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43

The other New Haven man who was very active on this study was W. P. Libby, Jr. Bill Libby was one of the New Haven's "bright young men" and I heard more than one predict that Bill would probably wind up as president of the railroad-- and this I believed because he was an exceptionally brilliant and at the same time, seemingly extremely normal young man. I liked Bill immensely, we had a fine rapport, and we had many good times together over the next six or eight years including a visit to his family home in Plymouth where I met his parents and sisters, all of whom were top-layer New Englanders and perfectly charming people. Bill was a bachelor in 1934 and stationed in New Haven as part of a course of sprouts which was to move him around to various spots and in different assignments. I suppose Bill was five or so years younger than I but we seemed to have a lot in common and enjoyed each other's company. Bill was a graduate of Harvard or MIT as I recall. After completing the 0361-0366 job in 1938 and getting off the New Haven account, I lost touch with Bill largely only to reestablish it in Boston around 1939 and 1940 when I spent so much time there on the Boston & Maine work and Bill was stationed there. He'd recently married and I met his wife and we all had some good times together--this is all my time in my diary of the period. Then the war came on and I got off the New England assignments and again got out of touch with Bill. And then out of a clear sky, in the early 40s sometime, I heard that Bill had committed suicide by shooting himself in the basement of his home. It was one of the most shocking things in my experience. I was unable to learn the cause of his depression. From everything I knew about him, he seemed to have everything to live for. Recently, I queried Phil Hatch about it and, while it was all pretty hazy in his mind, he thought it had something to do with Bill's job--he let it get him down. Of course, the New Haven went through hell awhile and Phil himself was a victim, leaving the railroad and taking a job with us at Erie--in my marketing operation as a matter of fact. Later he went back into railroading with the Long Island. I gathered from Phil that in the New Haven upheaval, when the railroad got kicked around by Wall Street and alien management was injected at the top, Bill became morbid about both the railroad, which he loved, as well as his own position in its future, and it was too much for him. But, of all the great guys I've known, Bill was one of the best in all respects and I am still mystified how such an eminently normal young man from everything I'd every been able to observe, could get so low that he'd take his own life, and in his thirties, I'd judge. So this was the working partner I had in making the study and we had one hell of a lot of fun doing the work together. It was my first diesel study and report and I was told that even the tough H. L. Andrews praised it and said it was the "first real job" that everyone had done in this area. I think I was recommended for a Coffin Award for it but it wasn't approved.