USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 88
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involvd in litigation and Mr. Dawson was retained in the interest of the contractors who built the road. The controversy involved large sums of money, and occasioned intricate legal proceedings in the Federal and State Courts of Tennessee, in all of which Mr. Dawson took part. In 1899 litigation arose over the Columbus, Lima & Milwaukee Railroad property, then just completed between Lima and Defiance, Ohio, and Mr. Dawson was employed by the original owners of the property to protect it against the attacks that were then directed against it. This litigation is still pending. During his busy career Mr. Dawson has been called upon to fill many places of trust and honor, among them being the trus- teeship of the bondholders of the Kinnicinnick and Freestone Railroad, a branch of the Chesapeake & Ohio. In political matters Mr. Dawson has affiliated generally with the Democratic party, and has been tendered nominations for Prosecuting Attorney of his county and for Congress in the First District of Ohio. Both of these positions he declined, preferring the less exciting but more satisfactory life of his profession.
William Rowland Hopkins,
Attorney at law. Born of Welsh parents at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1869, who re- moved to Alliance, Ohio, 1871, and to Cleve- land in 1874. Attended Cleveland public schools, 1875-1881. Employed by Cleveland Rolling Mill Company in wire mill, 1881-1884, and in offices, 1884-1891. Graduated from Western Reserve Academy in 1892; from Adelbert College of Western Reserve Uni- versity in 1896, and from Backus Law School of Western Reserve University in 1899 Admitted to Ohio bar in 1899. Author of "The Street Railway Problem in Cleveland," pub- lished by The American Economic Associa- tion. Member of Cleveland City Council. 1897-1899. Chairman Republican County Committee, 1902-1903. Married to Ellen Louise Cozad, 1903. Member of law firm of Hopkins, Bole, Cobb & Newcomb, Cleveland.
WILLIAM ROWLAND HOPKINS
Charles B. Wing,
A member of the firm of- Diem & Wing, wholesale paper dealers in the city of Cincin- nati, one of the largest enterprises in their line of business in this country, whose annual sales reach the total of more than $2,000,000, is a native of the Queen City, and was born on the 22d of April, 1854. He is of Welsh ancestry, his father, Thomas B. Wing, a wheel and hub manufacturers, having been born in Wales. Colonel Wing was educated in the schools of Cincinnati, and to-day stands a prominent figure in her industrial and commer- cial growth. In early years, Mr. Wing displayed a splendid talent for business, and step by step he advanced in commercial life, until he has reached his present position. Not- withstanding his large financial interests, which occupy a great amount of energy, Mr. Wing has found time to take an active interest in the political affairs of Cincinnati, and is
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recognized as one of the leaders of the Repub- lican party. He has occupied a number of positions of political honor with credit to hin- self and his party. On the 13th of January, 1896, he was appointed aide-de-camp to Gov- ernor Bushnell, and later he held the same honorary position under the late Governor Nash. In the spring of 1898 Governor Bush- nell appointed Colonel Wing a member of the Cincinnati Board of Police Commissioners, and it is needless to say that he was one of the most efficient members of that important body. His record in that capacity stands unchallenged. He also served one term as a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education, and for four years he was a director of the Cincinnati Workhouse. Colonel Wing is a' man of commanding appearance, broad in con- ceptions and determined in action. His word CHARLES B. WING is unquestioned, and his career has been one of honor. As a business man, he is conceded to be a splendid example of one who combines integrity with brilliant executive ability. He is a member of many social and commercial bodies, and is always ready to aid the industrial advancement and the general welfare of the city of Cincinnati. Colonel Wing is a member of the Blaine Club, an Elk and a Mason. He was married twenty-eight years ago, and is the father of two daughters.
Samuel W. Smith, Jr.,
Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Ham- ilton County, is ranked among the leading exponents of the law in Cincinnati. He was born in the Queen City, his father, Samuel W. Smith, being a wholesale liquor dealer. His early education was acquired in the public schools. In 1876 he was graduated from Chickering Institute. Subsequently he attended Brown University for four years and received his degrees. Upon his return to Cincinnati, he attended the Cincinnati Law School and was graduated in 1882, when he immediately be- came engaged in his chosen profession, enter- ing the law office of Lincoln & Stephens. After the decease of Mr. Timothy D. Lincoln, Mr. Smith was connected with the firm, which then became known as Lincoln, Stephens & Smith He acquired an extensive practice, and in 1896 was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court.
