“Of late years Mr. Plant has been giving much of his attention to the acquisition of railroad properties, and in admirable continuance of his previous record, he has crowned this undertaking with splendid success. He is virtually master and largely owner of the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway, and likewise of the Charleston and Savannah Railway. This gives him a direct and popular line from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida. He has also made various branches from his main line, penetrating the principal districts of Florida, and by this wise railroad building has done far more than can be computed or told, toward that marvellous development of Florida which has been accomplished within the last ten years. Mr. Plant was truly a pioneer in this praiseworthy work, and there is probably no man who deserves more than he does the grateful acknowledgements of the Florida people, as well as the hearty gratitude of the countless thousands who have gone from all other sections of the country to enjoy the healing benefits of that curative climate, and the sweet restfulness of that floral dreamland. “The Plant Investment Co., of which Mr. H. B. Plant is the head, and in which he has associated with him several sagacious millionaires, is a powerful corporation which was organized for co-operative investment in valuable southern railroad properties and advantageous control of the same. This company is managed with exceptional ability, and by its vast acquisitions and extensions, has become a great power in the railroad world, and is rapidly accumulating for its stockholders untold wealth. This Investment Company is practically controlled by Mr. Plant, and its entire policy is shaped by his judgment. One of his latest enterprises, under the auspices of the Investment Company, is the establishment of a fast line of steamers from Tampa, Florida, to Cuba. At Tampa, Mr. Plant has extended one of his railroads out to deep water, and thereby made it an excellent port for even heavy draught ships. The whole of Florida bears the impress of his energy, enterprise, and wisdom. “Mr. Plant’s home is New York City, where he has a palatial residence on Fifth avenue, and luxurious business quarters at No. 12 West 23d street. Whenever a man amasses a fortune he naturally drifts into Wall Street, the financial centre of America. Mr. Plant is a conspicuous exception to this rule. He rarely treads the narrow golden street leading from Trinity Church to East River. There is no speculative element in his nature. He is conservative to the last degree, and works on no plan that is not founded on reason and justified by a positive trend from cause to effect. He has all the vigor and alertness usually to be found in a man of fifty years of age. He is keenly alive to all the possibilities of affairs that come under his observation, and quick to determine any question that is presented to him.