Identifier: lifecharacterof00bake (find matches)
Title: Life and character of William Taylor Baker, president of the World's Columbian exposition and of the Chicago Board of trade
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Baker, Charles H. (Charles Hinckley), b. 1864
Subjects: Baker, William Taylor, 1841-1903 Electric power-plants
Publisher: New York, The Premier press
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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omething to dowith Fathers finally leaving McLean for good, forundoubtedly he would be as intensely serious in loveas he would be in business. How could he have lived in this little place for fiveyears, through the long cold snowbound winters andthe hot summers? I wondered at it when I lookedabout the store. He doubtless wondered at it toowhenever he lifted his head high enough to see howthe world was moving on, how great the country wasbecoming, and how big cities and towns were spring-ing up throughout the great unbounded West. Hewas getting to be a man and he was all aglow withan ambition to strike out for new fields. He grewinto the powers of young manhood and with it camea spirit of great unrest. The world seemed to beckon tohim to come on and match himself against all men. Hesaw that he was already all he could expect to be if heremained—he felt that boundless opportunity stoodbefore him if he went. He had the courage, thestrength, the ability and the indomitable spirit neces-
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AS A YOUTH IN GROTON AND McLEAN 39 sary for success. He had a good name and no money.He was fired with an ambition often expressed tomake his mark in the world. He was filled with thehighest hopes and he had fears of nothing. His wholenature was afire with the spirit of adventure, conquestand independence. Thus appointed, was he the one tostay in McLean ? Not he,—not in a thousand years!Leave there he would, and make his fortune in thefar West, and the time to do it was now, and nottomorrow. He talked much with the boys in the village, tryingto get some of them to go out West with him and seektheir fortunes with him, showing them how the oppor-tunities in the village were few and limited and thatit was not a place to tie to if one wanted to expandand grow with the progress of things in the world atlarge. There seems to have been no one with nerveor bravery enough to wish to follow him out into theworld, but he went nevertheless—alone, while theothers stayed and watche

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