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He performed his duties in so sterling a manner that he was re-elected to the same office by a greater majority in the November election of 1901.
John J. Cushing,
A former representative attorney at law at Cincinnati, now at New York, was born on the 5th of October, 1854, in Sterling, Illinois. His father, Frank Cushing, was a well- known physician and farmer in Rhode Island, where he was born, while his mother was a native of New Hampshire. The ancestors of Mr. Cushing on the father's side came to this country early in the seventeenth century, landing near the city of Boston, and settling in the town of Hingham, Massachusetts, which they named after that city in England. During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, members of Mr. Cushing's family participated in the great battles of those struggles. His mother's people were also of English descent. who came later to this country. They belonged to the famous Dow family in the East. Mr. Cushing was educated in the public schools of Sterling, Illinois, and in early youth was thrown upon his own resources, which necessitated him to work for a livelihood. He by his own labor earned sufficient to pay for his education in the Illinois State Industrial University, at Champaign, Illinois, where he took a mechanical engineering course, graduat- ing in 1878. During this time he also studied law, and after careful preparation was admitted to the bar, in 1881, by the Supreme Court of Illinois. He later was admitted to practice in South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Minnesota and the United States Courts. In taking up the profession of law he followed an old custom of the Cushing family, which has furnished many eminent members of the bench and bar of this country. One of the Cushings was Judge of the United States Supreme Court. Coming to Cincinnati, Mr. Cushing became actively engaged in his profession, and has been quite successful. In political belief he is a staunch Republican. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Ancient Essenic Order. In the year of 1885 he was married to Miss Cordelia M. Senechal, of Illinois.
William King,
Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate of the Seventy - fifth and Seventy - sixth General Assemblies, was born on a farm in Pleasant Township, Madison County, Ohio, near Mc- Kendra Church, on the Ist of September, 1855. His great-grandfather on his father's side was born in Ireland, and his grandfather in Ver- mont, served in the War of 1812, and moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1818. During his life-time Mr. William King has often been honored by the people, and on every occasion filled the positions with credit to himself and those he represented. Always an unflinching Repub- lican, the record shows that he has held the following places: Township Assessor, Union Township, Marion County; Justice of the Peace, Leesburg Township, Union County ; Assessor, Leesburg Township, Union County ; Mayor of Magnetic Springs, Union County, in
WILLIAM KING
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1890; Clerk of School Board, Magnetic Springs, since 1890; Postmaster at Magnetic Springs from 1888 to 1892; Mayor of Magnetic Springs in 1902; appointed Postmaster by President Mckinley in 1897. Mr. King was born and raised on a farm and received all his education in the common schools of Madison County. He worked on the farm while at home, and for eight years after his marriage was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1880 Mr. King lost his health, moving to Magnetic Springs six years later. He at once began to improve and now tips the beam at two hundred pounds. At the organization of the Senate in January, 1902, Mr. King was elected Sergeant-at-Arms and filled the onerous duties of that position to the satisfaction of everybody. On the adjournment of the Legislature he was presented with an elegant ring and other tokens of regard on the part of the Senate employees. Popular with all the Senators, Mr. King was highly regarded by those with whom he came in contact. At the organization of the present Senate, Mr. King was re-elected to the position he had filled with honor in the last Senate. Mr. King married Luticia Watrous on the 15th of September, 1878, at London, and two boys have been the result of the union. He has belonged to Lodge No. 664, Pharisburg, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, since 1889; Magnetic Springs Lodge, No. 380, Knights of Pythias, since 1890; Past Chancellor in K. of P. Lodge; Master of Exchequer since 1894, and Rep- resentative to the Grand Lodge from 1894 to 1896.
