghouse air brake people were \nthere. The Mansfield, Ohio, Company was repre- \nsented. A Canada company put on a train. As a \nresult the commission declared that not one of the \ncompeting brakes was satisfactory. The length of \nthe train ruined the prospects of the buffer brake. \nWhen the locomotive brake was put on and one car \nafter another pounded against its predecessor, the im- \npact by the 50th car was almost as bad as a destruc- \ntive collision. It was worth a man\'s life to be on that \ncar when it came against the 49th. The Westing- \nhouse air brake failed to work satisfactorily because \nit was not applied instantaneously to all the cars. \nThe result on the rear end of the train was approxi- \nmately that of the buffer brake. It took too much \ntime for the air to reach and set the brake on the \nrear cars. As the front of the train slowed the rear \nplunged forward with such shocks as to damage cars \nand injure freight. The defects made themselves \napparent. Wellington, the expert writer on the Rail- \nroad Gazette turned to somebody and said, "It \nappears as if Col. Flad\'s idea is the correct one." \n\nCol. Henry Flad of St. Louis had invented what \nwas known as the Mallinckrodt brake, the idea of \nwhich was to reach the brakes by electricity and \nset them so that they acted almost simultaneously. \nAlbert Blair heard the remark and when he got home \nhe took up with Mr. Dodd the proposition of acquir- \ning the Mallinckrodt brake from Col. Flad. \n\n36 \n\n\n\nSoon thereafter they instituted negotiations with \nCol. Flad and his banker to buy the Mallinckrodt \npatents, but unfortunately the negotiations were \nsuffered to lag. Mr. Blair was compelled to be \nabsent fron the city for sixty days. On his return \nhe was greatly chagrined to find that an agent of the \nWestinghouse people had quietly dropped in and \nbought the desired patents. This failure to capture \nwhat were considered controlling devices in the air \nbrake business was keenly felt by the officers of the \nAmerican Brake Company, but the course of brake \nevolution was soon to relieve their chagrin and pro- \nduce the added satisfaction that the handsome sum \npaid Col. Flad for the Mallinckrodt patent had been \nsupplied by their competitor and not out of their \nown meager treasury. \n\nIn the meantime George Westinghouse, seeing the \ndefect in the application of the air brake, remained at \nBurlington three weeks experimenting and finally \ninvented the improvement of the quick acting brake \naction so that by his process all the brakes were set in \nmore rapid succession. At the series of trials the \nnext year, in 1887, Mr. Westinghouse had overcome \nthe difficulty with his air brake. \n\nAt this crisis Mr. Dodd\'s earnestness and interest \nincreased many fold as it always did when the emer- \ngency came. The force of experts at work in the \nexperimental room of the American Brake Company \nwas increased by the addition of Guels, Wahlert \nand Dwight Furniss. \n\nMr. Blair advised that the American company \nabandon the buffer brake principle and enter on \nextensive experiments with new forms of air brakes. \nPresident Dodd adopted this policy and inspired the \nexperts to increased efforts. He advised that no \nmore time be wasted on the appliances which had \n\n37 \n\n\n\nproven impracticable. He urged that the inventive \ngenius at the command of the company carefully \navoid any encroachment on existing patents and \nlook in other directions for a solution of the brake \nproblem. All of the experts worked for months on \ndesigns of quick acting triple valves as the principle \nof the new brake. In the laboratory were arranged \nfifty cylinders all connected up as if in service. To \nrealize just how each expert\'s ideas would work these \nexperiments went on for eighteen months until Guels \nperfected a design entirely different from the Westing- \nhouse. It operated within one-tenth of a second \nas quickly as the Westinghouse air brake. The \nlatter had been improved until it would set all \nthe brakes on a train of fifty freight cars so \nquickly as to cause no damage from shock. Prac- \ntically, Guel\'s brake would do about as well. \nIt was put on the Ferguson accommodation of \nthe Wabash as the first practical trial and worked \nall right. Having, as was believed, acquired a \npractical air brake of novel design and one for which \nstrong patents could be obtained, the American \nBrake Company laid plans looking to the manu- \nfacture and sale of air brakes. Strong interests in \nNew York were enlisted in the company\'s behalf, \nbut other influences were active by which on June \n6th, 1888, an alliance with the Westinghouse Air \nBrake Company of Pittsburg was effected, an arrange- \nment which ten years later resulted in the outright \npurchase by the Pittsburg Company of the entire \ncapital stock of the American Brake Company. \nThe American Brake Company developed the \nmanufacture of locomotive brakes and the Westing- \nhouse Company manufactured freight car brakes. \nEdward L. Adreon, who had been comptroller of the \nCity of St. Louis and who had joined the American \n\n38 \n\n\n\nBrake Company as secretary, became in 1888, the \nbusiness head of the St. Louis concern, while Mr. \nPoor continued in supervision of the mechanical \ndepartment. In all of these negotiations Mr. Dodd \nwas the chief representative of the St. Louis in- \nterests. When the meager resources and small \nmechanical merits which underlay the efforts of the \nAmerican Brake Company for the first nine years \nof its existence are considered, Mr. Dodd and his \nassociates must be accorded great credit for the \nultimate success of the enterprise. Mr. Dodd went \ninto the reorganization as a member of the board; \nH. H. Westinghouse became president and Mr. \nAdreon vice-president and general manager of the \nAmerican Brake Company. \n\nFrom 1888 the company\'s plant grew into one of \nthe great industries of St. Louis. A joyous realiza- \ntion of his effort and faith as the head of the com- \npany and of what the industry meant in the up- \nbuilding of St. Louis came to Mr. Dodd on Trans- \nportation Day at the World\'s Fair of 1904. Officials \nof the American Brake Company in the parade of \nthat occasion headed a marching column of 1500 \nSt. Louis employes uniformed in white trousers, blue \nwaists and Chinese straw hats. \n\nWhen news of the death reached him George \nWestinghouse wired Vice-President Adreon his trib- \nute to Mr. Dodd as one "whose friendship I esteemed \nmost highly." Herman Westinghouse wrote of Mr. \nDodd\'s " lovable character" and said, "I shall \nalways think of him as representing the finest type \nof an honorable gentleman." Officers and directors \nassociated with Mr. Dodd in the American Brake \nCompany were H. H. Westinghouse, president; E. L. \nAdreon, vice-president; Albert Blair, R. E. Adreon, \nA. L. Humphrey, John F. Miller and C. C. Ziegler, \n\n39 \n\n\n\nsecretary. With a rising vote they united in this \n"testimony to the great services he rendered the \ncompany in the critical day of its existence, to his \ncapable and wise leadership, and to the gracious \nqualities which endeared him to his friends." \n\n"Age sat with decent grace upon his visage, \nAnd worthily became his silvery locks; \nHe wore the mask of many years well spent, \nOf virtue, truth well tried, and wise experience." \n\nMr. Dodd became president of the American Brake Com- \npany in the year 1887, six years after the company was \norganized. At that time the business of the company was \nsmall and its capital meager. The mechanical inventions \nupon which the founders of the company had counted so \nmuch had not fulfilled expectations and there was no end of \ndifficulties encountered in making them satisfactory in serv- \nice. A president was needed who could supply credit, wisely \nchoose men and command confidence in railroad circles. \n\nMr. Dodd did not seek the position; indeed, was reluctant \nto accept it. Two or three close friends of his had previously \nbecome interested in the enterprise and they felt they needed \nsuch a man to save the situation. It was principally at their \nrequest that he consented to do so \xe2\x80\x94 a characteristic act on \nhis part; that is, to go to the help of friends in distress. \n\nHis coming into the company imparted credit to the enter- \nprise and renewed the courage of all connected with it. It \ndid still another thing of value; it secured the respectful \nconsideration of men influential in railroad management. \n\nMr. Dodd was neither a mechanic nor an inventor and \nmade no pretensions to skill in solving the mechanical prob- \nlems which confronted the company but he did possess a \nsound discretion as to business methods and was wise in the \nchoice and management of men. \n\nDuring the earlier developments there were many dis- \ncouraging and costly failures in the efforts to produce satis- \nfactory locomotive and car brakes, such indeed as would \nordinarily be disastrous to