Omaha daily bee., 1902-06-05
VIEWS OF A RAILROAD MAGNATE
Significant era of MT. Harri-
man at Omaha.
cincinnati Commercial- Gazette.

man at Omaha.
Cincinnati Commercial-Gazette
Railway Magnate Hartman. in an Omaha
interview, sees the passing of the day of
pools, mergers and combines. "other con-
ditlons are coming to take their places and
the principal will be the GENERALIZATION of
ownership" said Mr.. Hartman, and the
greater and the lesser railway magnates
with him said amen to their chief. The
difficulty which Mr.. Hartman sees in the
present situation Of railway affairs is in
the hostility Of legislatures hostility not
visible to the naked eye of the ordinary.
all around ~citizen-and he insisted that
railway legislation should be based on lines
Of aid, instead of hostility. for, said Mr..
Hartman, 'the railroad man is in better
position to know what railroads need than
legislatures generally" There has been
no overwhelming amount Of suffering OBJ
servable on the part OF the great railways
in making their wants known to legisla-
lures, but that railway men know what
they want-and generally get it-there
isn't the slightest ground on which to
base a dispute.
The statement of Mr.. Hartman. outlining
a new and important move by the great
railways, received additional strength from
the conference which followed between
himself. President ]. j. Hill Of the Northern
Pacific, President Hughitt Of the Chicago &
| Northwestern system and other ~oficials
holding high positions in the railway world.
| II is important in view Of the recent state
ment OF President Hill OF his belief that
the suit against the Northern Securities
company would be decided in favor OF the
| government and against the magnates in
terested in the attempted merger. 1t is
most important in the fact that II means
that railway magnates instead OF mere con-
troll OF the great runk lines and all their
connections, are aiming at absolute owner
ship-a scheme only to be accomplished
by wrecking processes, In which the smaller
stockholders will get the worst OF lit
they get ~anything-and that what compel
ing companies may not do, under the law,
by mergers they may do because OF one
| common ownership.
II legislatures will not come down TO
| the demands of railways, the railways will
rise above legislatures and congress. II
they are to be disturbed in their schemes,
no matter Of what character, they will et-
feet a change of present ownerships and
take a short cut to a merger which, they
believe, will be congress and Legislature
proof. The railways are big things, but II
they persist in running risks with legls-
latiye and judicial buzzsaws, they are likely
to come to grief in a run that will not be
SO very long. The Ohio republican plat
form takes the right view of just such
propositions as that Of Mr.. Hartman. II
recognizes the necessity Of cooperation "a
meet new conditions in the industrial
world, but all combinations that stinS
competition and control prices, limit pro
| a..tN.. - unHulu inrFaaRa nFnnta mr. va mea
especially when they raise the prices Of the
necessaries Of life, are opposed to public
policy and should be repressed by a strong
hand."
And Uncle Sans hand Is muscular.