Frederick S. Spiegel,
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, First Ohio District, Cincinnati, Ohio, is a native of Germany, being born at Hovestadt, West- phalia, on the 20th of November, 1856. He began his education at the Paderborn Gym- nasium, and when he was eighteen years of age he emigrated with his parents to the United States, settling at Gadsen, Alabama. After his arrival in the New World, young Spiegel entered the Southern Institute, from which institution of learning he graduated in 1873. During vacation time of his last years at this institution, he learned the printing trade at the "Gadsden Times," and also acted as reporter. Shortly after his graduation, Spiegel came to Cincinnati, where he accepted a position as proofreader with the old Franklin Type Foundry, joining at the same time Typo- graphical Union No. 3, of which body he is an honorary member. In 1876 he joined the FREDERICK S. SPIEGEL editorial department of the Cincinnati Volks- blatt, his leisure hours being devoted to the study of law under the preceptorship of Judge Clement Bates. Later he attended the Cincinnati Law School, graduated in 1880, and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio. The year following he was appointed Chief of the Statistical Bureau of Ohio. While thus in Columbus, he was elected a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education. Returning to Cincinnati, Judge Spiegel associated himself with Judge A. H. Bode, which firm soon became one of the most foremost in the
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legal profession of Hamilton County. In 1889, Judge Spiegel was elected to the City Council, and in 1890 and 1893 to the position of County Solicitor, serving two terms with great distinction. In 1896 he was elected to the Common Pleas Bench, and re-elected in 1901. Judge Spiegel is married, and lives on Walnut Hills, Cincinnati. He is a thirty- second-degree member of the Masonic fraternity and of numerous literary and social clubs,
August H. Bode,
A representative member of the Hamilton County Bar, was born on the 3d of July, 1845, in Peine, near Hanover, Germany. He obtained a very careful education in the schools of his home city, at Auhagen's Institute, at Hanover and at the celebrated Polytechnikum of the latter city, graduating from the same after a four years' course in mathematics and engin- eering. He then matriculated at the Berlin University, but after one year's study accepted a position in the engineers' department of a machine factory. He later filled a position as engineer on a transatlantic steamer, and after crossing the ocean a dozen times, finally, in 1867, remained in the New World and settled in Cincinnati. In this city he filled the positions of teacher and Principal for the next fifteen years, resigning in 1883 to take up the practice of law, for which he had prepared himself after long and diligent studies. He formed a partnership with Judge F. S. Spiegel, which soon became one of the most prominent AUGUST H. BODE law firms of Cincinnati. After the elevation of Mr. Spiegel to the bench of the Common Pleas Court, Mr. Bode has practiced under his own name. He is a lawyer of more than ordinary abilities, high character and well- merited reputation for calm judgment and unselfish devotion to the public good. He has always taken a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his fellow citizens, and his countrymen in particular. For many years he was Financial Secretary of the German Evangelical St. Paul's Church; Secretary of the German Protestant Orphans' Association ; First Speaker of the West Cincinnati Turnverein, and since 1899 he occupies the position of President of the German Day Association of Cincinnati, a combination of all the principal German societies of Cincinnati. He also is a Mason of high standing. In political belief Mr. Bode is a staunch Republican, who has rendered the party of his choice many valuable services, in the councils as well as on the stump during political campaigns. His argu- ments as a political speaker are plain, direct and convincing. For a number of years Mr. Bode was a member of the Board of Education, of the Board of Teachers' Examiners, and is now one of the most valuable members of the Cincinnati Union Board of High Schools. He was also a member of the Cincinnati Board of Elections, and for some time occupied the bench of the Cincinnati Police Court. In 1872 he was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Pruess. Three daughters and two sons are the issue of their union, one son,
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August H. Bode, Jr., one of the most promising younger members of the Hamilton County Bar, being connected with his father in the practice of law. Mr. Bode's office is located in the Atlas Bank Building, Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company.
It was a firm conviction that it is unnecessary for people in the Central States to send their money to the Atlantic coast as life insurance premiums, to borrow it back later for improvements necessary in the development of their section, that called into corporate being The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company of Cincinnati.
This company was organized, chartered and commenced doing business in 1888, and was the first life company west of the Alleghenies to undertake the writing of industrial insurance. It is perhaps unnecessary to explain that industrial insurance differs from ordinary life insurance only in the size of the policies and the method of paying premiums. Ordinary insurance is usually issued for some multiple of $1,000, and annual premium rates vary according to the age of the person insured at the time of taking the policy. Industrial insurance is based upon the same tables of mortality, but policies are issued for irregular sums, varying from $500 down to $10. The rate of premium is some multiple of five cents, and is payable weekly-collectors calling at regular intervals at the homes of the persons insured. Instead of the premium increasing for older ages, the amount of insurance that five cents a week will buy gradually decreases as the age at entrance of the person insured increases.
