The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-04-25
WHY HARTMAN
WILL NOT FIGHT
IN NO POSITION TO WAR
WITH HILL.
Great Northern's Financial Organiza-
ton Would Enable It to Break
Every Other Road Without Default
Ing in Interest Payments
Of Hill Declares There Will Be Peace
q on His Terms.
spacial to The Journal.

Special to The Journal.
New York, April 25.-As J. j. Hill
swung down Liberty street the other
day on his way from the ferry to his
the newsboys calling extras of the eve,
ming papers containing fearful and
wonderful accounts of the alleged
"great fghtD which was crumbling
the prices of Northern Securities, Union
Pacific and allied stocks.
What do you think Of it, Mr..
HlllY' he was asked.
of rot said Nj. HILL emo one is 60
ing to stop you. It is not even respect
able felton,
tails of the Tight were shown him,
covering the alleged plans of e. II.
Hartman to build thru line to the
coast between the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific, Mr.. Hill smiled
grimly: ~.
"It looks interesting, but it would
be too EXPENSIVE was all that he
would say. ..@. ..-.
The exact way in which it would be
too expensive is the subject matter Of
| the following remarks, from one of the
closest associates Of J. J. Hill and one
list of large holders of Northern secu-
rites stock, recently published:
If war of that kind broke out, the
Milwaukee and the Northwestern
would be up against it in three years
and the Union Pacific would be itself
| on the verge, carrying two, or perhaps
three, bankrupt railroads on its books
to break out. The reason is that old
man Hill has got the railroads of the
great northwest by the tail, and they
| know it.
"The Great Northern was built
across the continent on the lowest pos
sible grades and at the lowest possible
cost; It was built, on the stock; not
bonds and the stocks were the rake
off. That is the reason that the Great
! Northern could cut it's annual net earn
ings to $5,000,000 and still be solvent.
If you cut down the freight earnings
Of the Union Pacific 40 per cent-that
is enough to meet the cut possible on
the Great Northern without causing
not earn its charges by over $3,000,00O
q year. With a similar reduction, the
| Milwaukee and the North Western
would run $5,000,000 behind fixed
charges every year.
Hill Holds the Key. 49,.
"Figure as you please Oh the bound
less credit and power of the Union Pa
cific, in the end it comes to this, that
J. j. Hill has in his hands the key to
the northwestern railroad situation
Mr.. Hartman may rave in his disap'
pointment over his defeat in the inva,
sion Of Hill territory. I do not be,
lieve that either Mr.. Hartman or the
bankers who have stood behind him
and to whom he owes so much of his
power, will dare to lift hand to pre-
cipitate again the state of affairs that
landed The Union Pacific in the re-
Ownership Of 1898. IT, So mi
"There is not going to be war in
the northwest. There is going, to b
peace-and the kind Of peace that J
j. Hill and j. P. Morgan say that there
will be. A month from now it will
be known across this continent that
there is peace. These alleged fights
arise out of market conditions. After
it is all over there will probably be
Encouragement of the situation uE
north, but it will take "a form moi
looked for anywhere. It will be split
in one party-not split between two
parties. Also-it won't hurt Hill
When it is all over you will note that
old man Hill is still the biggest rail
road man west of the Mississippi river
if not west Of the Atlantic.'