Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-11-28
GREAT RAIL WAY MERGER
49, 49, IA fst
Leaders and L ieurenants II.
the Northwest Settlement
PERSONALITY VALUED FACTOR
Culaae Features OF ta~ NeEot4aiiSn~
From Which the NGrthera >e~Grt-
ties Company Was Eara-fari Act
cd nv Nar.au-I.itT.e sleep Ter the
ston.

ed b, Morgau-iitt;e sleep Ter the
vorLer.-uasnitud OF the opera
,son.
IL is regarded rs within honuds &c
say that tht. Successful formation OF a
company To take over the control % the
Northern Pacific. the Great Northern
and the Burlington railways sur.
mounts the most difficult problem ever
presented 10 American financial inter
ests. writes correspondent of the New
York Post This is not because of the
extent OF the capital involved. great rs
this is bur rather because OF the pc
culiariy delicate character Of the prob
lens presented and the necessity OF
eonciliating powerful and aggressive
and seemingly irreconcilahie interests
Personality has counted for much at
every stage OF the long drawn out
quarrel IL was question of the per-
sonaIity OF MIR Hill which was largely
responsible for the opening OF the guar
rel 1t was the aggressive personality
of f. IL. Hartman of the Union Pa
elite which brought the quarrel TO
bead although II does not appear that
he. originated The plan OF buying CON
for the Burlington purchase Mr. ia
col, Il Schitf's conservatism AMI peace
fun characteristics were chiefly respon-
si,le for forcing the truce upon the
younger participants in the contest and
in holding the quarreling elements I'D
check when passions ran high. Final
ly the tombstone of success. which
might otherwise have been wanting.
was found in the character and reputa-
tion for "Reminiscences of j. Pier
pont Morgan. These four men were
The principals In the organization. the
men whose agreement was essential 10
the successful formation of the com
pany But probably no other corpora
ton. not even the United States Steel
corporation. required SO much consu'ta-
ton. the agreement of so many men.
such numerous conferences or so much
activity among all the principals.
The organization of the United States
Steel corporation was virtually accom-
plisbed in the office of j p Morgan 4
Co Everybody in interest came TO Mr..
Morgan All deferred in the end 10 his
word He carried the trust through by
the force IF his own character. He
was ahead ef everybody else-pushins
clerks. Ste. u"a lawyers and bankers
in the w.ik fhe greatest lawyers OF
New York t..,.u spent days in his office.
lie would tell them that he wanted
such and such n matter put into legal
shape In few hours he would ask
for the result of their work or bring
new ideas 10 them TO work over. They
were always begging bin for time. In
organizing the Northern Securities
company Mr. Morgan has been less
positive factor Instead of being the
aetuntfng force he has in much of the
negotiations been a sort of umpire. ap-
pealed to when the factions could not
agree This is his position as actually
fixed under certain of the agreements
finally reached
If Mr. Hill had not once opposed the
formation of proprietary company TO
hold Great Northern and the Northern /
Pacific he might possibly have con-
trolled the latter from its last reorgani- /
cation When Brayton Ives. then pres
ident of the Northern Pacific and t
chairman of the stock holders commit /
tee. opposed Mr. Hill's Berlin agree +
ment with the Deutsche bank for the /
Great Northern railway to guarantee
Northern Pacific certain fixed t
amount of net earnings. Mr. Hill re- I
fused to agree to the plan of pro +
prietary company 1t did not require +
an adverse court decree on the Great {
Northern gtlara ntee to kill that plan +
fter the newspapers of the day IN +
nonnced that MIR Hill Informed .
Messrs Adams Morgan and others in
tcrpsted with them that the third COM
ptny plan did. not appeal TO him and
that he bad decided to stand upon his
original proposition He is now presi-
dent aud the dominant interest in such
n third company and after six years
pas secured the result he then sought
by the mean he then rejected This
shows Mr. Hiil's noted pertinacity and
his readiness TO shift his ground to
gain his ends
MIR 4fH remained in New York fully
a month working ont the settlement of
the prot.fem Scarcely a day in that
time passed without several confer
enceS aud in almost all of these Mr.
Hill was the central figure. The gene
sis of rh., Mort bern Securities company.
unIike that of most large corporations.
was not III any fixed committee room.
Office. or definite location Most of the
meetings were in the office of j. T.
Morgan * Co. nut Mr. Hill IN the past
month has been hurrying from one
office to another There was no time in
many instances for office conferences
The usual spectacle was Frequently
seen of AIR Hill and Mr. Bacon of } T.
Morgan X Co and later Mr.. Perkins OF
the same firm comforting in corner
Of the entrance TO some office building
down town. when there was no time TO
go 10 the office of either and some point
bad TO bs settled immediately
In a sense rhe yeoman work of the
negoria lions. working out of the details
undt.r discussion ny rie Iarirlr.iraa fell