Dr. Skrabec moved from a successful career in industrial management (at LSE/LTV Steel, Jessop Steel and National Steel) to serving as an Associate Professor of Business at the University of Findlay, OH, since 1998.

Skrabec has published over fifty articles on history, industrial history and business, and five books on business, industry and management. For twenty years Prof. Quentin Skrabec has been researching the history of America’s industrialization and the key figures who moved the process forward. Dr. Skrabec has published a series of biographies at Algora, followed by a broader study of the policies that have dealt such a blow to American industry in general. 

Skrabec is a native Pittsburgher with a strong background in the local stories and heroes.

George Westinghouse's story is rich in drama and in breadth, a story of power, city building, and applying the Golden Rule in business. His biography intersects with those of many great...

George Westinghouse's story is rich in drama and in breadth, a story of power, city building, and applying the Golden Rule in business. His biography intersects with those of many great personalities of the Gilded Age, such as J.P Morgan, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie, the Mellon Family, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Nikola Tesla. One of the most successful industrialists in America, George Westinghouse was a wizard who took a much different approach than Thomas Edison. Westinghouse became a manager of innovation. He was not only an inventor in his own right, but the orchestra leader of a symphony of ideas. Westinghouse developed the corporate model of invention and research. His innovations allowed Westinghouse to take the lead in electrical distribution. While Edison electrified New York City, the nation turned in favor of the AC current system of Westinghouse. He was a pioneer in pension plans and in planned communities for workers. His natural gas distribution system did more than Carnegie's capital to make Pittsburgh the Steel City. The panic of 1907 changed Westinghouse. It took the energy out of the industrial lion and resulted in a personal depression, which led to his death in1914. Samuel Gompers said that, 'if industry had been run by men like Westinghouse, there would have been no need for unions.'� Employees loved the gentle genius who worried about them routinely. Over 55,000 employees voluntarily collected money for a memorial to Westinghouse in 1955; this memorial would have been the one he cherished the most.

I first heard the details of George Westinghouse's amazing engineering career as a freshman in engineering at the University of Michigan. That may not seem too unusual, except I spent most of my early life going to school in the shadow of Westinghouse's Union Switch and Signal plant in Swissvale, Pennsylvania (a borough of Pittsburgh) and a few miles from the site of the Westinghouse mansion in Homewood. I had crossed the Westinghouse Bridge in the family car often on the way to the then new Monroeville Mall, without a thought of who or what it was named after. In fact, while I knew many people who worked at Westinghouse Air Brake and Westinghouse Electric, I didn't realize that 'Switch and Signal'� right down the street was a Westinghouse company. Pittsburgh was still a Carnegie town in the 1960s. The great mills, which still turned day to night with smoke and colored the night sky with a fiery aurora borealis, drew the youthful minds toward Carnegie. Stories of Carnegie and working at his great mills were part of the local urban legends. The Carnegie name was everywhere, on plaques, signs, libraries, museums, awards, stamped on millions of books, and part of the local lore. Carnegie was Pittsburgh. Every child soon had to ask his parents what or who is Carnegie? That question would trigger many stories. Of course, every child's rite of passage included a first trip to the Carnegie Museum in Oakland and its great dinosaurs, one of them even named after Carnegie. The Carnegie name was immediately associated with dinosaurs, millionaires, the steel plants that surrounded you, and libraries. Westinghouse was merely a company name or in those days an uninteresting household appliance. In the summer I visited the Carnegie museum and library almost weekly played in Frick Park, and gazed at many great bronze statues around Schenley Park and Oakland. I loved the history of Pittsburgh and knew all the local stops of George Washington and General Braddock. I went often to Philips Conservatory, the Allegheny Observatory, and all the local sites; I loved to ride the streetcars instead of the bus through the many old boroughs of Pittsburgh; went often with my grandfather to downtown Pittsburgh to hang out at old Fort Pitt; spent hours watching the many trains and the fiery mills operate. I had also spent many hours at the Buhl Planetarium, where as a youth I received an award from Werner Von Braun for