The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1905-05-30
EFFECT OF PEACE TREATY WITH
HARTMAN.
HE TAKES MERGERS PLACE
Now Controls Three Great Systems
Once Controlled by Northern
Securities Company.

New York, May 28.-The treaty OF
peace between the Hill and Hartman
interests has been formally signed.
1t amounts merely to an agreement
THAT the two warning interests of the
north will let one another alone and
west without any interference The
only tangible points of the agreement
are that the Clearwater extension will
ern Pacific and without any interfer-
ence from the Union Pacific interests
ON the southern end OF the exten-
sion; that Hartman will not make
amy effort to interfere with the Hill
administration of the Burlington and
the Northern Pacific, and that ]. ).
Hill will not invade the Hartman
territory or interfere with the traffic
OF the Oregon Short Line.
The situation is exactly as it was
before the trouble arose over the
Clearwater extension, and later ON
over the Northern Pacific. This agree
ment lasted from 1897, when the I'm
ion Pacific bought the Oregon lines,
until 1900. 1t was not really broken
until Mr.. Hill captured the Northern
Pacific in 1901. Mellen OF the North
ern Pacific raised the row over the
Clearwater line not J. j. Hill of the
Great Northern.
There is not to be any change in the
control of either the Burlington or
the Northern Pacific. Mr. Hill will
continue to use them i'm his general
operating scheme just as ne would
have under the Northern Securities
company. When the Hill-Morgan
forces call for proxies for the North
ern Pacific meetings they will get not
only the votes of their own people
but also the vote of the Hartman
stocks.
Victory For Hill.
The agreement is an entire victory
for the Hill forces.
| The aim and object of the govern
ment in the anti-merger suit has been
completely set at naught. Ii it really
was the aim of the government forces
under Philander G. Knox to destroy
the Hill monopoly of the northern
traffic routes the government has met
a direct and potential defeat. In point
of fact, Mr.. Hill is more and more
roads. In 1902 e. Fl. Hartman, Will
liam Rockefeller and James Stillman
sat ON the board of directors of the
Northern Pacific. Recently they have
been dropped and have been succeed
ed by representatives of the Hill in
lterest. The difference is a difference
of form. In 1902 a single corporation
held control of the three roads. In
1905 single man can do whatever
his soul desires with these roads.
lit lis a legal whitewashing OF the
Northern Securities merger.
Since the distribution of the assets
of the Northern Securities company
under the Hill plan every former
istockholder of the Great Northern
before the merger of 19O1-has now
become a stockholder OF Northern Pa
cifc as we'll. Therefore, he will get
dividends from both stocks. The sur
p,us revenues of the Northern Pacific
belong ito the same people who own
the surplus of the Great Northern
In other words-the owners OF the
Great Northern also own the Northern
Pacific.
All this lis with the approval anc
, the backing of the United States su
preme court. That court has not onl!
not assailed the right of J. ]. Hill t.
exercise these prerogatiVes, but ha'
expressly refused the attempt OF tn
Hartman forces to break into thi
) monopoly. Mr.. Hill is established Il
: his position not only by the unan
D NOUS vote of the stockholders OF th
4 Great Northern and Northern Pacific
: but also by the unanimous vote OF tn
n seven Judges of the supreme coul
$ of the United States. His positio
lseems impregnable,