Books in Brief: Robert R. Young, the Populist of Wall Street

ROBERT R. YOUNG, THE POPULIST OF WALL STREET, by Joseph Borkin (Harper & Row, $6.95).

Robert R. Young had roughly the effect on modern business of a chunk of sodium lobbed into a fairly placid pool. A contradictory man (an outspoken capitalist and a strong supporter of Senator Joe McCarthy, one of his close friends and business allies was Cyrus Eaton), Young’s corporate battles shook the rust loose from America’s largest railroads. From his taking control of the Alleghany Corporation in 1937 to the strug- — gles for the C & O and the Pullman Company to the Trojan War of twentieth-century proxy fights—the 1954 contest for the soul of the New York Central—Young revolutionized corporate warfare. Exploiting advertising, publicity and public relations like fireworks, he rallied the “Aunt Janes” and little shareholders to his fluttering standard. Young’s famous ad “A Hog Can Cross the Country Without — Changing Trains—But you can’t!” is a classic in the medium. This quite sympathetic biography suggests Young wanted power less for its own sake than to go full throttle on some of his own ideas to update and modernize the choo-choo. While this concept may be as foredoomed to failure as trying to bring back the Zeppelin, there is still gallantry in the attempt. Mr. Borkin—Young’s former lawyer— covers his subject well, especially the proxy fights. However—probably, wisely —he offers no explanation or reason for — Young’s sudden suicide in January 1968. Although seemingly designed for railroad buffs and financial buffs, the nature of Robert R. Young makes this a valuable book for people buffs as well.

JK

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Jack D. Kirwan

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ROBERT R. YOUNG, THE POPULIST OF WALL STREET, by Joseph Borkin (Harper & Row, $6.95).

Robert R. Young had roughly the effect on modern business of a chunk of sodium lobbed into a fairly placid pool. A contradictory man (an outspoken capitalist and a strong supporter of Senator Joe McCarthy, one of his close friends and business allies was Cyrus Eaton), Young’s corporate battles shook the rust loose from America’s largest railroads. From his taking control of the Alleghany Corporation in 1937 to the strug- — gles for the C & O and the Pullman Company to the Trojan War of twentieth-century proxy fights—the 1954 contest for the soul of the New York Central—Young revolutionized corporate warfare. Exploiting advertising, publicity and public relations like fireworks, he rallied the “Aunt Janes” and little shareholders to his fluttering standard. Young’s famous ad “A Hog Can Cross the Country Without — Changing Trains—But you can’t!” is a classic in the medium. This quite sympathetic biography suggests Young wanted power less for its own sake than to go full throttle on some of his own ideas to update and modernize the choo-choo. While this concept may be as foredoomed to failure as trying to bring back the Zeppelin, there is still gallantry in the attempt. Mr. Borkin—Young’s former lawyer— covers his subject well, especially the proxy fights. However—probably, wisely —he offers no explanation or reason for — Young’s sudden suicide in January 1968. Although seemingly designed for railroad buffs and financial buffs, the nature of Robert R. Young makes this a valuable book for people buffs as well.