El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-12
FRED HARVEY DEAD

FRED HARVEY DEAD
Frederick Harvey. capitalist and
,wner of the vast eating house and
dining car system of the Santa Fe road
after a lingering illness of several
wears. died at his home in Leaven-
worth. Kansas, Saturday afternoon,
leaving a wife, two sons and three
daughters
For years Mr.. Harvey has been a
sufferer from cancer of the intestines
and has travelled the world over for re-
lief but to no avail. Two years ago
he underwent an operation in London
which gave him temporary relief From
London he made tour of Europe and
then returned to the United States and
went to California He had just ar
rived home from that state one week
before he died.
Mr.. harvey was born in London in
1886 and in 1851 he came to the United
States. He worked at small wages in
New York until 1856 when he went to
St Louis where he opened up small
restaurant and there laid the fOUnda-
ton for the business of his future life
and acquired that knowledge which in
later years made his name known over
the country as the owner of the eating
house and dining car system of the
Santa Fe railroad. r~
In 1861 he left st. Louis and went to
work for the Missouri River Packet
company on a Missouri river steam
boat. where he remained four years
and then went to Leavenworth to work
for a railroad company. He worked
for several different companies and re-
eeived many promotions. While in the
employ of the Burlington road he OBJ
served the poor accommodations in the
of dini nO J.
ing public and forSaw the possibilities
of such a system as he in later years
brought to perfection. In 1876 with
another man he gained control of the
eating house of the Kansas Pacific at
Wallace Kansas. This modest little
hotel was the beginning of the vast
business he built up in later years. He
then began to get possession of other
eating houses and soon began to build
new ones along the line of the Santa
Fe.
In 1882 the business on the Santa Fe
became so good that he gave up all
he had on other roads and diSSOlving
partnership with the other man he
took entire control of the Santa Fe
eating house system. His energies
were always bent to the developments
and extension of the system and when
the Santa Fee put on the fast trains he
added dining cars to his system In
1896 he took charge of the eating house
along the ST. Louis and San Francisco.
line and recognized the system, OPP
Grating it as a part of the Santa Fe
system.
At the Tine of his death he owned I
forty-five hotels and twenty dining
cars. several fine farms and ranches
and was rated as worth nearly 81 ,000,- |
600.
In 1899 the Santa Fee company at /,
tempted to annul their contract with
Mr.. Harvey and he enjoined the COM i
pany from doing so. The legal battle |
that followed was a hot one and the |
railroad company finally gave up and
allowed him to go ahead.
Thousands and tens of thousands OF
the travelling public have for twenty
years known of the Harvey eating
houses. They are all along the lines of
the Santa Fee and are perfect GASES in
the desert to the traveller who fain
would devour a meal along the route
Without the accompaniment of cinders
md dust Proving popular on the San
a Fe other roads resorted to the eat
ng house plan and the Harvey circuit
vent down the Frisco line and to ter {;
ninaI points. They begin at the Dear
,orn street station in Chicago and in
he big union station at st. Louis and I
.xtend across to the Pacific.
Travellers have been heard in Ell L
,aso to say, Il like to travel on other
Dads as well as on the Santa Fe as i
ar as the travelling is concerned, but Z
go on the Santa Fee because of the I
uperior eating accommodations. II
THE MOVEMENT FOR CONSOLIDA- z
TION OF RAILROADS.
The consolidation and combination l
f western railroads during the past I
ew months is creating a great deal of t
in newspapers and among
abroad men. During the month of 6
more railroad consultations
ave been reported than for many
aonths previous. This has put rail- +
Dad men to thinking and it now looks Y
s if all the small roads are going into
and within q few years there
Vill be but few separate compenieS in t
he country. e
This was predicted by leading rail-
DAD men several years ago and these
cry men are effecting the conSolida- I
ions. 1t is only a natural consequence, y
lowever, as everything now has a
to consolidation. Small g,
abroad companies are forced by law I
nd necessity 20 have as many officials
s the large ones and in many cases
he small companies pay out more in =
That is easily explained" said a
oil known railroader yesterday.
Some time ago the western railroads a