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The club was actually a corporation responsible for maintaining the dam, of which Carnegie was a part owner. The other members were largely executives in or wit

• icebraining 10y ago
  From that link, he wasn't an original charter member, which means he didn't "bought a damn, turned it into a private sporting club", he just joined the club later on. And the club had 50 very wealthy people, of course they had ties with him. I have no problem finding him legally responsible, since I like giving shareholders skin in the game, but your accusation is factually unsupported and highly misleading.
  • alphonsegaston 10y ago
    Actually, it not. If you want the full account, you can read David McCullough's book about the Johnstown Flood Frick was essentially Carnegie's right-hand man, having been appointed to run Carnegie's businesses after he withdrew from their day to day operations to enjoy his wealth. The club was explicitly set up as a retreat for executives from Carnegie businesses or those with ties to them (it was informally known as "The Bosses Club"). Carnegie not being a charter member is immaterial, as it's simply an artifact of his slight remove from the day-to-day operations. He was certainly caught up in the suit that, were liability laws the same as they were today, Carnegie's business' would have been dragged down with him.
    • icebraining 10y ago
      Will read, thanks!