The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1904-11-14
Railroad News


in the transcontlnental railroad sitda-
tion A special dispatch from New
York to the Oregonian of Portland
says
A serious attempt is now being
made, subrosa. to break the monopoly
which L. u. Hartman has obtained
in transcontinentals The history Of
,he past thirty days has brought
thinas to a point beyond which they
cannot 20 without an open rupture
between George Gould and the Rock
Islsn6 interests on the one hand. and
the Harnman interests on the other
WITHIN these thirty Gays # has seen
OFFICIALLY announced bat r H. Harri.
man has obtained working control
Of the San Pedro route, and big
voice in the affaiis OF the Santa Fo
The mere fact that no Hartman rep
resentatives have gone ON the board
OF the Santa Fe means nothing at all.
Victor Morawetl the chairman of the
board dictates the policy Of that road
and e Il Hartman dictates the policy
of Victor Morawetz
The statement credited to F. r Rin.
ley. president Of the road, that CON
troll Is 70 stay in the present form is
a grim joke He knows what the
present form is. II is not the same as
- t....Itfr ,.,ptle oUp
There are eight routes to the Pacific
coast from the central west OF these
Hartman has voice in the control Of
six Four he controls outright. and
in two he is powerful. The Little
Wizard OF Pine Street" has made n
practical corner in transcontinentals.
Il has taken him years He has fought
and beaten one railroad power after
another TO do IT,
Nov, as his health fails. as he Is
still engaged in his great fight for one
OF the traascon;inentals against the
one foe that ever really thwarted him.
.he old enemies gather to the attack
again. George Could, Rock Island,
FRISCO. st PAU. the vandeibilts-
shey arc all IN the array
Years ago Mr. Hartman conceived
his gigantic scheme He began by the
purchase of Union Pacific from the
English tcndhulders From that he
gradually bought the other railroads
IN. In night he ccnsmmated the
famous deal that shcok the financial
world TO is foundations the purchase
Of Southern Pacific from the Hunting
ton interests That cave him Two
Iranseontlnental routes, one via El
Paso, the second via ogden Southern
and Central Pacific were in his hands
Prior to that deal, in the late sos.
he had acquired the control of Oregon
Short Line aud IF Oregon Railroad &
Navigation This gave him the third
route to the Pacific. He had by Jan.
uary 1902. acquired the control of a
route that let him INTO the traffic of
The north tapping the Columbia river
trade and the Oriental trade at Port
iand. and two other routes to souh
ern points. reaching the fertile and
wealthy valleys and cities OF Southern
California and OF the Gulf
He had the great bulk Of the Orient.
al and raeihc coast trade IN his hands
at that date lie owned Pacific Mail
He owned steamship lines to Gulf
ports. He had half completed his
great conquest Of the western half Of
this union.
In 1871 came the master struggle.
lie bid for and nearly bought l3uriint
ION, because he deemed It plausible
that this was TO be now iranseonti-
mental 10 the northern ports BY that
sime Puget Sound had come mp and
was bidding for traffic Then came
the master stroke. whereby he hoped
end intended TO lay the entire western
coast at once al his mercy and to as.
sumo a position from which he could
dictate half the commerce Of the Unit.
ed States lie Did for Northern Pa,
ciic.
lie vert IL against he mightiest
railroad potentatos OF the day. } J.
ain and T. Morgan both al the
zenith Of their power In the open
market he bought control Of the North
ern Pacific his fourth tronscontinent,
al This feat brings the history 10
modern times, as Wall street und,r
stands he term,
Here ne met what looked like his
Waterloo and may be so. hin aud
Morgan took the control away by re
tiring the preferred stock Hartman
was beaten for the first ana last time