such an enterprise, but in Mr. \nDodd the company possessed a lion-hearted leader, and \nalways when confronted with the cold facts he took coun- \nsel of common sense and courage and without faultfinding \nstraightway abandoned discredited devices and authorized a \nnew line of endeavor. In doing so he was careful to admonish \nhis mechanical experts not to trespass upon the rights of \nothers but to keep clearly within new territory. Stimulated \nby such a spirit the company profiting by the errors of the \npast developed satisfactory driver brakes and was intelli- \ngently exploiting the air brake field. \n\nIt was at this time the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, \nthen and now the leading manufacturer of air brakes, was \ninduced to consider the American Brake Company situation. \n\n40 \n\n\n\nNegotiations between the St. Louis company and the Pitts- \nburg company ensued, which resulted in a contract and \nlease, under date of June 8, 1888, by which the American \nBrake Company became affiliated with the Westinghouse Air \nBrake Company for a long term of years on very liberal \nterms. Ten years later the second negotiation occurred \nwhereby a union of the two companies was established and \nthe shareholders of the St. Louis company placed upon an \nequitable footing with those of the Pittsburg company. \n\nIn all these matters Mr. Dodd personally took a leading \npart in behalf of his shareholders. Between himself and Mr. \nGeorge Westinghouse, president of the Pittsburg company, \nalthough representing distinct interests, an attitude of kind- \nness and considerate fair dealing was mutually assumed from \nthe first and maintained throughout. It is no disparagement \nof the merits of the properties of the American Brake Com- \npany at that time that one strong and legitimate motive \nwhich actuated the president of the Pittsburg company to \nmake liberal terms with the St. Louis company was the fact \nthat by so doing he was thereby securing not only Mr. Dodd\'s \nhearty co-operation, but that of Mr. Dodd\'s numerous friends \nin the railroad field as well. \n\nThe foregoing recital exhibits in outline the principal events \nin the history of the American Brake Company in which Mr. \nDodd figured in a prominent and useful way. It does not, \nhowever, set out the numerous instances wherein his wisdom, \ncourage, good judgment, fair dealing and kindness were \napplied to promote the welfare of others. His intimates can \nrelate many such circumstances. Here and there among all \nsorts and conditions of men connected not only with the \nAmerican Brake Company but connected with numerous \nother large business concerns in which Mr. Dodd formed a \nleading part are to be found willing witnesses to testify to \nhis magnanimity. We, long his associates in this company, \ngreatly lament the loss of his noble companionship. \n\n"Just and upright wert thou! Artemidorus! \nFare thee well! even among the shades." \n\n\n\n41 \n\n\n\nA Pioneer in Electrical \nDevelopment \n\nWhen Mr. Dodd, Mr. Blair and Colonel Soper had \ncompleted the contract of affiliation with the West- \ninghouse Air Brake Company in June, 1888, they \ngave part of a day to a tour through the electrical \nworks at Pittsburg. They were escorted by Guido \nPantaleoni. The inspection was a matter of pride \non the part of the Westinghouse people and of \ncuriosity by the St. Louisans. In the course of the \ntrip it developed that Mr. Pantaleoni had visited \nSt. Louis recently looking for capitalists to take up \nelectric lighting here. The negotiations had gone \nso far that Dwight Tredway who was at that time \nrunning the Suburban street railway and the amuse- \nment place known as Kensington Garden had be- \ncome interested. The garden was lighted by elec- \ntricity from a little plant called the Metropolitan \nwhich was managed by Samuel B. Pike. Before \nthey left Pittsburg Mr. Dodd and his associates had \nconcluded to give the possibilities of electrical light \ninvestment at St. Louis serious thought. Mr. Blair, \nwith the encouragement of Mr. Dodd, undertook an \ninvestigation. He made the acquaintance of Herbert \nA. Wagner, a young electrician, who had attended \nthe Stevens Institute at Hoboken and who had ob- \ntained some practical experience in the Westinghouse \nplant. Wagner gave Blair some lessons on the sub- \nject of electrical lighting, then in its infancy. The \nfirst result was the taking of an option by Mr. Dodd \nand Mr. Tredway with the Westinghouse people to \norganize a company in St. Louis, based on the West- \ninghouse patents. Mr. Blair represented Mr. Dodd \n\n42 \n\n\n\nand Mr. Pike represented Mr. Tredway in the option, \nbut St. Louis capital was not ready to invest in \nelectrical lighting. While Mr. Dodd induced Rich- \nard C. Kerens and J. C. Van Blarcom to join him he \ncould not get enough other encouragement to go on. \nThe first option was allowed to expire. A short time \nafterwards Mr. Dodd who never gave up when his \ninterest was fairly aroused took another option \nthrough Edward L. Adreon. Mr. Dodd and his \nassociates raised $200,000 and Mr. Westinghouse \nput in $50,000 to organize the Missouri Electric \nLighting and Power Company. About the time the \ncompany was ready to proceed to practical oper- \nations the papers gave Edison credit for the inven- \ntion of the electric lamp. That alarmed the St. \nLouis investors and some withdrew. The Westing- \nhouse hope was the Sawyer- Mann lamp patented in \n1878, the year before Edison began work on his \nlamp, it was claimed. A great trial came on at Pitts- \nburg. Justice Bradley presided. The decision sus- \ntained the claim that Edison was the first inventor. \nWestinghouse had succeeded in getting the lighting \ncontract for the Chicago World\'s Fair with what was \ncalled the stopper lamp. The Thomson-Houston \npeople who organized the General Electric had \ngiven an option to several St. Louis capitalists, but \nthe latter had not developed it. Mr. Dodd was \nmuch concerned. As in the case of the American \nBrake Company, the more hazardous the situation \nthe more in earnest he became. In order to satisfy \nhimself about the merits of the electrical patent war \nwhich was going on between the Westinghouse and \nthe Thomson-Houston people, Mr. Dodd sent Wag- \nner to investigate the stopper lamp. Wagner was \nunable to pursue his investigation in a satisfactory \nmanner. Then Mr. Dodd said, "I\'ve got to \n\n43 \n\n\n\nknow what I am about, Blair. Let\'s you and I go \ndown and see George Westinghouse." Mr. Westing- \nhouse was courteous. He not only showed Mr. Dodd \nall that was being done in the experimental labora- \ntory, but telegraphed his patent attorney to come \nout and go over the legal situation. Before Mr. Dodd \nleft Pittsburg he got from Mr. Westinghouse a guar- \nantee for himself and his St. Louis associates against \nloss. An order for lamps was put in and the St. \nLouisans came home feeling that their interests were \nprotected. Later came more electric light litigation \nwith a St. Louis branch to it. The General Electric \nlawyers brought suit against the Columbia Lamp \nCompany, then in business on Olive street. \n\n"Well, they have begun in our territory," com- \nmented Mr. Dodd and he made ready to fight for \nhis rights if necessary. The court refused to enjoin \ntemporarily the Columbia and no more St. Louis suits \nwere brought by the General Electric. There was \nan end to the war and the St. Louis feature of gen- \neral peace was the consolidation of Dodd\'s Missouri \nElectric Lighting and Power Company with the \nMunicipal, which represented the General Electric \nside. Thus was formed the Missouri-Edison. \n\nBut local trouble of an entirely different character \nset in with no end of it. The Keyes ordinance com- \npelled the putting of electric wires under ground. \nThen there was a suit for taxes, and in 1896 the St. \nLouis cyclone destroyed property to the value of \n$150,000. Eventually the Missouri-Edison was \nmerged in the Union Electric Light & Power Com- \npany. \n\nWhen after a long drawn out controversy he \nfinally abandoned the public electric lighting field \nin St. Louis, Mr. Dodd manifested no bitterness. \nHe had made a clean fight. He said to a friend: \n\n"I could have gotten the contract with the city \nif I had given some fees. But I don\'t want to do \nanything of that kind." \n\n\n\n44 \n\n\n\nPublic Spirit vs. \nPrivate Interest \n\nThe municipal records of St. Louis tell how Mr. \nDodd stood in a conflict between public spirit and \nprivate interest. A dozen years ago the city faced \na lighting crisis. The Missouri-Edison company had \ntaken over the Suter company which had a contract \nto light the city at a very low rate. That contract \nwas nearing its end. The Missouri-Edison people \nwere supposed to be planning for a better contract. \nDaily papers were warning the public that at the \nend of the existing contract the city would be at the \nmercy of the Missouri-Edison. The master spirit \nin the situation was Mr. Dodd. At that time he was \nin the habit of visiting the St. Louis Club, then on \nTwenty-ninth street and Lucas avenue, to find mild \nexercise and healthful recreation in French pool with \nColonel George E. Leighton and other friends. W. R. \nHodges, at present city auditor, was a member of the \ncity council. He met Mr. Dodd at the club house \none evening and said to him: \n\n"Uncle Sam ! I want to talk with you about this \nlighting question. Are you going to hold up the city \nif a new contract isn\'t made by the time the old one \nis out?" \n\n"Captain," said Mr. Dodd in his leisurely, pleas- \nant tone, "I never held up anybody. I have lived \nin St. Louis since I was a boy. My friends live here. \nI\'m as loyal to St. Louis as anybody can be. You \ncan say for me that if the new contract is not made \nwhen the old contract expires the Missouri-Edison \nwill light the city at the present rate until a new \ncontract is made." \n\n45 \n\n\n\n"Would you have any objection to put that in \nwriting," said the councilman. \n\nBy way of answer Mr. Dodd sat down at a table, \npenned the line and signed it. At the next meeting \nof the council Captain Hodges read the pledge. \n\nThe old contract ran out and the negotiations for \na new arrangement were on. Mr. Dodd and Captain \nHodges had another meeting. This time the former \nsought it. \n\n"What are you going to do with the lighting bill?" \nMr. Dodd asked. \n\n"That has troubled me a good deal," the council- \nman said. "You know I would go as far to oblige \nyou as any man living, but I have to tell you you are \nnot going to get that contract. We\'ve got to have a \nsmaller unit for the city lighting and a great many \nmore of them. I\'m going to vote to change the \nsystem." \n\nMr. Dodd sat half a minute without speaking. \nThe loss of the contract meant a good deal to him \nand the other men who were in the company. Then \nhe got up, came over to Captain Hodges and put \nhis hand on his shoulder, saying: \n\n"Old man ! Do your duty and never mind Dodd." \n\nSome time afterwards Mr. Dodd, commenting on \nthe long drawn out lighting controversy with the \ncity, said to a friend: \n\n"Hodges has cost me a half a million dollars since \nhe\'s been in the council, but I like him better than \never." \n\n"Among our public spirited citizens I do not recall \nany one who surpassed Mr. Dodd," said Dr. Nic- \ncolls, "He was without personal ambition, yet he \nhad a great desire to advance the city\'s interest. \nHe was an ardent Republican, but if the Democratic \ncandidate for a local office was the better man Mr. \n\n46 \n\n\n\nDodd supported him. He gave liberally in support \nof his political principles, and never sought anything \nfor himself. In several campaigns he could have \nbeen nominated for mayor for he was immensely \npopular, but would not consent." \n\nAn instance of Mr. Dodd\'s devotion to the civic \ninterests of St. Louis was his course as foreman of \nthe grand jury more than forty years ago. Charles \nP. Johnson was circuit attorney at the time. The \nlocal administration was Republican. Notwithstand- \ning his party affiliation, Mr. Dodd pushed the inves- \ntigation of Treasurer Susisky. Indictments were \nreturned against the treasurer and his assistant. At \nthat time two or three men stood foremost in the \nlegal profession of this city for extraordinary success \nin criminal practice. From the grand jury room \nForeman Dodd went directly to the office of one of \nthese lawyers and retained him for the prosecution, \npaying from his own pocket the necessary fee of some \nhundreds of dollars to secure the service. The wis- \ndom of this action was seen before the end of the \nday when representatives of the indicted officials \nendeavored to employ the same counsel secured by \nMr. Dodd. Subsequently public spirited citizens \nraised a fund and shared with Mr. Dodd the cost of \nthe prosecution. The treasurer and his assistant \nwere found guilty. \n\n"I remember well Mr. Dodd\'s activity in that \ngrand jury investigation and prosecution more than \nforty years ago," Governor Johnson said, "and I \nrecall that I was entirely willing to have that able \nassistance in the prosecution for the defense which \nafterwards broke down though it promised at first \nto be vigorous." \n\nMembers of the St. Louis Club wished to honor \nMr. Dodd. They were prompted by the sentiment \n\n47 \n\n\n\nof affection for him as an associate and by a sense \nof obligation for his many years of substantial inter- \nest in the welfare of the organization. Mr. Dodd \nhad been one of the founders of the club and had \ndone much toward the location and building of the \npresent club house. The members proposed to elect \nhim president, but he declined to be considered, \ngiving as his reason that he did not feel like assum- \ning the responsibilities. They came back with this \nproposition. \n\n"Mr. Dodd, you know it is the custom to place in \nthe club house the portraits of our presidents as \nthey retire from office. We want your picture there. \nLet us elect you president and Rolla Wells vice- \npresident. Mr. Wells is willing. He will take all of \nthe burden from you. If you wish you can resign \nafter you have held the office a short time. In this \nway we can carry out our purpose to place your \nportrait in the club house." \n\n"No, boys, that wouldn\'t be right," said Mr. Dodd, \nand he adhered firmly to his decision. \n\n\n\n48 \n\n\n\nRise of the \nWagner Electric \n\nSamuel M. Dodd was a pioneer in more than one \nsection of the electrical field of St. Louis. This \ngeneration of 1912 can hardly realize that the \nexperimental stage of light and power by wire trans- \nmission was so recent as a quarter of a century ago. \nEdison had established his first central station for \ndistribution of electric light in New York only half \na dozen years earlier, and it was a small affair serving \na few large buildings. \n\nThree years before Mr. Dodd organized his light- \ning and power company and established the first \nalternating current plant in this city the American \nStreet Railway Association met in St. Louis and after \nthorough discussion almost unanimously declared the \nuse of electricity impracticable for moving street cars. \nThe year that Mr. Dodd started his enterprise, the \nBroadway Street Railway Company of St. Louis after \nsome experiments abandoned the idea of using elec- \ntricity and began to construct a cable system. The \naverage citizen looked with strong prejudice upon the \nproposition to carry power on overhead wires. There \nwas vigorous antagonism against anything stronger \nthan that required for telegraph and telephone sys- \ntems. It was argued that wires carrying such cur- \nrent would kill the shade trees. The St. Louis \npapers printed predictions of correspondents that the \nspread of electricity in the air would cause sickness, \nespecially nervous ailments. \n\n"It\'s the coming light," Mr. Dodd told his friends \nwhen he got back from Pittsburg. The coming was \nslow. Not only litigation delayed but mechanical \n\n49 \n\n\n\ndifficulties were encountered. One day Dr. Niccolls \nsaid to Mr. Dodd he was apprehensive electric light- \ning would not succeed. \n\n"It will be too costly." \n\n"Oh, we\'ll get it," was the confident reply. \n\nIn those days electricity for light and power was \nin the mysterious stage. Many inventors guarded \nrigidly against publicity. Electric factories were \nlocked. Visitors were\' barred. Once when Mr. Dodd \nsent Mr. Wagner to look into some matter about \nwhich the St. Louis company had a right to be in- \nformed, the young electrician was denied admission \nto the shop. Then Mr. Dodd went in person to gain \nthe desired information. Individuals and companies \ndealing in electrical devices surrounded their busi- \nness with secrecy. Fakers and unscrupulous pro- \nmoters found a wide field in which to do the credu- \nlous. All through that period of alternate hope and \ndoubt Mr. Dodd was foremost of St. Louisans with \nmoney who had faith in electric development. He \nsteadily encouraged those who were experimenting \nhonestly. Fred Schwedtman and Herbert A. Wag- \nner, young and enthusiastic, got hold of a dynamo \nwhich failed to work and had been abandoned in a \nfreight house. They tinkered with it until they had \nit in order and then sold it at a good price. Mr. Dodd \nadvised them to start a small shop to do electrical \nrepair work for at that stage of the industry the \ndynamos and kindred apparatus were getting out of \norder frequently through defects in the manufacture \nor through improper handling. \n\nWhile carrying on and developing the electric \nlighting Mr. Dodd was fostering and building up \nanother electrical industry. Wagner had proven \nto be a very competent electrical expert. He had \ninvented a fan motor on the alternating principle, \n\n50 \n\n\n\na fan that could be connected with the current which \nwas in general use. The Wagner Electric Manufac- \nturing