Dr. Frank Caldwell, then a practicing physician and surgeon in Cincinnati, was the founder of the company, its first President, and remains in that position at the present day. His idea was that industrial risks could as well be carried by Ohio Valley capital as by Eastern corporations ; that a company organized in this section could find a ready market for its real estate loans; that money paid by artisans and by laborers for their protective insurance would quickly find its way back into channels where it could be earned back as wages by the very men (as a class) who had paid it in ; that an industrial life company would soon become an active and growing factor in the development of the section of the nation that is richest, from the view-point of natural advantages.
The promoter of this idea found little difficulty in enlisting capital for the enterprise, a number of prominent and substantial Cincinnati business and professional men entering the directory of the company. Articles of incorporation were applied for, and a deposit of $100,000.00 as a guarantee fund was made in the State treasury.
Dr. Caldwell was elected President of the company, as has been stated, and William J. Williams, who for a number of years previous had looked after the details of a large Masonic insurance body, was chosen Secretary. Practically all of the work of the com- pany's home office-then a suite of two rooms in a Main Street business block-was per- formed by these two officials, and they remain the most active factors in the company to-day-gradually, of course, as the volume of work compels, giving over details to sub- ordinates, but continuing as at the outset, to keep the closest possible touch of the com- pany's affairs, and personally looking after the interests of policy holders.
The company commenced operations in the city of its nativity, nor did it seek to widen its field until a firm foundation had been established. Then commenced the process of development and expansion which to-day covers the entire area drained by the Ohio River and the Lake Erie basin.
Original quarters soon became inadequate and a home office was established on West Sixth Street. This in 1901 gave way to the company's present home at Fourth and Broad-
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way-a spacious building owned by the company and occupying a site which will admit of future expansions as additional floor space shall be required.
The early years were, of course, a struggle. The little Western pioneer was at first laughed at by the older competitive corporations in the East, and its early policy holders were disturbed by agents of other companies. However, in spite of attempts to hinder and prophecies of an early retirement from the field, the little company closed the year 1888 with $889,073 of insurance in force on 6.237 lives.
Since then the company has pursued a steady and conservative growth, and to-day it has over $28,000,000 of insurance on more than a quarter million of lives. On January Ist, 1904, its statement shows outstanding insurance aggregating $25,715,285 on 213,205 lives.
To serve well the interests of its policy holders has ever been the broad principle upon which the Western and Southern Life has conducted its operations, and it is easily to-day the most democratic institution of its kind in America. Its organization in office and field is built along lines of usefulness only. It promulgates no array of high-sounding titles attached to meaningless names, but limits its forces to the number actually required to carry along the work with accuracy and despatch.
The prompt payment of claims has been practiced for so many years that it has become a fixed habit, and unnecessary delay in this vital branch of the business is never tolerated. It is held by the company that when death invades a home, there follows instantly a need for ready cash. This need it undertakes to meet when the death is in the home of a policy holder. It has distributed over a million and a half of dollars as death claims in Its corporate history, and practically all of this money has been paid out within an hour or two from the moment the proofs of death were received at the home office. It is no uncommon matter for a sorrowing wife or mother to receive her check from the Western and Southern Life before her child or husband has been laid in its last resting place.
Solicitous care for the policy holders extends, of course, beyond the detail of paying just claims. Daily collections are adding to the fund which is held in trust for future demands of the living members as they shall be claimed by death. The extreme of care and conservatism is maintained in the handling of this fund. The company invests in no stocks and bonds at any time, or under any circumstance. Loans are made on first mort- gage real estate security only after careful investigation as to values offered. Any surplus is invested in United States bonds. On January Ist, 1904, the company had assets of $1,074,653. Of this sum over $950,000 was held as a reserve fund to protect the future claims of policy holders.
While it is commendable-this exercise of conservatism and care in the management of a fiduciary trust such as a life insurance company-a part of the credit must go to the law makers of the State of Ohio, who have framed and delegated to the Superintendent of Insurance for enforcement perhaps the most rigid code of insurance statutes in the nation. Officials of the State make a rigid examination of the company's books and papers each year- something that is not done in any other State.
From 1888 until 1902 The Western and Southern Life confined itself to the writing of industrial insurance only. As years went on and the company's volume of business increased, its force of agents in the field became larger and stronger. The plan of industrial insurance contemplates the issuance of policies on lives from 2 years of age to 70.
By 1902 the men in the field found that many persons who had been insured as children had grown to mature estate, and were anxious to carry additional protection in the com- pany with which they were so familiar. To meet this demand, as well as to widen its sphere of activity and usefulness, the company undertook the writing of ordinary insurance
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issuing policies for from $1,000 to $5,000 on whole life, limited payment life, or endowment plans. The success which followed the company's initial efforts at writing industrial insurance have been duplicated in its experience in the ordinary life field.
