James E. Homans, editor

“ Above the shock and gloom which struck the civilized world when the steamship “Titanic” foundered in the ice-strewn North Atlantic, there arose a feeling of joy and pride that there were still men who rose to high ideals of manhood and chivalry, men who were tried mercilessly and without warning, and who bore those trials with a supreme courage and chivalry such as had lent a deathless glory to the golden age of knighthood. “As a man lives, so he dies,” and as George D. Widener lived he died — bravely, conscientiously, unselfishly, and nobly. ”

“ Later, he became manager of his father's great traction interests. The ability with which he managed the business played an important part in the history of the Philadelphia street railway system. Like his father, he was of the constructive type, a builder rather than a financier. He never handled railroads for stock market purposes. His conception of the duties of a railroad man included the improvement of his properties in accordance with the most modern ideas in traction, and the building of new lines where they seemed needed. ”