Company was incorporated with a capital of \n$25,000, the fan motor patent being put in at $6,000. \nSchwedtman was the foreman and Wagner with two \nor three other young fellows constituted the organ- \nization. They had a hard time at the start. Their \nonly customer for some time was the Missouri Elec- \ntric Lighting and Power Company. The Westing- \nhouse people rather objected to this. Mr. Dodd, \nhowever, finding that Wagner could make as satis- \nfactory dynamos and other electrical apparatus as \ncould be bought outside of St. Louis encouraged the \nhome company. The Wagner people struggled along \nseveral years until one day Mr. Dodd proposed to \nincrease the capital to $100,000, enlarge the plant \nand go into the electrical supply business. He put \nin Mr. Pike as secretary. The concern was moved \nto Eighteenth and Olive streets and later to Locust \nstreet. James W. Bell, J. C. Van Blarcom and Richard \nC. Kerens were among those who took stock in the \ncompany. The business increased but the profits \ndid not make satisfactory showing. \n\nOne day, while inquiring into the internal affairs \nof the company, Mr. Dodd remarked to one of the \ndepartment heads: \n\n"Why is it we cannot make money in this business? \nI give you all the machinery you need and all the \ncapital but you don\'t show results. What is the \nmatter?" \n\n"We need a competent commercial man, who also \nhas a grasp of factory conditions," was the answer. \n\n"Do you know such a man?" \n\n"Yes, we have a man who has grown up with the \nbusiness, who I think is competent. His name is \n\n51 \n\n\n\nLayman. He writes as if he knew what he was \nabout." \n\nMr. Layman was then in the east, taking care of \na somewhat complex situation with an important \neastern customer. Mr. Dodd called for recent \ncorrespondence with him and read it. As soon as \nhe had finished, he took a pen and wrote: "I \nhereby appoint Mr. W. A. Layman in charge of \nthe commercial business of the Wagner Electric \nManufacturing Company," a step which led ulti- \nmately to the placing of Mr. Layman in executive \ncharge of all departments of the business. \n\nIt was another instance of Mr. Dodd\'s remarkable \njudgment in the selection of men. In explanation \nof his course Mr. Dodd simply said to the other \ndirectors, "I had to act." \n\nW. A. Layman was a graduate of a technical insti- \ntute in Indiana. He had been a newspaper man of \nsome experience, had developed considerable taste \nfor the electrical field, had come to St. Louis and \nhad gone into the shop where Schwedtman found \nhim adaptable and tried him in the commercial end \nof the business. The Wagner Electric Manufactur- \ning Company developed rapidly under the new ad- \nministration and became an industry in which Mr. \nDodd during his last years took his greatest interest. \nIt grew to a capitalization of $1,500,000, employed \n700 people and was putting out $1,800,000 in prod- \nucts annually. \n\nWhen the directors of the Wagner placed upon \ntheir records the memorial of Mr. Dodd presented \nby Albert Blair they spoke of "the upbuilding of the \nWagner Electric Manufacturing Company" as "the \ncrowning achievement of his business career." The \ndevotion of Mr. Dodd to this industry and the pride \n\n52 \n\n\n\nhe manifested in it undoubtedly justified this \nexpression of his fellow-directors. The memorial \nconcluded : \n\nNo one of the several enterprise\'s to which he gave per- \nsonal direction was so weak and unpromising at the outset \nas was the Wagner Company. Its single patented device \nturned out to be valueless. The company was without work- \ning capital. Its sole excuse for existence was the idea that \nSt. Louis and the western country needed a manufacturing \nconcern of that kind. The meritorious inventions now pos- \nsessed by the company are of subsequent acquisition. At \nthat time the field of supply in electric commodities was \nlargely covered by the same two great companies that at \npresent occupy it. In patent matters they were leagued for \noffensive operations against trespassers. In industrial war- \nfare any competitor, especially if he be a weak beginner, is \neasily recognized as a trespasser. The result was that for \nfifteen years or more the progress of the Wagner Company in \nthe manufacture and sale of its apparatus was attended with \nunremitting cannonade of patent suits. Patent suits to the \nright of it; patent suits to the left of it "volleyed and thun- \ndered," but the leader of the Wagner Company, unlike he \nof the Light Brigade, had not blundered, but continued to \nadvance and finally achieved success and honorable recogni- \ntion from his competitors. To accomplish all this called for \nhigh talents of administration. While Mr. Dodd was not \nskilled in the electric art, he possessed superior judgment in \nchoosing men and methods by which to solve problems and \novercome difficulties. On the other hand, by reason of his \nsterling honesty of purpose, his calls for financial support \nwere always readily responded to by directors and stock- \nholders. Truly Mr. Dodd possessed a genius for upbuilding. \n\nBut the man, the personality, was even more admirable \nthan the business leader. It is nobler to be a helper of men \nthan to be an upbuilder of business enterprises. In his atti- \ntude towards charitable institutions and works of benevolence, \nMr. Dodd was something more than the conventional alms- \ngiver. There were a number of causes in which his interest \nwas positive and animating. He really desired to have them \nnot only sustained but increased in effective scope. Accord- \ningly it was no hardship for him to make contributions to the \nProvident Association, the Mercantile Library, the Museum \nof Fine Arts and the Washington University. He took a special \ninterest in the Young Women\'s Christian Association, and \nin response to that feeling a few years ago provided a habita- \ntion for the association by leasing to it a suitable building at \na nominal rent. Moreover, there were churches and missions \nin the city whose financial officers for a good many years felt \nprivileged to call upon Mr. Dodd for pecuniary aid in cases of \nemergency. He made numerous individual benefactions in \nthe course of his career, many to his kindred, many to other \n\n53 \n\n\n\npeople. Money aid to impecunious people does not always \nconstitute the highest kind of charity. If Mr. Dodd\'s kind \nheart at times caused him to err in the matter of giving, his \nbounty certainly never grew weary in responding to calls of \na worthy character. The present time is hardly the proper \noccasion to go into details as to his personal benefactions. \nIt will redound, however, to his credit as a discriminating \ngiver to say that two artists of national renown remember \nhim as a good friend in their early struggles; likewise more \nthan one teacher, and more than one successful practitioner \nin professional lines acknowledge kindnesses bestowed by \nhim. So we say, Upbuilder in business, but still more, a \nHelper of men, was he not? . \n\n"So has he lived that when the sun \nOf his existence sinks in night, \nMemorials sweet of mercies done \n\nWill shrine his name in memory\'s light, \nAnd the blest seed he scattered bloom \nA hundred-fold in years to come." \n\n\n\n54 \n\n\n\nThe Oldest \nBank Director \n\n"Our friend, counselor and fellow-director" \xe2\x80\x94 the \nmembers of the board of the National Bank of Com- \nmerce called Samuel M. Dodd. They voiced tribute \nto his "honesty, ability and personal magnetism" in \nthese words of the official expression placed upon the \nrecord : \n\nHe was one of nature\'s noblemen. It will be difficult to \nestimate the value of his influence in the growth of the insti- \ntution of which we were his junior associates. \n\nHis judgment of men was wonderfully acute. His counsels \nwere ever listened to with respect; his advice was sought by \nthose of our fellow-citizens who recognized his ripe exper- \nience. Trust and fidelity were stamped on his every action, \nand his personality was most gentle and urbane. \n\nHis intercourse with his fellow men was conspicuously free \nfrom any coarseness in speech, and his bearing was that of a \ngentleman. We shall miss him in many ways, in the home, \nthe board-room and the place of worship. \n\nWhen Mr. Dodd attended his last meeting with \nthe directors of the National Bank of Commerce he \nsat at the right hand of President Edwards. That \nby virtue of seniority had been his place in several \nadministrations of the bank\'s affairs. Mr. Dodd \nhad been a director when the institution was known \nby its first corporate title, the St. Louis Building and \nSavings Association, his service dating back to 1859. \nHe was not only the oldest member of the National \nBank of Commerce board but he was the bank \ndirector of longest service in St. Louis. Before he \nbecame a director the St. Louis Buildings and Sav- \nings Association had $8,500 capital stock, $338.36 \nsurplus and $29,387.78 