The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-04-10
STANDARD OIL IS
THE NEW FACTOR
1t is the Power That influences
Union Pacific
HARTMAN WENT TO SLEEP
When He Started in to Buy Stock He
Found That RockefeIers Had
Drained Market-Wall
Street Gossip.
BY w. G. NICHOLAS.

New York, April 9-The mysterious new
interest in Union Pacific has been defi-
nitely located at 26 Broadway. When
that designation is given it means Stand
ard Oil, for 26 Broadway is the diree-
tory number of the mammoth stone and
steel pile which is the Rockefeller head
quarters. This new interest is not large
enough to give majority control of the
Union Pacific, but 1t is sufficiently for
mdable to entitle it to a very influ-
entail voice in the policy of the great cor
poration. Incidentally also 1t puts the
Union Pacific into closer alliance with
the Gould properties west of the Miss
issippi George Gould and Mr.. Harri-
man were at one time very close, but
| latterly their paths have been somewhat
divergent. Mr.. Hartman found 1t to
| his advantage to tie up to the Kuhn,
Loeb banking house and Mr.. Gould de-
voted himself exclusively to the cultiva-
tion Of the Rockefeller family. 1t would
appear now that Gould and Hartman
are to be brought together again. There
! has never been any estrangement-only
a gradual pulling apart, a perceptible
reduction in temperature SO to speak.
| Incidentally also the Rockefellers by
reason Of their heavy buying into I'm
| ion Pacific encroach further upon the
| northwestern territory over which James
j. I1ll has been for so long the undis
| puted transportation king. The Rookie
fellers have for several years last past
controlled st. Paul, and now with the
hold which is given them upon Northern
! Pacific by reason of their investment
| In Ifpin rH becomes
a really important factor in that section
of the country
| Gradually inside facts are coming out
| explanatory of the recent tremendous
activity and strong advance in Union Pa
| cific. The story is one which greatly
amuses the big people of Wall street,
! although the public has not yet been
let fully into the half secret.
| 1t appears that the Hartman party
had greatly reduced its holdings of I'M
ion Pacific at higher levels feeling con-
fident of being able to buy back cheaply
and having no fear of losing control.
| Washington advices were such as to con-
vince the Hartman people that the SUI
preme court would hand down adj
verse decision in the merger case and 1t
was the expectation that on the atten-
| dant weak market there would be oceans
| Oh Union racine certlIlcdleS on SAFE,
Others were of the same mind and
having an inking of the Hartman plan
| got the start of him. They were busy
while Hartman slept Quitely and for
weeks they took all Union Pacific offer
| ings, absorbing the surplus ski1ifully and
| in such manner as not to disturb
| things. The result was that when Mr..
Hartman started in to buy back his
stock he found the market well drained.
| The Rockefellers had not yet obtained
| all they wanted, however and there en-
sued spirited competition between Har-
riman and the Standard Oil forces I'm
ion Pacific was marked up 10 points du-
| ring the progress of the contest and the
! whole financial world was puzzled as
TO the meaning of the enormous buying
which was apparent. Among the the
cries advanced to explain the riddle
was one that Morgan and Hill were
buying the control away from Mr.. Har-
riman. Another was that the Rock Is
land crowd were buying into Union Pa
cific. Another attributed the purchases
to the St. Paul railroad direct Still
others put the Vanderbilts in and revived
the old story of a trans-continental line
under Vanderbiltian control This latter
theory is still chung to tenaciously in
some usually well informed quarters.
Mr. Hartman and his Kuhn Loeb al
lies were not on safe ground until I'm
ion Pacific stock had advanced to 80.
When they finally got enough stock to
re-establish their position firmly to In
sure them against being summary over
thrown by the standard OIL party from
the activity or their campaign ana not
until then. lt Is SAID IN the street that
they had to buy In the open market not
less than 4500o shares, or SfoU0ooo par
value. Some estimates make the flgures
$50 600, Oo0
The one thing certain Is that Mr.. Har-
riman inadvertently left his great rail-
road out of doors over night and 1t
suayed away into the WOODS. When ne
started to recover the strayed properly
he found others trying to capture IL.
His position was not unlike that OF Mr.
Belmont just prior to that gentleman's
loss of control or Louisville and Nash
ville-the time John w. Gates captured
the property and held 1t Tor ransom
The important difference between the
two cases Is that Mr.. Hartman discov-
cred his danger before the game was ir-
retrieVaply LOST Inc pehel Is strongly
entertained IN banking quarters close 10
Union Pacific