And so, to-day, the people of Ohio may well be proud of the fact that their State granted a charter to The Western and Southern Life, and may be well pleased to number it among their institutions. Commencing ini a modest way, it remains to-day a modest company-never undertaking to make strides beyond its strength, and holding to the truism that "corporate integrity, absolute safety, low cost and satisfactory results in life insurance are in no way dependent upon the size of the company issuing the policies, nor to its 'recent rapid growth.'" A modest company, as has been said, The Western and Southern Life points rather to its past record than to its future prospects, and invites the testimony of those it has served rather than the prophesies of those who look ahead. Sixteen years of uninterrupted upbuilding indicate, of course, the staunchness of the company ; and operating over a wider area and through a larger field force, it is but natural that future development will be more marked than the past.
It requires no elaborate arithmetical calculation nor stretch of sensitized imagination to find that future date when The Western and Southern Life will be among the first financial concerns of that section which Eastern people are fond of calling "the Middle West." Each year finds it a more potent factor in the development of that territory which it calls "home." Its capital has improved countless business sites, and through loans on their realty has helped industries into being. It has, in a measure, given the artisans and laborers more than the protection of insurance : it has helped to sustain that general pros- perity which makes for the good of all concerned.
Hotel Hartman,
Located at Main and Fourth Streets in the city of Columbus, Ohio. In this age of advance and progress there is no feature more marked than the modern hotel. Columbus is noted for excellence in this line, and each new addition shows advanced ideas. On the 16th of November, 1902, the new Hartman opened its doors to the public with attrac- tions surpassing all that has gone before. It has one hundred and twenty rooms with the latest appointments in modern archi- tecture and sanitary plumbing, all being the work of local artists. The office lobby, bar, dining room and halls leading to same are floored with tiling, the rooms are finished in hardwood, including floors (parquetry), with private lavatory and toilet finished in tiling, ventilated by an exhaust fan; the furniture is of solid mahogany in Colonial design, solid brass beds, private telephone, electric lights and thorough ventilation. Each hallway has a cozy reception corner with easy chairs and tables for games or reading. The approach to the dining hall
HOTEL HARTMAN COLUMBUS
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is through a corridor with broken outline draped with Oriental portieres and offset with palms. The dining hall is gorgeous in the display of Liby cut glass and Reed and Barton's designs in silver. The walls are mahogany paneled with plate glass mirrors and windows, the ceiling and frieze of special designs in oil painting with green and old ivory in bass relief. The four hundred and fifty-seven electric lights are so arranged that the softer lights are thrown on the paintings with stronger reflections on the tables and general outline. Glancing from the soft tinted ceiling to the tables with their glitter of silver and cut-glass, mahogany furniture, soft lace curtains and graceful tropical plants, the effect is one of har- mony and contrast which is rare, and marks the designer as an artist of high degree. The service is exclusively European. A tour through the kitchen shows an arrangement that is unique and convenient, solid glass ice chests and steam heated ovens, tiling floors and a spot- less cleanliness in every nook which is characteristic of the entire premises. The table ware is the product of the Oneida Pottery Company, of Syracuse, New York, designed especially for the Hartman. Private dining rooms for small parties are furnished in harmony with the main hall, the entire house being in Oriental effect complemented by evergreens in various shades in most engaging color effect. The bar is furnished with Liby cut-glass and plate glass mirrors, the furnishings of the room in leather upholstery. The most dis- tinctive Oriental feature is a porch ninety by eighteen feet extending over the Fourth Street entrance, floored with ornamental tiling and furnished with rockers and footrests, with pot flowers and palms in the midst. This is indeed a haven of rest to the tired com- mercial traveler and a delightful resort to the pleasure-seeking tourist. The entire building is steam heated, and from office to garret lacks no feature of completeness. The manager, M .. John G. Dun, is a native of Columbus, and eminently fitted for the place he fills. The increase in patronage, which has been phenomenal from the first, is due to his thorough knowledge of affairs and personal attention to every detail. The comfort and pleasure of every guest is anticipated and impartial courtesy shown to all. This is one of the hand- somest and most modern hotels in the State. Columbus is to be congratulated on having such an enterprising promoter as Dr. Hartman in its limits.
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