deposits. In the fifty-three \nyears of his connection with the board, the insti- \ntution grew to $10,000,000 capital stock, $2,000,000 \n\n55 \n\n\n\nsurplus and $53,500,000 deposits. Mr. Dodd was a \ndirector under the successive administrations of \nMarshall Brotherton, Felix Coste, Henry S. Reed, \nC. B. Burnham, W. H. Thompson, J. C. Van Blarcom \nand B. F. Edwards. \n\nNext to Mr. Dodd at the board table sat James W. \nBell who had been in business on Main street at the \nsame time the former was. There were bonds of \nclose association between these two men. Away \nback in the early sixties, Mr. Dodd and Mr. Bell \nlocked the front doors of their business houses at \nthree o\'clock in the afternoon and spent the rest of \nthe day with muskets on their shoulders. They were \nUnion men enrolled in the same military company. \nThey drilled in preparation to take the field if the \nConfederates approached within striking distance of \nthe city. Their colonel was George E. Leighton, \nand their company commander was Captain E. P. \nRice. \n\nDuring half a century Mr. Dodd and Mr. Bell \nwere associated in good works. In the early days \none of their favorite pastimes was to call on their \nfriends to join in furnishing a turkey dinner for the \nHome of the Friendless, more commonly known as \nthe "Old Ladies Home," which has for many years \noccupied a quaint stone structure in a large garden \non South Broadway. The last collaboration of these \ntwo veteran philanthropists was in October of last \nyear shortly before Mr. Dodd was confined with \nfatal illness. This took the form of a considerable \nsum of money sent to support the Young Men\'s \nChristian Association work along the Yukon in \nAlaska. Two other National Bank of Commerce \ndirectors, President Ben. F. Edwards and John A. \nHolmes shared in this contribution. \n\nMr. Bell cannot recall that Mr. Dodd ever refused \n\n56 \n\n\n\nan appeal. He is quite sure his old friend never \nrejected any suggestion of a contribution which he \nmade to him. Both of them were long time admirers \nof the work which Thomas Morrison carried on. \nThey knew him as "Tom" Morrison from the days \nwhen he was a drayman on the levee. They stood \nby him when Mr. Morrison carried on the Biddle \nMarket Sunday School which was famed throughout \nthe country. Mr. Morrison came to them regularly. \n\n"Whenever Tom came around," said Mr. Bell, \n"Uncle Sam would throw up both hands in mock \nsurrender as if he was facing a highwayman and \nwould call out, \'How much.\' And then the con- \ntribution would follow." \n\nOne of the stories of Mr. Dodd\'s generosity is that \nof the church debt lifting in a town where he was a \nstranger. With two friends who had been marooned \nover Sunday like himself Mr. Dodd attended service. \nThat service had been set apart for a final effort to \npay off a mortgage about to be foreclosed on the \nchurch. Of this the three visitors had no warning. \nThey sat through the sermon and heard the desperate \nsituation explained by the minister. In response to \nthe appeal they made their contributions when the \nbasket was passed around. Then they called one \nof the trustees and asked him to see how much \nwas still needed to clear off the debt. The trustee \nreported. Mr. Dodd and his two friends each paid \none-third of the amount necessary. The minister \nwas overwhelmed; he could hardly express his grati- \ntude. The members of the church crowded about \nthe strangers and shook their hands vigorously as \nthey voiced their thanks. \n\n\n\n57 \n\n\n\nThe Race of \nDodds \n\nWhence came the amiability of manner and tenac- \nity of purpose so unusually combined? Mr. Dodd \nwas gentle in speech and manner. Harsh words \nnever fell from his lips. But when his purpose was \nformed it never relaxed. The father died while \nSamuel M. Dodd was young. A sketch of him, pre- \nserved by Henry P. Dodd says his "disposition was \nmild and amiable and he led a blameless life." The \nchildren were reared by their mother whom Dr. \nNiccolls describes as "a woman of wonderful ener- \ngy." Alary Condit Dodd lived to be eighty. It was \nsaid of her that she "retained so entirely the bright- \nness and sympathy of her youth that visitors to the \nyounger members of her hospitable home always \nsought the drawing room where she was usually to be \nfound as her conversation never failed of being merry, \ninstructive and entertaining." \n\n"She was the sweetest old lady that ever I knew," \nwas one of the tributes paid to her when she died. \n\nSamuel Morris Dodd was descended from Daniel, \nthe oldest son of David Dod, the Branford, Con- \nnecticut, pilgrim of 1646. David Dod 2nd went with \nthe colony to Newark as the genealogical poet nar- \nrates. His youngest son was John who married \nElizabeth Lampson. John 2nd was the oldest son \nof John and Elizabeth (Lampson) Dod. He was \nknown as "John, the assessor," to distinguish him \nfrom his father and a cousin, John Dod. He held \nthis office in what is now the county of Essex for \nmany years. The oldest son of John 2nd and Jane \n\n58 \n\n\n\n(Smith) Dod was Eleazer, who married Abigail Har- \nrison. The home was in Dodd Town. The numer- \nous branches of the family about this time began to \nspell the name "Dodd". Stephen was the oldest son \nof Eleazer and Abigail (Harrison) Dodd. He was \nborn Sept. 26, 1786, and died Sept. 12, 1869. He \nmarried Mary Condit and his sister Lydia became \nthe wife of Cheveril Condit. The Condits were of \none of the oldest and best known families of New \nJersey. Many alliances occurred between the Dodds \nand the Condits. The children of Stephen and Mary \n(Condit) Dodd were: \' \n\n1. Stephen Harrison, Jan. 7, 1828. \n\n2. Viner Vanzandt, Dec. 27, 1829. \n\n3. Samuel Morris, June 3, 1832. \n\n4. Abial Monroe, March 25, 1834. \n\n5. Henry Pierson, June 28, 1836. \n\n6. Harriet Pierson, Jan. 26, 1839. \n\n7. Ira Condit, June 26, 1841. \n\n8. Marcus Dixon, Jan. 17, 1844. \n\nOne cousin of Samuel M. Dodd was Eleazer Mon- \nroe Dodd whose zeal in the discharge of his duties as \na city official of Newark during the cholera epidemic \nof 1854 cost him his life. Another went down into \na cistern in the attempt to rescue two persons and \nwas suffocated by the foul air; he was also "Samuel \nMorris" Dodd. Altruism has been a marked char- \nacteristic of the Dodds. A third cousin, Captain \nSamuel Dodd, fell mortally wounded at the head of \nhis company leading a charge- near Fredericksburg \nin 1863. To the thousands of Orange people who \ncame to do honor, the chaplain said, "There was \nneither an officer nor a man in the regiment who did \nnot feel that in his death he had lost a personal \nfriend." A fourth near relative was a member of the \n\n59 \n\n\n\n"President\'s Guard" at Washington and lost his life \nin the war. The Dodds were patriotic in every \ncrisis. According to a well preserved tradition "all \nof the name who were able to bear arms, it is believed, \nperiled their lives for their country in the revolu- \ntionary struggle." To the Union army in the Civil \nwar the Dodd family made heavy contribution. \nWhen one of these patriots of the sixties, Stephen \nDodd, went to the front with a Pennsylvania regi- \nment his father said of him, "He is five feet eleven \nin his boots, weighs 225 pounds; and, what is char- \nacteristic of the Dodd race, is smart as a whip." \n\nTastes for mathematics and for mechanical inven- \ntion ran strong in the Dodd family through gener- \nations. Daniel Dod designed the machinery and con- \nstructed most of it for the Savannah, the first vessel \nthat crossed the Atlantic by the aid of steam. A son \nof this Daniel Dod filled the professorship of math- \nematics at Princeton fifteen years. Lebbeus Dod, \nthe father of David, showed such mechanical genius \nthat General George Washington detached him from \nthe artillery to establish and conduct the armory for \nthe manufacture of muskets with which to equip \nthe Revolutionary forces. After the war Lebbeus \nDod manufactured mathematical instruments. He \ninvented the "parallel rule protractor." Three sons \nof Lebbeus Dod set up a manufactory of cotton \nmachinery, much of their own designing. Daniel, one \nof the three, was induced by Governor Ogden to go \ninto the manufacture of steam machinery as early \nas 1812. He invented a steamboat engine. Shops \nwere established at Elizabethtown. The first engine \nwas put in operation on the Sea Horse. When the \nboat reached New York City she was libeled by the \nbackers of Robert Fulton. After that the Sea Horse \nran between Elizabethport and Jersey City to avoid \n\n60 \n\n\n\ntrouble with the Fulton people. The next session of \nthe New Jersey legislature passed an act granting to \nDaniel Dod exclusive right to steam navigation in \nNew Jersey waters for five years. This was done to \nhelp Dod and Ogden in their fight against the New \nYork monopoly. The New Jersey legislature con- \nsidered this an act of justice because of Daniel \nDod\'s inventions and