The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-05-15
THE HARTMAN BANQUET.
Startling Speech Made by General
W. II. l.. Barnes.
WAS HE JOKING OR IN EARNEsTl
The Audience Knew Not What to Think
and the Generals Remarks Caused
a Lot OF Guessing to Be Done.

At a dinner given at San Francisco last
week to Mr.. L. II. Hartman. president
Of the Southern Pacific. a speech was made
By General w. H. l.. Barnes, which the
San Francisco Bulletin says startled the
audience and caused them to wonder
whether the humor did not conceal satire
and whether the wltticisms were not half
Joke and all earnest also that there
were times when the hearers laughed at
jokes that seemed to be on themselves" Is
1t possible that there was any satire or
eyity in such serious words as these?
Mr.. Hartman, you have been welcomed
by these commercial organizations to Calf
fornla, but, sir, you do not know quite what
that welcome means 1t means, sir. that
ii you conduct your road according 20 the
wishes Of these organizations. or If you
allow them to conduct it for you'll you
allow them to regulate fares aud frcights,
| II you give them the rebates and conces-
sions they demand, il you place yourself
| in their hands to be dealt with as they
| will-you viii be Il much loved man. But
| II, tremendously you attempt to manage
/ the road in your own way and for tine
/ benefit Of the corporation, If You are deaf
| to the advice or these commercial gen
tlemeu, IL were better for you that ynu
/ had never been borni These commercial
! bOulFS now so toiNldl VIII nave tuplE way
| with you and yours, for you Will never
! learn the heights or the depths of a Cali
| fOruia traders desires or demands until
| experience has taught you that which you
| can never learn from traffic laws and
/ transportation tables.
we have press in California-as YOU
| may Ike TO- know-a free, omuisclcnt omnt
! present and omnipotcut press whose office
is 10 run the world and whose principal
virtue Is that charity which covereth q
multitude Of sins. Patience, milduess aud
NH. HFHfH ILL.,.
| charity, and the sermon on the Mount sup
plies the editorial texts for that press
| But II you do not allow the press of Cali
| toInla to manage your road. II yuu persist
railroads than does an editor you had byt
ter never have seen this city, for yuul
of the city bal, and you viii bc hoisteC
hguer on tine journalistic gibhet than wa
| HAmau ~ old.
Mr. Hartman, you have madc a slow
progress through California. and have in
spected. for the hrst tlme, the route OF the
southern Pacific company. You have seel
more Of the state than many Of us AM
no doubt have formed high Impressions @
, It's productive capacity. And what yo
have not seen has no doubt been toll
You by the modest and difhdcnt Califoy
nian-never so modest and difhdcnt "a
when speaking Of what we Californian
have been and are You have heard Of tn
Yosemite valley-we scoopcd 10 ont, of TN
lofty mountanS-ve huilded them; of tn
= ! Washington Gigantfa. whose froudcnt top
t were staring al the sun when solomon wa
baby-we planted them! and Of the hahn
| climate, which is but the breath of tn
California noStrils
We made this State. we placed it wher
1t Us on the map, We poured the paciu
ocean about IT, we shaped It's hays an
,, gave Its rivers their courses. we archie
the bright blue sky above it-yes. we did
=. for we are great people and not who'll
unconscious of our greatness.
y on know OF our products. You know
too, perhaps, " the orange groves e.
- tending from san Diego tn Butte Of IA
citrns and decidnous fruits already so ubui
dant That your equipment Is inadcquat
~ 10 transport them TO a hungry Eastern ma
ket. OF vast farm, ~ the edible grains
~ woods primcvHl and untouched los the u
OF the woodmau but | wonder II YOU huN
= heard of that other forest where the Ca
=. tornla knucker tree grows. the CHlitoUu
- hammer Fruit tack hammer sizes for MT
men and trip hammers for the big ones
tree whose fruit is as handy as the hluan
and cocoauut are 10 the South Sea isllnt
- erS and which Is In all our hands or u
onr sleeves II YOU have mot vet mae
acquaintance with this essentially CaNfn
MIA product, you Will do so before Won an
through with us or we are through wiz
l. You. This evening is a forctastc Of n
millennium which is not vet to be Her
are none but glad hands and honeycd word
"A hut / am sorry 10 say that there Will b.
" sooner or later. a dreadful next morning
. | perhaps many Of them before the tnousau
" years Of prophetic peace IAN on the rfgl
~ of way of your California railways"