building a small steam engine science project (my grandfather did most of the work). But I never visited the Westinghouse Memorial in Schenley Park, the site of the old Westinghouse mansion in Homewood, or the town of Wilmerding, until three years ago. The Westinghouse Memorial is not easy to get to. Since 1930, by-passes have been added and traffic in the Schenley Park area has increased. I visited on a Friday when employees of Carnegie Mellon University took up the only parking available, but it was worth the effort. I had wanted to write about Westinghouse since college, but there were an unusual amount of warnings. Francis Leupp, Westinghouse's first biographer, in 1918 warned that Westinghouse 'left behind him no dairies, no files of personal correspondence, and scarcely any other sources of supply on which the biographer . . . depends.'� His other biographer, Henry Prout, had the help of a committee in 1921, but still complained He left no written record except in the files of his numerous companies. He wrote almost no private letters. He kept no journals or even notebooks. He made but a few addresses and wrote few papers.'� Even more recently, in 2003, Jill Jonnes, author of Empires of Light, warned again of the lack of biographical material. Recently, however, historical material from the period has been digitalized, particularly at Pittsburgh's Heinz Historical Center, Cornell University, and Rutgers, and that offered a means to penetrate deeper. There had also been a renaissance in the writings and life of Nikola Tesla, which opened new material on Westinghouse. I had crossed Westinghouse many times in these massive digital files as I was writing my earlier book, The Boys of Braddock. The Westinghouse Museum had been formed in Wilmerding, and had some of the old Westinghouse Electric archives. Of course, the 'war of the currents'� had been well researched by a number of authors, which at least served as a base to build on. My own interest was to study the nature of the man, the social pioneer, the engineer, and the manager. There is no better place to start that quest than the Westinghouse Memorial. The Westinghouse Memorial was dedicated on October 6, 1930. The memorial was the result of voluntary donations of over sixty thousand employees of the many companies he founded. It was meant to be a reflection of the man they knew. Today it is a quiet spot surrounded by major roads for that section of Pittsburgh, but any visitor can feel the spirit of a great man. It is hard to believe it was once the site of the Pittsburgh Zoo. As you approach the Memorial, you first encounter a pond that forces you to look first from a distance of 20 yards or so. What appears is a youthful bronze statue looking a three wall panels. At first look, I must admit I didn't get it. I assumed the boy was a youthful George Westinghouse, which it is not. It is a youth looking at Westinghouse's accomplishments for inspiration, and that is the real point of the memorial. The youth looks on to three panels of granite and bronze. The dedication reads: George Westinghouse accomplished much of first importance to mankind through his ingenuity, persistence, courage, integrity, and leadership. By the invention of the air brake and automatic signaling devices he led the world in the development of applications for the promotion of speed, safety, and economy of transportation. By his early vision of the value of the alternating current electric system he brought about a revolution in the transmission of electric power. His achievements were great, his energy and enthusiasm boundless, and his character beyond reproach; a shining mark for the encouragement of American youth. Certainly, no one could put such statements of character on any of Westinghouse's contemporary industrialists. It would have been unlikely that Carnegie's employees would have ever erected a memorial or make such a statement of greatness, yet Carnegie remains the Jupiter of the industrial gods. While Westinghouse may have a lesser place in the Pantheon of Pittsburgh's Industrialists, his place in the hearts of his employees was unequaled. This is the first message you take away from this Schenley Park memorial. It may explain why the real enduring memorial to Westinghouse in the Pittsburgh area was the happiness of those who worked for his companies. This imprint that he left on his organizations had to be part of the story. The main wall had the famous picture of Westinghouse at his beloved drafting board, with an engineer and a worker on each side. The two sidewalls each had three of Westinghouse's accomplishments. No real surprises here. Its early morning and the temperature is already in the 80s, and it's a workday. I find myself alone with plenty of time to think about the project, and how to find a man that's been dead for almost a hundred years. I had already read the three main biographies of Westinghouse, but wanted more of the man that was reflected in his employees. Francis Leupp wrote his biography four years after Westinghouse's death in 1918. Leupp did an excellent job on the character of Westinghouse but let the technology for some 'future pen.'