State

Wilton McLean ТИК service of the soldier causes •bo poet to smite on all his chords with might; the service of the statesman is recorded upon the perma¬ nent pages of our history; the power of the orator awakes to ec.tncy the lyre of the harper. Hut the business niau is a mere bearer of burdens, a prosaic task which evokes no loftiness in language, no rhythm in our verse, no panegyric in «*ur literature. Vet his is the basic work, for he is the layer of the corner stone, the builder of the foundation, and the entire structure rests upon his shoulders, whether his field be that of private enterprise, or that of service to his state or nation. When lie wont to Washington, he became known a- Angus Mcl-ean, as it i* a requirement of the Govern- ment that all employees, whether of high ОГ low degree, he known hv their first Christian name; but to his home people he was always known as Wilton I and there are now many of that name down in Robeson) and I shall call him that. 1 knew him for more than forty years. Personally I owe him mueh; 1 think I can, with some authority, bespeak the manner of man that he was. A business man was he; silent, re¬ served and somewhat austere; a trifle cold in hie manner; at times a bit abrupt. Hut this was merely the burr on the chestnut, the husk on lie was outstanding in many fields of service, hut greatest of these, according to Mr. Law¬ rence. was his capacity for busi¬ ness reorganization. By К. C. LAWRENCE the corn; for within this rather ehillv exterior there lieat a heart of gold. He was the son of a Confederate soldier and he grew’ up soon after the “havoc of war and the battle's confusion" had wrecked the fortuue.- of his people. Somehow he struggled through the rniversity; then he came to Lumbertnii bringing with him his law license and .$10.00- borrowed. I lay to one side his career a* a lawyer, although he appeared in many a hard fought ease- of local reputa¬ tion. and although he was known upon a statewide basis ns a lawyer of out¬ standing ability. I shall not depict him as a churchman, although he was a Presbyterian elder and high in the councils of hi- Synod. I give but few lines to his generous charity, al¬ though this deserves much more. I cannot overlook the fact that I myself appealed to him scores of times in behalf of this person, that cause, or yonder institution, always with the same resjioiise— "How much?" Interested in Education It were injustice to omit his serv¬ ice to education, us he gave generous¬ ly of his talents to that cause, where he was ever partial to the college of the Scotch- Flora Macdonald. For many years he was the chairman of its Hoard of Trustees, and he also served as its fiscal agent, giving to the institution ninny days of patient work, and conjuring up both friends and finances for its service. It is of McLean the businessman that I would write, for this was the master passion of his life. He had n restless and never-satisfied desire to build, build, build— first his town, then his county, then his state, then his country. Ho wanted payrolls for production; factories for employ¬ ment: full labor to absorb a people's energies; and upon his lips there was ever the constant plea — full speed ahead. He was a prodigious worker; rest- hss with unexpended energy. He kept long ollico hours, then taking the papers home he would labor until far into the night, for he had to Iteeome acquainted with all the facts, with every detail before he acted. Hut after he had thought a matter through, he possessed the ability to sell an idea to the public; to put a thing across; to go those last few feet necessary to score the business touchdown. As an organizer, as a builder, lie had few equals ami no superiors. When he moved to I.umberton there was no bank between Rockingham and Wilmington. He forthwith proceeded to organize one, but declined its pres¬ idency Upon the plea that the people would have more confidence in an older man. Hut before many months passed, his character had become so established in the public mind that there was an insistent demand that lie be made its president, to which he yielded and lie so continued until his death. The town had no pay rolls, without which there can be no indus¬ trial vitality. He proceeded to or¬ ganize the first cotton mills in the county; the first oil mill, and many another enterprise, both in town and county, which gave men employment ami put money into circulation. There was no competition in public transportation, and before the public scarce realized what lie was about, he had quietly acquired a right-of- way, and was building a railroad to connect with the main line of the Atlantic Const Line, bringing the serv¬ ice of another great transportation system to the service of his com¬ munity. He served as director for many a corporation; and when any¬ thing needed to be done upon the local field, there was always the call — “Get Wilton to do it!" Also, at an early age, he became involved in political warfare, begin¬ ning first upon the purely local field, although ho sought nothing for him-