because Dod and Ogden repre- \nsented the rights of John Fitch who was credited \nwith the invention of the first practicable steamboat \never made. When the New York boat Raritan, \noperating under the Fulton monopoly, landed at \nBrunswick, Dod and Ogden seized her. Then came \nlitigation between Dod and Ogden on one side and \nthe Robert Fulton people on the other. This con- \ntroversy was of great interest in its time. The most \neminent lawyers of the day were employed on the \ntwo sides. The contest between the Dod people on \none side and the Fulton interests on the other is a \nmatter of important legal history. In the end the \nsum of one dollar was paid to Fulton and his backer, \nLivingston, and the litigation was ended. \n\nThe Sea Horse continued to run and made such \nprofit that competition was encouraged. An oppo- \nsition line backed by Thomas Gibbon carried pas- \nsengers free of cost to break down the Dod line. \nOne of Gibbon\'s boats was the historic Bellona. On \nthe Gibbon line Commodore Vanderbilt, the head \nof the Vanderbilt family, began his steamboat career \nand the making of his fortune. Four generations \nlater the Vanderbilts were among the supporters of \nSamuel M. Dodd in the development of the Amer- \nican Brake Company. \n\nA descendant writes: "We claim for Daniel Dod \nthe honor of having originated steam navigation, in \nwhich he had such faith that he often predicted \n\n61 \n\n\n\nvessels would leave each side of the Atlantic with \nthe regularity of ferry boats." \n\nThe activity of Daniel Dod in the development of \nsteam navigation began as early as 1812 and con- \ntinued until his death in 1821. This talent for \nengineering descended to Ezra K. Dod, the son of \nDaniel. About 1830 Ezra K. Dod was connected \nwith the famous Dr. Nott in the Novelty Works. \nThere he superintended the building of the steam- \nboat Novelty. That was the fastest craft on the \nHudson river. Two or three years later Ezra K. \nDod established a plant of his own and built from \nplans of Robert L. Stevens the first locomotive which \nhauled passengers on the Camden and Amboy rail- \nroad. In 1835 he was invited to take charge of the \nrailroads about to be constructed by .Russia, but \ndeclined on account of his health. Two years later \nhe went to Cuba to take charge of the Iucaro rail- \nroad. Ezra K. Dod was the inventor of a vacuum \npan for cooking sugar, said to have been the best \never designed. \n\nAbout the middle of the Twelfth century, during \nthe time of King Henry II, Cadwgan Dod lived in \nthe County of Chester on the edge of Wales. His \nson Hova married the daughter and heiress of the \nLord of Edge in Chester. Thus, according to the \npreserved genealogies, began "the race of Dods." \nCadwgan Dod was a Saxon; the wife of Hova Dod \nwas the granddaughter of Edwin, a Saxon thane \nwho was not deprived of his land by the Norman \nconquest. The Dods, or Dodds as the most of the \nbranches adopted the patronymic later, were " Com- \nmoners of Great Britain and Ireland. Enjoying \nTerritorial Possessions for High Official Rank." By \nhis wife, Hova Dod inherited a fourth of the manor \nof Edge. The estate has been handed down through \n\n62 \n\n\n\nthe centuries. In succeeding generations there was \nalways a "Dod of Edge." Burke says of the old \nhome : \n\nNear one extremity of the Dod Estate in Edge in a place \ncalled Hall Heyes are vestiges of a mansion which was most \nprobably the first residence of the family. The present \nseat is of considerable antiquity but has been so repeatedly \naltered in various styles that no date can be inferred from its \narchitecture. This house has also been moated and stands \nvery low, the ground sloping to it in almost every direction. \nAt the back is a parklike enclosure ascending gently to a ter- \nrace well planted with trees through the intercesses of which \nthe eye commands the higher Boxton and Bickerton hills \nbeyond, and in front the Cluydian hills. \n\nHugo Dod one of the earlier descendants of Cadw- \ngan Dod married the heiress of Cloverly and estab- \nlished a branch of the family known as the "Dods of \nCloverly." \n\nThe Dods of Edge, the history of the Commoners \nsays, "continued through a long line to hold prom- \ninent stations in the palatinate and to intermarry \nwith the most eminent houses." \n\nIn 1415 Sir Anthony Dod was knighted for his \ngallantry on "the glorious field of Agincourt." Henry \nV invading Normandy with an inferior and almost \nstarving force found himself opposed by 60,000 \nFrenchmen drawn up thirty deep in the open be- \ntween two forests. His archers made the attack and \ntempted the French to break their solid formation in \na rush forward. Then King Henry with his men-at- \narms flung himself on the broken ranks. The French \nfled leaving 11,000 dead, with a hundred princes and \nlords. Anthony Dod for his valor in that assault \nwas knighted on the battlefield by King Henry. \n\nDavid Dod of Edge was one of the signers of the \nsupplication to King Henry VI respecting the liber- \nties of the palatinate. Parliament had come under \ncomplete control of the baronage and of the great \n\n63 \n\n\n\nland owners. Even the Lower House was not repre- \nsentative of the Commons, when Dod of Edge and \nother Cheshire gentlemen made their complaint to \nthe weak King, voicing the dissatisfaction which \nwas to culminate in the War of the Roses and the \ndownfall of the House of Lancaster. \n\nA later David Dod founded the Shochlach branch \nof the family of which a member was Thomas Dod \nwho became a high dignitary of the church. He was \narchdeacon of Richmond, dean of Rippon and rector \nof Astbury. This was in the time of Edward IV. \n\nOf the Shochlach line was Rev. John Dod, nephew \nof Thomas the church dignitary. He was born \naccording to one authority in 1547 and according to \nanother in 1549. Unlike his uncle he did not aspire \nto clerical honors but "conceived an early dislike \nto some of the ceremonies or discipline of the church." \nFrom this bold protestant descended the family of \nAmerican Dodds to which Samuel Morris Dodd \nbelonged. Rev. John Dod was one of the original \nPuritans. He was suspended by the Bishop of Ox- \nford for preaching church reform. After a time he \nwas allowed to return to the pulpit only to be \nsilenced again on the complaint of Bishop Neale to \nKing James. It was during this period that he wrote \na famous commentary on the Decalogue and the \nProverbs. After the death of King James Rev. John \nDod was given another living. The history of the \nPuritans says: \n\nHere he recommended himself as before, not more by his \nearnest and affectionate services in the pulpit than by his \ncharity and hospitality, and particularly by his frequent \nvisits and advice which last he delivered in a manner pecu- \nliarly striking to him. A great many of his sayings became \nalmost proverbial and remained so for above a century, being \nas may yet be remembered frequently printed in a small \ntract and suspended in every cottage. \n\n64 \n\n\n\nThe hospitality of Rev. John Dod was of such gen- \nerous scope that he "kept open table" on Sundays \nand Wednesdays, the days of his lectures and enter- \ntained many guests. After his death in 1645 tribute \nwas paid to him in these words: "Humble, meek, \npatient as in his censures of, so in his alms to others." \n\nIn the present generation a nephew of Samuel M. \nDodd is Randell Dodd. He was given his Christian \nname in recognition of the very close friendship be- \ntween John M. Randell and Samuel M. Dodd. This \nfriendship began when the two stood in the relation \nof employer and employe; it developed when they \nbecame partners; it continued to increase as long as \nMr. Randell lived and has been perpetuated between \nmembers of the Randell and Dodd families. A \ncurious and an interesting fact is that for generations \nthese family names were linked in England. As \nearly as 1633 there was a Randle Dodd of Edge, a \nson of David Dod. He married Barbara Mordell \nwho bequeathed her estates to the minor canons of \nChester Cathedral. There were Randle Dods in the \nfamily down to the end of the Eighteenth century. \n\n\n\n65 \n\n\n\n"Uncle Sam" Dodd, \nHelper of Men \n\nIn his early life Mr. Dodd wore side whiskers \xe2\x80\x94 \nburnsides they were called after the famous Rhode \nIsland general of the Civil war. That gave to him \na dignified appearance and as Mr. Dodd was not a \nman of many words he seemed to those who did not \nknow him well to be rather austere. Later in life, \nwhen he shaved smoothly with the exception of the \nmustache, the lines of the face revealed to all the \ngentle kindly nature which the more intimate had \nlong realized. Associates in business and in recrea- \ntion quite naturally got in the way of calling Mr. \nDodd "Uncle Sam." Mr. Dodd did nor resent the \nfamiliarity of the title. One day his confidential \nsecretary, Mr. Allcorn, saw him take a postage stamp, \nmoisten it, and stick it on the inner lining