INITIATIVE AND LEADERSHIP 363The first person I met was V. L. Hornor, who was then cashier of
the Lumberport Bank. In a rather loud tone of voice I asked of him,
"Why do you not get that trolley line extended from the junction over
to Lumberport so your friends can get in and out of town without
drowning in mud?"
"Did you see a river with high banks, at the edge of town, as you
came in?" he asked. I replied that I had seen it. "Well;' he continued,
"that's the reason we have no streetcars running into town. The cost
of a bridge would be about $ 100,000 and that is more than the com-
pany owning the trolley line is willing to invest. We have been trying
for ten years to get them to build a line into town:'
"Trying!" I exploded. "How hard have you tried?"
"We have offered them every inducement we could afford, such
as free right of way from the junction into the town, and free use of
the streets, but that bridge is the stumbling block. They simply will
not stand the expense. Claim they cannot afford such an expense for
the small amount of revenue they would receive from the three-mile
extension."
Then the Law of Success philosophy began to come to my rescue!
I asked Mr. Hornor if he would take a walk over to the river with
me, that we might look at the spot that was causing so much incon-
venience. He said he would be glad to do so.
When we got to the river I began to take inventory of everything in
sight. I observed that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks ran up and
down the river banks, on both sides of the river, and that the county road
crossed the river on a rickety wooden bridge, both approaches to which
were over several strands of railroad track, as the railroad company had
its switching yards at that point.
While we were standing there, a freight train blocked the crossing
and several teams of horses stopped on both sides of the train, waiting
for an opportunity to get through. The train kept the road blocked for
about twenty-five minutes.