� In 1921 Henry Prout addressed the engineering feats from an engineer's perspective. Both men struggled with presentation. Westinghouse's life like the memorial was a story of major projects. His life was, however, a multitasked effort that meant much overlapping, besides the written record of Westinghouse's life appears as a series of project. A purely chronological approach could be just as confusing with the overlapping. Both Leupp and Prout opted to use a project approach, but since I wanted to emphasize the man, a more integrated story approach would be needed. The third biographer, I. E. Levine, had boiled Westinghouse's life down to an excellent story for youthful readers. The memorial offered more of the spiritual outline I was looking for. Here at the memorial we see the life of Westinghouse as seen through that of a schoolboy. The memorial was straightforward as well. Writers and biographers of Westinghouse can quickly be absorbed by the nature and difficulties of the electrical engineering, and then lose sight of the man. I realized this difficulty as an engineer and writer. I had studied (or really struggled) through electrical engineering at Michigan, and in my first assignment at National Steel, which was to improve a series of electrical steels. Yet, this was the world of George Westinghouse and it cannot be avoided. The main panel also has an engineer, which Westinghouse made a true professional. The engineer appears to be holding a degree. Westinghouse through not a graduate engineer became a major source of employment for graduate engineers. Westinghouse promoted the development of electrical engineering programs at Ohio State and the University of Michigan. He would hire the first woman electrical engineer. On the other side of Westinghouse is a worker (mechanic) with hammer in hand. The model for the worker was Thomas Campbell, who was at the memorial for the 90th anniversary of Westinghouse's birth in 1936. Campbell in 1936 was known as 'Westinghouse's oldest living employee'� having started with Westinghouse Air Brake in 1869. In 1936, he reported he had been receiving a monthly pension for six years, and he was living 'comfortably with my son.'� Mr. Campbell was living in a Wilmerding home, the company had helped him purchase and had a company life insurance plan. At the bottom of the main panel is a marble relief of a steam locomotive, which had launched Westinghouse's career. The side panels consisted of his six major accomplishments, but they seem secondary to the inspirational theme of the memorial for America's youth. The left panel first illustrated 'Railway Electrification,'� probably the lesser of the six, but in 1930, it still offered great potential. 'Steam-Electric Power,'� again, a technology that has morphed, but fundamental to the evolution of the industry. The steam turbine is still basic but the coal as a fuel is at least temporarily out. Next is 'Hydro-Electric Power,'� which Westinghouse pioneered at Niagara Falls, and remains key to the electric power industry today. The right panel highlights the 'Chicago World's Fair,'� which is an enduring part of Westinghouse's legacy. It was at Chicago in 1893 that AC current demonstrated its utility. Next is the 'Air Brake,'� for which he is probably best known. Finally, there is the brass plaque for 'Automatic Signaling Devices,'� another of his long remembered contribution. I loved the memorial, and make a pilgrimage to it with every trip to my hometown. This day I will follow the old 67-streetcar line, I had ridden so often as a kid. The great streetcar lines of Pittsburgh lasted into the 1980s, but are gone now. My next stop was a few miles away at the location of Westinghouse's mansion known as Solitude. Today it is a park with nothing of the mansion left except a stable house, which is used for offices. It is here that Westinghouse entertained presidents, princes, and famous scientists. Westinghouse's neighborhood has lost a lot of the magic of its former residents, such as Carnegie, the Mellon family, and Henry Clay Frick. The memories of the Glided Age can still be seen in some of the old mansions. Frick's mansion of Clayton has been restored, and it has the old spirit of the neighborhood. The stories of Westinghouse wiring Frick's mansion, Teddy Roosevelt's visit to the neighborhood, Frick and the Mellon art collecting, the weekend poker games of the neighborhood, and views of the Glided Age can be found here. Behind the mansion is one of the entrances to Pittsburgh's Frick Park, where I spent so much of my youth, and you can still get a sense of the rural setting where Westinghouse built Solitude. Frick Park still has a wonderful mix of trees and wildlife going back to an earlier era. It is difficult