of his hat. \n\n"What\'s the answer" he asked. \n\n"My initials, U. S., Uncle Sam!" And Mr. Dodd \nsmiled, placed his hat on his head and walked out of \nthe office. \n\nDr. Niccolls, who knew, says, "I suppose in later \ntimes one-half of Mr. Dodd\'s income was given to \ncharitable purposes. He was one of the most liberal \ngivers. I don\'t think that in any application I ever \nmade to him I was refused." \n\nThe benefactions of Mr. Dodd took on a wide range. \nThrough more than two generations, before the days \nof the social workers and institutional churches, \nThomas Morrison carried on a mission north of \nFranklin avenue. He did a world of good in uplift- \ning the weary and heavy laden. He redeemed hun- \ndreds of the young who had started wrong. When \n\n66 \n\n\n\nhe died three years ago the city mourned for him. \nOnly those who sat in the same office with him \nthrough a long series of years knew that Mr. Dodd \nwas one of Thomas Morrison\'s chief financial back- \ners in his good work. Mr. Adrcon remembers that \nas often as three times a week Mr. Morrison would \ncall. "Hello, Old Tom!" would be the capitalist\'s \ngreeting as the friend of the unfortunate entered the \ndoor. Then followed some pretense of argument as \nto the results of the mission. And the call always \nended in the signing of a check by Mr. Dodd. \n\nThe Dodd home was for many years a large stone \nmansion on Garrison and Lucas avenues. From \nthere Mr. Dodd moved to Vandeventer Place. He \nheard his niece, Miss Florence Dodd, who lived with \nhim talk of the plans and hopes of the Young \nWomen\'s Christian Association. He suggested that \nthe association occupy the vacated mansion until \na better place was found. The offer was accepted \nand for years at a nominal rental the former home \nof Mr. Dodd sheltered "the Y. W." As the associa- \ntion expanded more room was needed. The officers \nof the association especially desired to supply phys- \nical recreation to the business women. Mr. Dodd \nbuilt the gymnasium adjacent to the mansion. Un- \nder this encouragement the association grew to that \nimportance which justified and made successful the \ncampaign for the clubhouse on Locust street, \nrecently completed and occupied. \n\nThe Dodd way of doing good had method in it. \nCaptain Hodges said one day: \n\n"Mr. Dodd, here\'s a boy with a natural talent for \npainting. He has been making pictures for suits of \nclothes and the like. He ought to have a chance. \nI\'ve got up a scheme to send him to Europe to study." \n\n67 \n\n\n\nMr. Dodd didn\'t say he would contribute to a \nfund. What he said was: \n\n"I\'ll give him an order for a picture to cost $150." \n\nHe did his part and at the same time encouraged \nthe self respect of the boy who was Will Chase, \nsince famous in the art world. \n\nIn like manner Mr. Dodd helped Howe, who was a \nclerk in a dry goods store and displayed a good deal \nof taste in color. He raised the money which gave \nHowe his chance in Paris and enabled him to be- \ncome a great cattle painter. But the money was \nnot given outright; it was in the form of a number \nof commissions to paint pictures for the contrib- \nutors. \n\nMr. Dodd went into half a dozen or more of these \nplans to help young St. Louis artists but always \nwith the condition that the contribution was a com- \nmission to paint something. When the struggle \nabroad grew rather intense for one of these proteges, \nMr. Dodd saw Mr. Parsons or somebody else and \nsent on another order for a picture. \n\n"He was not self-seeking; he had as little thought \nof self advancement in what he did as any man of \nwhom I have had knowledge in St.. Louis," Dr. Nic- \ncolls says. In Mr. Dodd\'s relationship to the World\'s \nFair was an illustration of this. Mr. Dodd personally \nand the corporations in which he was a leading \ndirector contributed to the capital stock of the \nLouisiana Purchase Exposition Company. By rea- \nson of his knowledge and taste in art matters and \nby reason of his many years\' connection with the \nelectrical industry Mr. Dodd was placed on the \ntwo committees having to do with those subjects. \nHe was vice-chairman of the Committee on Fine \nArts from the organization. When the death of \n\n68 \n\n\n\nIsaac W. Morton made a vacancy in the chairman- \nship of that committee, Mr. Dodd waived the suc- \ncession on the ground that he believed more \ncould be accomplished by another; he joined the \nother directors in the election of W. K. Bixby. At \nthe last annual meeting of the World\'s Fair board \nthis expression offered by Mr. Bixby for his com- \nmittee was placed upon the records: \n\nIn offering tribute to the memory of the late Samuel M. \nDodd, the directors of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition \nCompany record the passing of one of the earliest and most \nsteadfast supporters of the enterprise. \n\nMr. Dodd was a member of the Board of Directors from \nthe first organization of the corporation; he was vice-chairman \nof the Committee on Fine Arts and member of the Committee \non Electricity and Electrical Appliances. During his half \ncentury of residence in St. Louis, Mr. Dodd was a patron of \nart. He was a pioneer promoter of the electrical industry \nin this city. To the organization and supervision of two im- \nportant departments of the Exposition he brought, therefore, \nnot only active interest but valuable experience. \n\nA citizen of St. Louis from his young manhood, his loyalty \nto the place of his adoption was unswerving. Material, \nartistic and philanthropic concerns of this community found \nin him always a receptive listener and a ready helper. That \nSamuel M. Dodd served his generation well, his fellow direc- \ntors take the opportunity of their annual meeting to testify. \n\nBy his individual subscription and the subscrip- \ntions of corporations in which he was a leading \ndirector, Mr. Dodd ranked as one of the largest con- \ntributors to the World\'s Fair fund of $5,000,000. \nMr. Dodd and these companies gave to the World\'s \nFair $90,000. \n\nIn the Committee on Art Mr. Dodd was associ- \nated with Isaac W. Morton, W. K. Bixby, James E. \nSmith, Thomas H. McKittrick, Adolphus Busch, \nH. B. Spencer and Howard Elliott. Early in the \norganization of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition \nthis committee took earnest action to commit the \nBoard of Directors to the erection of a permanent \nart building. Under ordinary exposition practice the \n\n69 \n\n\n\nart building would have been made fireproof but \nwould have been of temporary construction. That \nSt. Louis to-day has a million dollar city art museum \nis due in large measure to the energetic work of Mr. \nDodd and the associates on the committee of which \nhe was vice-chairman. \n\nOn the Committee of Electricity and Electrical \nAppliances Mr. Dodd served with James E. Smith, \nJoseph Ramsey, Charles A. Stix, A. A. Allen and \nAugust Gehner. Under the encouraging supervision \nof this committee, Directer Skiff and Chief Golds- \nborough organized one of the most notable exhibit \ndepartments of the Exposition. \n\n"I never knew a man more ready to help other \nmen in business," Dr. Niccolls said, "The amount \nhe lost by indorsing to aid others would have made \na fortune." \n\nEmbarrassment in the dry goods business came \nabout through indorsement. Mr. Dodd was one \nof four signers on a note for $58,000. With some \nassistance he paid off the note in full and became the \nowner of some doubtful securities which had been \ngiven to the endorsers. This is not one of the cases \nof ultimate loss for some years later this bunch of \nbonds which seemed almost worthless at the time \nyielded over $200,000. With the profit realized by \nthis transaction Mr. Dodd was able to take hold of \nthe American Brake problem when his friends made \nthe Macedonian appeal to him. \n\nThere was another instance in which Mr. Dodd \npaid out $60,000 to fulfill what he deemed a personal \nobligation and in which nothing came back to him. \n\n"His inner life was a pure one," said Dr. Niccolls. \nThe forms of recreation which most appealed to him \nwere evidence of it. In his earlier years as a business \nman Mr. Dodd kept good horses and drove much. \n\n70 \n\n\n\nEven then there was room for some one less for- \ntunate beside him. \n\n"I have never forgotten what Mr. Dodd did for \nme at a time when I felt I was down and out," a \nwell known and prosperous St. Louisan said. "Things \nhad been going against me. I was poor. I rather \nshunned my former associates. Mr. Dodd would \ncome around with his team and invite me to ride \nwith him. Somewhere in the country he would stop \nand we would have a good dinner. Coming back \nto town I would feel as if new life had been given me. \nMr. Dodd never referred to my circumstances or to \nhis motive in choosing me for his companion. He \nhad a sense of delicacy which enabled him to do such \na thing in just the right way. The ride and the \ndinner and the talk would seem to give