Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1920 — AN INSIGHT INTO CHARACTER OF PRESIDENT KURRIE [ARTICLE]

AN INSIGHT INTO CHARACTER OF PRESIDENT KURRIE

“A very interesting man yester- 1 day honored The Telephone with a very interesting call—Harry Kurrie, president of the Monon railroad,*’ says the Bloomington Telephone. “As an Orange county lad, he worked from the ground up and he is a believer in what we are want to call the common man. As president of the Monon, one of the most valuable suggestions I ever carried out was made by a section man over at Midland,’ said Mr. Kurrie, ‘and I find that I get many good ideas from the day workmen in all departments of the road.’ ” “Though Mr. Kurrie has a big fine president’s car in which to ’travel, yet he prefers to go up and down the line like any other passenger and talk to all the employes on the train. It is not an uncommon sight to see him talking with the porter to get the ideas of passengers, as the average traveler expresses himself freely to the porter. Or he will have the brakeman and conductor tell of their troubles or what they think might be of benefit to the company. *The section men and the boys at the shops and real fellows . and often give me things to think about,’ Mr. Kurrie said, ‘and I have always had it understood that any man who works on the Monon in any capacity is free to wink into my office in Chicago, without introduction, and make his wants known without consulting any department head. I believe in my men and I want them to have confidence in me and the only way to bring that about is for both of us to be fair and frank and honest.’ ” “Mr. Kurrie was raised near Paoli, and he says he does not allow any one to be poorer than he was, so he knows what it is to fight for an existence. As a boy he was a printer’s devil and he worked at odd jobs about town. Later he came to Indiana university—still working to pay his way—graduated, became connected with the legal department of the Monon, and on up until his special ability resulted in his selection as president of the road.”