to find Westinghouse the man here, except in some of the great stories available at Clayton. A mile or so away, at the other end of Frick Park is Swissvale, home to Westinghouse's Switch and Signal. A block away from the old plant is my old grade school of St. Anselm. Swissvale is still dominated by its railroad tracks, which Westinghouse used to commute to his many east side plants, as well as start his journey to New York or Washington. Swissvale is a mix of new and old, but most of the old charm is gone. In Westinghouse's day it was a rural outpost of Pittsburgh, with some worker housing, he had started. Many of the buildings still reflect the dirt and grim of industrial Pittsburgh. Though Swissvale is well past its post-war industrial boom days, many of the streets have remnants of these better times. A few more miles and you arrive at Turtle Creek Valley and the towns of Pitcairn, Wilmerding, and East Pittsburgh. Here are the ancestral homes of Westinghouse Air Brake at Wilmerding, and Westinghouse Electric at East Pittsburgh. It is here that George Westinghouse is most missed. The close of so many plants in this valley and surrounding burghs is heart breaking for any American engineer. Only the 'Castle,'� now the Westinghouse Museum can revive you and bring memories of the great times of these valleys, but it is here in the archives that you can find the spirit of Westinghouse the man. It is here that a small glimmer of hope can be found in the legacy of Westinghouse. That hope will always be that some future Westinghouse will find their inspiration here. Finally, two hundred some miles away at Arlington Cemetery you get the last glance of Westinghouse the man in the simple tombstone. He is remembered here only as a naval officer. A future archeologist would find no evidence of his industrial achievements noted at his Schenley Park Memorial, yet it is here that you get an insight into the man. Today, I'm at the Westinghouse Memorial almost two years later, and thousands of hours of research later. Now there seems to be something missing. His employee relations, of course, but maybe this is represented by the fact this was an employee-donated memorial. Still, I would have included a plaque on his employee relations, which pioneered pensions, life insurance benefits, health care, good housing, and educational benefits. These are what his legacy in the workplace has been. Maybe the town of Wilmerding is in itself that memorial. Beside the on looking school boy, I would add the politician and executive of today. Westinghouse represents the model for striving in a global market. Westinghouse was a free trader, but one who has created more jobs for Pittsburgh then even Carnegie. He had plants the world over in cheaper labor markets, but his American operations grew at a faster rate. The secrets were invention, innovation, employee loyalty, respect for intellectual rights, and aggressive research and development. Maybe Westinghouse's resentment of industrial financiers, foresaw their role today as corporate managers. And just maybe we are missing the great industrial lions of the Glided Age in our struggle with globalization, these lions being the operating and engineering managers and employees, which have the innovative keys for our future. CHAPTER 1. THE PANIC OF 1907 Well, gentlemen, this only compels me to do something else.'� t started on a smoky and cold March morning in the Pittsburgh suburb of Homewood. The Westinghouse mansion porch was thick with the mill dust of the last 12 hours, and it would be a real challenge for the house staff to clean things up. Westinghouse had been up late working on the drawings of a new turbine engine to generate electricity in the den of his suburban mansion known as 'Solitude.'� This night, even his usual companion, his butler, had gone to bed leaving him alone with his wife's dog into the early morning. He would, however, rise routinely at six-thirty after five to six hours of sleep. The morning air had a strong smell of sulfur from the steel mills, which reflected prosperity in the region. Westinghouse Electric had been working at full capacity, and was about to record quarterly earnings, as were most of America's great corporations. The morning newspaper carried the news of significant spring flooding along the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers as Westinghouse readied to follow his daily routine of meeting the first shift at the plant. George Westinghouse's neighbor, Henry Frick had just received an urgent letter to come New York for an emergency meeting of the J. P. Morgan banking firm. Letters of concern continued to flow all day long (mail was delivered seven times a day in this influential Pittsburgh suburb) as he prepared to take the train to New York. J. P. Morgan, America's premier banker, had just left for an art-collecting trip to Europe. In the days prior to the Federal Reserve, the House of Morgan controlled America's financial well-being. Morgan, a few days earlier, had been in Washington to assure the then President Teddy Roosevelt of the strength of the American economy. Henry Frick had been a friend of Roosevelt, having had a visit by Roosevelt to Frick's Pittsburgh estate, even though, many believed Roosevelt to be the root cause of all the urgent calls to Frick on this day. Another attendee of this emergency meeting in New York was Jacob Schiff, major banker to the Union Pacific Railroad. Schiff had predicted financial problems a few months earlier, 'such a panic . . . as will make all previous panics looks like child's play.'