me new hope \nand courage. All of this was a good many years \nago but I have never forgotten it." \n\nWhen Mr. Dodd was asked by a newspaper man \nto tell his favorite forms of recreation, his memory \nwent back over the twenty-eight summers in the \nAdirondacks and he said promptly, "Hunting and \nfishing." To these could be added whist. He played \nmany evenings at the St. Louis Club with a coterie \nwhich included E. C. Simmons, Judge E. B. Adams, \nWallace Delafield and the late George E. Leighton. \nMr. Dodd was fond of books. He read a great deal, \nbut not fiction. \n\n"I don\'t remember to have heard of his reading \na novel," James W. Bell said. \n\nIn 1874 Mr. Dodd was elected president of the \nMercantile Library. At that time St. Louis had no \npublic library. The Public School Library of which \nMr. Crunden was librarian was comparatively \nsmall. For good reading the community depended \nupon the Mercantile. Mr. Dodd showed his interest \n\n71 \n\n\n\nby very active administration of the association\'s \naffairs. In the first year of his presidency there were \nadded 606 new members, notwithstanding the fact \nthat the panic of 1873 had preceded. The members \nof the association were so impressed with the effi- \nciency of Mr. Dodd\'s administration that at the an- \nnual meeting a resolution was adopted expressing "as \nmuch surprise as gratification at the prosperity of the \naffairs of the Mercantile Library Association during \nthe past year." The resolution commented on "a \nmarked increase in the value of the property of the \nassociation as well as the enhancement of the inter- \nest taken in the advantages of the library by the \nattendance in its rooms, of readers and visitors, and \nby the number of volumes taken out \xe2\x80\x94 an increase that \ncould hardly have been anticipated if our judgment \nwere to be governed by the financial condition dur- \ning the past year." The association returned thanks \nto President Dodd and his fellow directors. \n\nIn his report of that year Mr. Dodd, true to his \ninterest in art as well as literature, congratulated the \nassociation that "among the valuable works acquired \nof much interest is a splendid copy of Gavard\'s \n\'Galeries Historiques de Versailles,\' in thirteen vol- \numes, beautifully illustrated." \n\nThe Mercantile Library of St. Louis is noted far \nand wide for its collection of books relating to art, a \ncollection which Mr. Dodd as a life-long friend of \nthe institution constantly encouraged. \n\nIn closing his report for 1874 President Dodd urged \nearnestly "upon merchants, manufacturers and \nothers the importance of having the young men con- \nnected with them associated with the library and \nbrought under its beneficent influences." \n\nMr. Dodd was re-elected for 1875, in which year \nthere were enrolled 578 new members. \n\n\n\n\'\'In the purchase of books," President Dodd \nreported, "we have followed the traditional policy of \nthe association in keeping pace with the best current \nliterature of the age. It seems to be the general \nimpression in the community that our association is \nwealthy and needs no aid nor contributions from any \nsource. But we desire to impress upon our fellow- \nmembers and the public that this is not the case, \nand that it is only through constant effort that we \nmay expect to grow in the future, so as to keep pace \nwith what has been done in the past. The present \ncondition of the association and the success it has \nachieved are due not entirely to the subscriptions \nof the members, but to the generosity and the earnest \nzeal of those who labored for the institution at the \nbeginning. When we look back to their efforts, and \nremember what we owe to them, it should cause \nevery member to work with renewed energy, and to \ndo all in his power to enhance the success of this \nassociation. It has amply repaid every assistance \nthat has been given to it, and it has largely con- \ntributed towards the prosperity of our city, by \ndeveloping the taste and increasing the knowledge \nwhich leads to success in life. Let us not lose sight \nof the fact that this work has been handed down to \nus for our care and protection, that it is an inheri- \ntance which we cannot prize too highly, and we \nshould cherish it as one of the greatest of boons." \nNot only was the high standard of the library \nmaintained during the administration of President \nDodd, but the usefulness of the institution was \nwidely expanded through his efforts. During Mr. \nDodd\'s first term as president the charter of the \nMercantile Library association was amended by the \nLegislature, creating a board of five trustees to \nmanage the real estate. This act provided that the \n\n73 \n\n\n\ntrustees must be ex-presidents of the association. \nSome time after he retired from the presidency \nMr. Dodd was chosen as one of these trustees. He \ncontinued to perform the duties as long as he lived. \nThe value of the association\'s property increased \n$15,000 during the two years that Mr. Dodd was \npresident. Under the trustees the real estate be- \ncame worth five times what it was in 1875. Mr. \nDodd\'s interest in the institution continued to the \nend. \n\nMr. Dodd did not marry. Devotion to business \nengrossed him in earlier manhood. But at forty he \nfelt his position was assured and his thoughts turned \nto the choice of a life partner. An engagement was \nformed with a lady much younger. In the planning \nfor the future she wanted a wedding journey to \nEurope. Mr. Dodd did not think he could afford \nto take the time and he said so frankly. In the good \nnatured discussion that followed, their divergent \nviews of life, its interests and claims were revealed \nto them. Mutually they reached the conclusion \nthat it was best to break the engagement. The \ndiamond ring was returned. When Mr. Dodd left \nthe house, the young lady went with him to the gate \nand shook hands with him. They parted as lovers \nbut remained good friends. For years that diamond \nring lay in a drawer of the safe at the store; it \nwas never offered to another lady. After this one \nexperience Mr. Dodd looked forward to single life as \nhis lot. But he found not only contentment but \njoyous satisfaction in affection for his nephews and \nnieces. His youngest brother, Marcus Dixon Dodd, \ndied in 1896. To the eight children of this brother \nSamuel M. Dodd took the place of father. In no \nperfunctory sense as if assuming an obligation but \nwith real interest in seeing them do well, he looked \n\n74 \n\n\n\nafter them growing and grown. He was "Uncle \nSam" to nearly a score of nieces and nephews and \ntook it as a privilege to see that all of them received \nbetter than ordinary educational advantages. \n\nMr. Dodd did not die a millionaire. Accumula- \ntion did not appeal to him strongly. An impelling \nmotive with him was to develop. That marked \ncharacteristic Albert Blair describes as "a natural \naptitude for upbuilding business enterprises." In \nthe natural operation of this bent Mr. Dodd did \nnot retire; he did not lock up securities in a safe \ndeposit box. At eighty he was still an active force \nin the enterprises which he had helped so materially \nto create and, what is perhaps more notable, his \ncapital was working, nearly every dollar of it for the \nbenefit of St. Louis. Even when his failing health, \nin the last few months of his life, warned him that the \nend was near he did not attempt to close up his \naffairs. He contented himself with the drawing of \nan instrument which disposed of an estate. When \nhe had gone over the details with a legal friend, \nMr. Dodd remarked: \n\n"I think there will be about #500,000." \n\nThe lawyer estimated that the estate would be \nlarger, perhaps #750,000. \n\n"Possibly," said Mr. Dodd, "but we\'ll count on \nabout #500,000. That will be safe." \n\nWhen the estate was inventoried for probate pur- \nposes, the extent to which Mr. Dodd had kept his \ncapital active was apparent in the relation he sus- \ntained with banks and trust companies. He had \nborrowed large sums to expand his business enter- \nprises but over and above every dollar he owed was \nthe net margin of between #500,000 and #750,000 \nto be distributed under his will. \n\n75 \n\n\n\n"One prime quality he had," said Mr. Blair, "was \nhis superior judgment of men. Another was his \nmanifest integrity. His associates never doubted \nthe truth of his statements nor the rectitude of his \npurpose." \n\nA twin motive to that of upbuilding business in- \nspired Mr. Dodd\'s activities. It was the inclination \nto help others. Mr. Dodd believed in "passing pros- \nperity around." He had many partners in the course \nof his three generations of business connections in \nSt. Louis. "Helper of men," Mr. Blair called him. \nThe evidence is the scores of St. Louisans who to-day \nenjoy competencies gained in their association with \nMr. Dodd. \n\nSamuel Morris Dodd, Upbuilder of Business, \nHelper of Men! What better epitaph? \n\n\n\n76 \n\n\n\n'