April, 1954 - Milwaukee Road Archive

M. L. Bluhm RetireSi Board Elects C. L. Taylor
WHEN The Milwaukee Road said farewell
at the end of March to M. 1.
Bluhm, vice president and general counsel,
it witnessed the closing of a career
which has been of particular significance
to this railroad. In his 32 years of service
Mr. Bluhm had an opportunity to engage
actively in all of the principal
branches of railroad law, and consequently
was in a position to make a
great contribution to the progress of the
railroad.
In leaving, however, he is succeeded
by Carson 1. Taylor, who has been general
solicitor and who himself has a
brilliant record of service with the Mil.
waukee. Succeeaing Mr. Taylor as general
solicitor, in turn, is a welcome newcomer
to The Milwaukee Road, William
J. Quinn, formerly with the Soo Line
as vice president and general counsel.
The board of directors' action in electing
Mr. Taylor and Mr. Quinn was taken
at the meeting on Mar. 10.
Mr. Bluhm Voices a
Retirement Philosophy
At a farewell luncheon given in Mr.
Bluhm's honor in Chicago on Mar. 18
and attended by all of the principal officers
of the railroad, he voiced a retirement
philosophy reflecting the same
10
C. L. Taylor
and W. J. Qui n n t 0 Law Posts
good-natured wisdom which has marked
his work for The Milwaukee Road.
"One of the respects in which men
differ most greatly," he observed, "is in
their reaction to this business of retiring.
Some look forward to it as an interesting
new career, while others go out
feeling that they have been done a great
injustice. I, personally, feel that a fellow
should look upon it as a challenging
assignment, just like any new joba
thing to be worked at and done well.
And I'm looking forward to it."
An informal luncheon was held in his
honor by the law department staff on
Mar. 25.
Mr. Bluhm has always been proud to
be: known as a native of Indiana. He
was born in Kendallville 65 years ago,
and took his Bachelor of Arts degree
from Indiana University in 1913. He
studied law at the University of Chicago
and was graduated from the law school
in 1917. During the first World War
he served as an ensign in the United
States Navy, and upon returning to
civilian life wel1t into private law prac.
tice in Chicago. He continued in private
practice until he entered the service of
The Milwaukee Road as assistant gen.
eral solicitor in 1922. In 1931 he was
advanced to the position of general attorney,
and 1° years later became gen-
W. J. Quinn
M. L. Bluhm
eral solicitor. He was elected general
counsel on Dec. 13, 1950, and was further
advanced to the position of vice
president on May 8, 1951.
Mr. Bluhm is a member of the American,
Illinois State and Chicago Bar
Associations, the Society of Trial Law.
yers, the American Judicature Society,
the Law and Tax Committees of the
A.A.R., and is currently cha'irman of the
Western Conference of Railway Counsel.
Commenting on his career, Mr.
Bluhm expressed himself as having
been extremely fortunate in the scope
of the law work in which he had en.
gaged. ."
"It has included not just a little bit,
but quite a lot, of almost everything",
he said. "Among other things, there has
been contract and personal injury work,
commerce matters, abandonments, equipment
trust matters, labor law, trial work,
tax and real estate matters." Having
been on the job during the two periods
of reorganization-1925 to 1928, and
1935 to 1945-he was called upon .to
do a great deal of work in that connection,
as welL
Aside from his intention to take a
few trips and have some fun, Mr. Bluhm
has no immediate plans for his retirement,
although he intends to keep busy.
Should retirement prove too inactive,
The Milwaukee Road Magazine