� The stock market was falling rapidly that morning, and the Dow Jones average would lose 25% by month's end. The situation had reached crisis stage with little hope of stabilization. While the New York exchanges struggled, regional markets, such as Pittsburgh closed for lack of liquidity. Interest rates were spiraling out of control, as stock prices plummeted. It was becoming clear that this panic was more serious then the 'Rich Man's Panic'� of 1903. It would also be much different than the great 'Panic of 1893.'� This time the currency problem had international roots. Currency problems in Europe had already started a wave of gold hoarding. Even world markets, such as Japan, had a currency shortage. At the time only a few Americans realized what was taking place in the world's financial centers. This day, however, the word was slowly getting out. The New York bankers were starting to worry. Only a week ago Westinghouse had returned from New York, where he had discussed a major bond offering planned for the summer. Westinghouse was also preparing his stockholder speech for March 31, 1907, where he planned to announce a dividend of over two million dollars. To most of the nation, there was no hint of any banking problem on the horizon. These crises tended to start in small New York circles, moving in months to the average workingman in the industrial centers. On this March day, the first shock waves went out, and the sulfuric smell of prosperity would soon end in the Pittsburgh air. A few weeks later, Westinghouse was boarding his special Pullman car on the Pennsylvania Railroad for the ten-hour trip to New York. The Pullman car of Westinghouse consisted of a dining room, kitchen, sleeping quarters and office. The special car was named Glen Eyre and was always ready for a business trip. His journey would start from a tunnel at his mansion that went directly to the train station. His Pullman car, specially built for his comfort, included a drafting desk and engineering office. He had a drawing board in his Pullman for George still found relaxation in drawing and outlining mechanical devices. Westinghouse was a large man giving the appearance of a walrus with his Victorian mustache and long coat; he required specially designed chairs in his Pullman. He had designed his train car to be a home, and indeed, he sent many hours in that car. Westinghouse was a truly modern commuter, taking the train every day from his Pittsburgh home to his plants around the area and his downtown office. On winter weekends, he connected his Pullman car to a Pennsylvania express train and went to another home in Washington D.C., on summer, spring, and autumn weekends, his destination was his home in Lenox, Massachusetts. Most Monday mornings, his train took him to his New York office at 120 Broadway. He went abroad twice a year always visiting his office at the Westinghouse Building in London. The only comfort Westinghouse could find this day was the hiss of his own air brake system of the train. Certainly, that reminded him of a simpler time where he could get lost in his love of engineering. Westinghouse was making his first of many long trips to New York. This meeting would be with several New York bankers, including Morgan's firm, to look at a bond offering for Westinghouse Electric. One of the meetings would take place in Morgan's home library, where most the nation's financial decisions were made. He knew he faced an uphill struggle as the panic was now taking root in the late spring of 1907. The Pittsburgh banks were feeling the crisis and were reluctant to loan more to Westinghouse, who already owed them 9 million. Even the powerful Mellon family of Pittsburgh turned down Westinghouse's request for more credit. He had some friends in Mellon Bank, but the first shock wave had dried up all local capital available. Mellon Bank's failure to help is surrounded by rumors to this day. Westinghouse had refused to allow these Pittsburgh bankers to appoint a general manager as part of a financial deal back in the 1890s. The Pittsburgh bankers cited Westinghouse's liberal employment policies, which were far out of line with practices of the time. The Westinghouse's pension plans, disability insurance, housing aid, etc., caused concern both in Pittsburgh and New York. There was a rumor that Pittsburgh bankers wanted