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THE ATL ANTI AN 13 WILLIAM THOMAS GENTRY Made Vice-President Association Telephone Pioneers SOMETHING ABOUT HIM No man in all our section lias built up a greater reputation, nor one based upon a more solid foundation, than lias Colonel W. T. Gentry, president of the Southern Hell Telephone Company, and a leading citizen of Atlanta. Colonel Gentry was horn in the little Virginia town of Gordons- ville—was a keen, wiry, active hoy, very much interested in all boyish sports, hut not blessed with great physical strength; early in life he had the misfortune to lose an arm—so in addition to his lack of physical strength, he was handicapped by that casualty. lie became a telegraph operator, and drifted to the little town of Alexandria, Virginia, where, while performing his duties as an operator, he came in touch, some thirty years ago, with the telephone business. He took the management of a small exchange, in what was then an infant business and, in a brief space of time, so thor oughly grasped the merits of the proposition and so well handled his little district, that he was sent to Atlanta and put in charge of the little station which then—something more than twenty-five years ago—was a very small affair. Colonel Gentry possesses the ability to make friends, both for himself and his company, and he rapidly popularized his service in Atlanta. The town grew like Jonah’s gourd, and the telephone ex change grew with it—indeed, it may be said that the telephone exchange grew faster than the town, for Colonel Gentry did not overlook any point in the game. Within eight years after he came to Atlanta he was made assistant district superintendent of the division, which included Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida. In 1897 he was promoted to general superintendent of construction of all the work covering seven states. In 1899 he was appointed district superintendent for the territory, embracing Georgia, Florida and Alabama, with headquarters in Atlanta. In 1901 he was elected general manager. In 190.3 lie was made a mem ber of the board of directors, elected vice president of the company and continued to discharge the duties of general manager. In 1907, owing to the tremendous increase of business, a new arrangement became necessary, and J. Epps Brown became general manager of the company—Colonel Gentry remaining as vice president. Two years later Colonel Gentry was elected president of the company. He has, therefore, literally worked up from the ranks, and owes nothing to favoritism or influence. He was one of the first men in tin business to see the tremendous possibilities of it, and to predict for it a great future. As some evidence of their appreciation of his work, the Associa tion of Telephone Pioneers, a national organization, has recently made him vice president of that society. It is simply justice to say that he has had more to do with the building up of this tremendous Southern enterprise than any other one man, and the Southern Hell Telephone Company has never been open to the charge, which lies against so many public service cor porations, of watering its stocks in order to hide the amount ot its earnings. Colonel Gentry has seen the little struggling company grow into a gigantic corporation with $30,000,000 capital and 6,000 employees. In the Atlanta office alone, some six or seven hundred people are employed, and their pay-roll in Atlanta will probably reach a million dollars yearly. Every city of any importance, within his district, has a handsome exchange building which belongs to the company. The number of its subscribers runs into colossal figures—their lines penetrate into every nook and corner of the South, and today the 1 fWWWWWWVWWA/WVWWWUWftJVWWWW/VWWWXA/WtA/WA* I Something Real For Christmas! W HEN it is really Christmas time, you will be glad that you remembered. It is—of course—because you will be glad, that we remind you that we have more beautiful things that fit in with the giving spirit than you would guess. For instance, you have not imagined the complete charm of THE MARK CROSS LEATHER NOVELTIES The real charm produced by this combination of beauty and service. BATHROBES, SMOKING JACKETS AND DRESSING GOWNS CHRISTMAS SLIPPERS, ^ e e n \ W eZTe, 23 what about handsome ties and silk sox for the men on your list ? Give us a Christmas visit—real soon. You’ll be glad —we’ll be glad too. GEO. MUSE CLOTHING COMPANY | fWWWVWWX/WVWWUVWWmAIWWWWWWX/VX/WWVN/VWXJ I man in Atlanta can sit down in his office and talk over the telephone line with the man in Washington. The farm business has not been overlooked, and in every direction throughout Colonel Gentry’s territory, farmers are no longer iso lated, but are kept in close touch with the world and its markets by reason of their telephone lines. Colonel Gentry’s ambition is to have a telephone in every farm house in the seven Southern States where his company operates. Under his kindly but masterly hand the company has always kept in close touch with the public, and maintained with it the most friendly relations. 11c is a believer in the widest publicity. The Southern Hell Telephone Company is one of the great public s. rvice corporations which never has undertaken to do business in a secretive way—it is ready to respond at any time to any proper demand for information; indeed, it may be said that it seeks publicity. The ideal to which Colonel Gentry has always worked is perfect service. Naturally, in this world of imperfect people, he will never attain his ideal—but, at least, he does all that any man can do in that direction, and no employee of his great company is allowed to be other than absolutely courteous to everyone coming in contact with the business. It does not make any difference from what angle he is judged, W T. Gentry has made a success of his life; the business entrusted to him has been served with fidelity and has prospered. In his personal relations, lie is one of the most kindly of men; he has an army of friends, measured—it may be said—by bis acquaintance. Ilis employees are loyal to a man, recognizing that their superior, though just, knows how to temper justice with mercy, and leans always in the direction of mercy. As a citizen, Colonel Gentry sets an example of good citizenship—he stands for good morals, for I honest public service, for justice as between man and man and in governmental affairs. Commencing life with a frail physique, lie has worked out results that would be creditable to both a physical and mental giant.