Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Legal Dept.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's Legal Department was formally established on May 3, 1869, replacing a loosely-structured system of counsels and solicitors hired on retainer. The company's first solicitor at Philadelphia, Job R. Tyson, was engaged on April 13, 1847. Solicitors at outlying points were appointed starting in 1854, and by 1896 there were eighty-one district solicitors located at various state capitals and county seats around the system.

The head of the Legal Department bore the title of General Solicitor (1869-1902), General Counsel (1902-1921), Vice President & General Counsel (1921-1932), General Counsel (1932-1946), Vice President-General Counsel (1946-1952), General Counsel (1952-1955), and Vice President & General Counsel (1955-1968). The incumbents have been: William J. Howard (1869-1877), John Scott (1877-1895), James A. Logan (1895-1902), George V. Massey (1902-1911), Francis I. Gowen (1912-1922), Clarence B. Heiserman (1922-1932), Henry Wolf Bikle (1932-1941), John Dickinson (1941-1952), and John B. Prizer (1952-1968).

The department's staff increased steadily from 1875 onward. Deed and title work was transferred to the Real Estate Department in 1884. A Bureau of Claims was established on July 1, 1906, to handle all work arising from death and injury claims filed against the company. During the period of federal control from July 1, 1918, to March 1, 1920, the General Counsel and District Solicitors handled corporate legal work, while the General Solicitor, Assistant Solicitors, and the Bureau of Claims were placed on the staff of the Federal Manager. With the eastern railroads' increasing dependence on the federal government after World War II, a Legal Department Assistant Vice President was stationed at Washington from 1951 to 1955 and from 1962 to 1968.

Throughout its history, the Legal Department was purely an advisory staff body reporting to the President (Board Chairman after April 1, 1964). It handled all legal disputes arising from the company's operations, drafted all official documents (e.g., charters, leases, deeds), provided legal advice and opinions to other officers, and coordinatd the company's appearance before regulatory agencies and other government bodies.

From the description of Records, 1855-1968, (bulk 1910-1950). (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122397633