The San Francisco call., 1903-12-04
GIVES NO HOPE
FOR DIVIDENDS
Hartman Says Subject
Is Not Proper One
to Discuss.
Railroad Magnate Is Proud of
Achievements Of His
Engineers.

1 4.
E. H. Hartman, president of the
Southern Pacific Company, accompa-
MED by party of friends, arrived from
Southern California in his private car
at an early hour yesterday morning,
and during his short stay in San Fran
cisco Will make his home at the Pacific
Union Club. Yesterday the railroad
magnate spent the greater part of the
day in the company's office comforting
with General Manager Kruttschnitt,
Chief Engineer Hood, Chief Counsel
Herrin and other prominent officials of
the corporation. How long President
Hartman expects to remain in this
city he would not state, and he ap-
/ peared equally diffident in furnishing
other information that the general pub
| lie might be concerned in.
AT 420-words- minute rate he dis
cussed the engineering achievement
which is to be known in railroad his
tory as the Lucin cutoff and prefaced
his remarks on other subjects with a
statement that he and his financial as
sociates in the big railroad enterprise
J 3
the last two years, and purposed now
to enjoy breathing spell.
When one stops for moment" he
remarked, to consider that this great
| piece of engineering work across the
Salt Lake was accomplished within
! eighteen months at a cost of many
millions of dollars he certainly will con-
cede that We performed a remarkable
feat and have cause to pause in our
plans for the further betterment of the
Southern Pacific Company's overland
route. In twenty-four months we have
left behind us not only the Lucin cut
off, but all the important work of re-
construction east of Reno. We will
now bide our time to determine the ex-
tent of the benefits that will accrue
from these successful engineering un-
dertakings."
MAGNATE'S FUTURE PLANS.
Asked whether the company would
soon take UP the work of building a
tunnel through the Sierras, Mr.. Harri-
man replied that the proposition 70
tunnel had been under consideration,
but no definite action had been taken.
Il have not yet seen the plans for
the proposed tunnel,,' he said, "and
have not had time 10 even give the
serious thought it probably deserves.
A query regarding the proposed
bridging of Carquinez Straits received
similar answer from the railroad
president, who, however, added that
both the tunnel and the bridge were
probabilities. He maintained, as he did
on the occasion of his former visit to
this city, that be knew nothing about
the plans for connecting line with
Eureka, and refused to discuss the
company's trouble across the bay rela-
tive to the renewal of it's Alameda fran
chise, explaining that the matter had
not been looked into by him, but would
probably be taken up by him during
his stay in the city.
CONCERNING DIVIDENDS. !
When the interviewer grew a bit
personal by guarded inquiry wheth-
er any definite date had been set for
holding the long deferred meeting of
the Southern Pacific directors and as
to the possibility of there being made
a change in the presidency of the
company, Mr.. Hartman answered the
first query with a serious Il haven't
given it a thought" and then taking
up the other relative to the selection
of a new head of the corporation he
exhibited one Of his best smiles as he
replied:
THAT can't say. 1t might be for
the good of the road. What do you
think of it?"
Since President Hartman started
on his Western trip New York finan-
ciers, among them James K. Edmond
son, a stockholder in the company,
have been publicly discussing the
probability of the Southern Pacific
Company paying no dividends for
some time to come and Edmondson
only recently volunteered the proph-
ecy that none would be paid until
1905 and that one would be paid dur
ing that year. 1t has been intimated
that it is the plan of the Southern Pa
cifc Company, when it refunds its
high rate bonds, the heavy expendi-
lures made by the company in the
way of improvements during the last
two years and which have been charg-
ed to earnings, will be adjusted in the
issuing of refunding bonds and that
in the end these improvements will
be capitalized as means of reim-
bursting the company's treasury. BY
capitalizing the improvements, which
are to be classed as permanent they
become chargeable to the capital ac-
count.
PRESIDENT Is EVASIvE.
Had an interviewer presented such
proposition to the late President !
Huntington for a suggestive answer,
that great financier would have i'm
mediately entered upon a discussion |
of mathematical problems that would |
have readily beWildered the average |