1930–31 Volume 55 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

Vol. LV, No. 4THE SCROLLPHI DELTA THETAthe Westinghouse Electric and ManufacturingCompany. People began toask, "Who is this man?" He wasn'tso well known to the country at large,but Pittsburgh knew him, and the wisdomof the Westinghouse organizationin picking a new leader after two yearsof search has been amply demonstratedby the results.Brother Robertson likes work.(Most successful men do.) To illus-.VNDREW W. ROBERTSONAllegheny, '05trate: his father, a Scotch stone mason,died when Andrew was three yearsold, the ninth of ten children. Thenext few years saw him shovelingsnow in winter, cutting grass in summer,driving a physician's horse, workingin a sawmill, farming, working ona steamboat, etc. Starting high schoolat the age of eighteen, he finished thefour-year course in two. He started to.Allegheny College with $65, an amountwhich wouldn't pay a month's expensesin many a college of today.College meant more work—runninga boarding house, writing newspaperitems, operating a bathhouse, sellingaluminum ware, conducting a refreshmentstand, and so on. After teachingfor a while, he attended law school inPittsburgh. This brought an additionalvariety of work—tutoring, runninga private boys' school, etc.After a limited law experienceBrother Robertson joined the GuaranteeTitle and Trust Company of Pittsburgh,first as title officer, then as trustofficer. Shortly afterward his corporationhorizon began to enlarge whenhe went with the Philadelphia Company,large street railway, gas, andelectric utility. Here his rise wassteady and rapid, with constantly increasedresponsibilities. Early in 1929he went to Westinghouse.A brief article precludes mention toBrother Robertson's many directoratesand other business connections. Theyare among the most important in thecountry. He is trustee of two colleges,active in Boy Scout work, aleader in the Pittsburgh and U. S.Chambers of Commerce, an enthusiasticsupporter of the Red Cross, etc.,etc. A true catholicity of interests.Behind every great accomplishmentis the shadow of an individual, accordingto Will H. Hays, Wabash, '00,and certainly Brother Hays' life is ashining example of the truth of hisstatement. His public career began asa precinct committeeman in Sullivan,Indiana, the home to which he is stillso loyal. He continued on the politicalpaths up through county and statechairmanships to the chairmanship ofthe Republican national committeefrom 1918 to 1921. Harding made himhis postmaster-general and he filledthis office for a year.His humanization of the postal serviceresulted in his being offered theposition as "czar" of the motion pictureindustry, the official title beingpresident of the Motion Picture Producersand Distributors of America,the giant co-ordinating agency for thislusty infant industry. Here his salaryis twice that of the President of theUnited States. Brother Hays' workhas resulted in vastly improved publicrelations, better internal working in theindustry, improvement in technique,etc.In Brother Hays, too, we find a varietyof interests which mark the[269]