Walker Downer Hines (February 2, 1870 – January 14, 1934) was an American
railroad executive and second
Director General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...
of the
United States Railroad Administration.
Biography
Hines was born February 2, 1870, in
Russellville, Kentucky, the son of James Madison Hines and Mary Walker Downer.
Ogden College
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...
, graduated 1888.
University of Virginia, graduated 1891.
In 1886, aged sixteen, he became
stenographer for the
Circuit Court of
Warren County. In 1890 he became secretary to the assistant chief attorney of the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...
at
Louisville, Kentucky. He was appointed assistant attorney after graduating law school, assistant chief attorney in 1897.
He married Alice Clymer Macfarlane in 1900, they had one child.
He was promoted to vice-president of the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...
in 1901. Hines spent nearly ten years fighting railroad regulation in state and federal courts.
In 1906 he joined
Cravath, Henderson and de Gersdoff in
New York City, becoming a partner in 1907. He was with the firm for seven more years.
Hines joined the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as
general counsel, was made chair of the executive committee in 1908 and
chairman of the board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
in 1916.
In December, 1917, President
Woodrow Wilson nationalized most U.S. railroads under the
United States Railroad Administration.
William G. McAdoo was made director general, Hines agreed to become assistant director general. McAdoo resigned in January, 1919, and Hines stepped in as director general for the remainder of nationalization under the Railroad Administration, which ended on March 1, 1920.
Following the end of
World War I, Hines worked and traveled extensively in
Europe.
In the latter half of the 1920s, Hines was a director of the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
, a director of its subsidiary, the
Colorado and Southern Railway, general counsel of one of its parent companies, the
Great Northern Railway, and a partner in Hines, Rearick, Dorr, Travis and Marshall, which specialized in railroad law.
Hines died of a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
in
Merano, Italy
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...
on January 14, 1934.
Other service
Vice-president,
New York City Bar Association;
League of Nations.
Publications
* Hines, Walker D. ''Report on Danube Navigation for the League of Nations.'' 1925.
* Hines, Walker D. ''War History of the American Railroads.'' 1928.
See also
*
List of railroad executives
This is a list of railroad executives, defined as those who are presidents and chief executive officers of railroad and railway systems worldwide.
A
* Abbot, Edwin H. (1834–1927), WC −1890
* Adams, Charles Francis, Jr. (1835–1915), ...
References
Further reading
* William R. Doezema, "Walter D. Hines," in ''Railroads in the Age of Regulation, 1900-1980'', ed. Keith L. Bryant Jr., a volume of the Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography (1988), pp. 201–12.
* Robert T. Swaine, ''The Cravath Firm and Its Predecessors, 1819-1947'', vol. 2 (3 vols., 1946–1948).
"Tells of Railroad Needs" ''
The New York Times'', October 5, 1916
"A Railroad Man Attacks the Commerce Commission" ''
The New York Times'', February 3, 1902
* Grasty, Charles H
"One Man Diplomacy" ''
The New York Times'', July 30, 1922
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Walker Downer
1870 births
1934 deaths
People from Russellville, Kentucky
University of Virginia alumni
Kentucky lawyers
American railroad executives
New York (state) lawyers
Western Kentucky University alumni
Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky
Businesspeople from New York City
United States Railroad Administration
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway people
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad people
Great Northern Railway (U.S.)
Cravath, Swaine & Moore partners