Westinghouse to fail because of bad blood going back to the 1890s. In 1893 Westinghouse had refused Pittsburgh because they wanted one of their associates on the board of directors. They had insulted Westinghouse as well, saying that he lacked spending control, and they even implied he was a poor businessman. Westinghouse lost his temper, reminiscent of his childhood, and stormed out of the Duquesne Club meeting of the Pittsburgh bankers. Westinghouse went to the New York bankers who were more than happy to get Westinghouse indebted to them. Andrew Mellon, the Dean of Pittsburgh bankers, never forgot how Westinghouse rejected his request and went to New York. It is interesting that Henry Clay Frick was a Morgan man and was in the 'Morgan library meetings'� that sealed Westinghouse's loss. Frick was one of the Mellon family's closest friends as well. Frick, was also a partner with Mellon in Pittsburgh National Bank, was also a neighbor and at least causal friend of Westinghouse. Westinghouse was one of a few friends including Andrew Mellon and Philander Knox (a lawyer for Carnegie Steel and secretary of State under President Taft) to be part of Frick's Pittsburgh card games. Westinghouse had also helped Frick convert his near-by mansion of Clayton to electricity. In the bitter personal and legal feud between Carnegie and Frick in the 1890s, Westinghouse had tried unsuccessfully to mediate a peace. Frick was not only a Morgan man, but also a director of Pittsburgh's Mellon National Bank. Frick was clearly in a position to save Westinghouse but did not. Frick was always a businessman and banker first. He like Morgan, believed in a corporate model of management while Westinghouse represented the paternal system. Even Carnegie's patriarchal system was preferable to the almost socialistic approach of Westinghouse. Westinghouse could only hope that the other New York banks would help as they did in the 1890s, but he was pessimistic. Westinghouse's strong opposition to the banking and corporate trusts of the day made him a liability and a target of big business interests. Westinghouse left no records and biographers of Frick, Westinghouse, Morgan, and Mellon all ignore Frick's role, but Frick could have made the difference ' that much is clear. Westinghouse had few friends among New York bankers, even though fifteen years earlier, they helped him out of a similar financial crisis. He now realized that the crisis had opened the door to more control of his company by bankers. Still, it was worth it to win the lighting contract for the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, years earlier. The event led to the use of AC current throughout the country versus DC current. Westinghouse had triumphed over the Morgan backed Edison Electric, but he had made many enemies in the process, including the dean of the New York bankers J. P. Morgan. Westinghouse had further provoked the anger of the New York bankers by his refusal to involve Westinghouse Electric in trusts and combines. Westinghouse opposed any type of trust as an obstruction of free competition. Even worse, Westinghouse was a supporter of Teddy Roosevelt's trust-busting policies. Westinghouse had even become outspoken on the topic, further enraging the New York financial barons. J. P. Morgan and other New York bankers had been unsuccessful at pulling Westinghouse into industrial combines and alliances. Westinghouse in particular had rebuffed Morgan in 1890 in an offer to control competition in the electrical industry by price and output agreements. Westinghouse wanted independence. What Westinghouse was opposed to would be revealed in the 1912 congressional Pujo Committee hearings. The findings of the Pujo Committee were unbelievable. The officers of the five largest New York banks held 341 directorships in 112 major corporations. Morgan related officers were on 72 company boards. Westinghouse Electric had been the notable exception to New York bankers' control of American industry.Westinghouse was an extremely profitable company; in fact, in 1907 it would report record profits. The problem was'¦

Introduction Chapter 1. The Panic of 1907 Chapter 2. In Search of Character Chapter 3. Railroad Inventor Chapter 4. Pittsburgh Industrialist Chapter 5. Victorian Engineer Chapter 6. Ameri

Introduction Chapter 1. The Panic of 1907 Chapter 2. In Search of Character Chapter 3. Railroad Inventor Chapter 4. Pittsburgh Industrialist Chapter 5. Victorian Engineer Chapter 6. American and International Industrialist Chapter 7. A New Interest Chapter 8. The War of the Currents Chapter 9. Westinghouse and the Tesla System Chapter 10. Westinghouse Goes to the Fair Chapter 11. Wilmerding, America's Company Town Chapter 12. Niagara's White Coal Chapter 13. East Pittsburgh Chapter 14. Duopoly Chapter 15. Industrial Diplomat Chapter 16. The Old Genius and His Employees Chapter 17. His Last Chapter Epilogue: Capitalism with a Heart ' A Futuristic Vision Biblography