Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-10-18
FISH AND HARTMAN INTERESTS CLASH
Former Accuses Latter of Trying to Tie
Line to Union Pacific.
INssTs ON REMAIKNG MDtPLNDENI
Vote, fraCt cslly All of the 5teot fol
Directors Of His Choice.
HABRiMAN PROXIES ARE CAST BY HIN
William Nelson Cromwell Accuses
Fish of Breaking Faith md
Insists Hartman, stiiI Has
Control OF Board.

Control of Board.
CHICAGO, Oct 1T.--The fight for the coh.
troll Of the Illinois Central Railroad COM
pany waxed hot today. Stuyvesant Fish.
president OF the road. and William Nelson
Cromwell, representing f. II. Hartman.
president OF the Union and Southern Pa
cihc, clashed openly before 80 stockholders
who had come from various parts OF the
country TO attend the meeting. On the
face Of the record MIR. Fish appears TO have
! been the victor, but that the result Is not
| final one is insinuated by Mr.. Cromwell.
The representative of Mr. Hartman said;
| OF a directory OF thirteen people there
are still seven members who have placed
| themselves on record in opposition to AIr.
! Fish in this contest. There will he a meet-
| ing of the board, probably in November.
| This board viii elect the officers of the
railroad You can draw your own conclu-
| sions"
The clash between Mcsvrs Hartman and
! Fish was waged over an agreement dated
July 2. 1906, and signed by stuyvesant
| Fish. Charles A. Peabody and L. IL. Harri-
man. In June Mr. Fish had begun the colt
lection of proxies for general use at ths
meeting held today. lie states an effort
|
proxies through Kuhn. Loeb II Co. ON
July Is Mr.. Peabody introduced rcsou-
tion at meeting Of the board of directors
| that a committee of the directory be APP
! pointed to collect proxies. However, on
| July q Messrs. Fish, Peabody and Harri-
! man entered into an agreement as follows:
Three outgoing directors to be reelected;
Mr.. Grinnelrs successor to be selected by
| a majority of the several directors acting;
! Mr.. Peabody's resolution Of July lS 10 be
withdrawn and not TO be revived this year:
! Mr.. Hartman will ask the Hartman
! huhh-Loeb proxies be given to Mr.. Fish.
Statements of Rivals.
w. Morton Grnnell, member of the
board of directors, had died during the
year. Mr.. Fish asserts that the Hartman
faction agreed that Mr.. GrinncIrs success
sor should be a man whose presence I'm the
| directory would not be nlmical TO the in
| dependence of the Illinois Central and
would be acceptable TO Mr.. Fish. Henry
DE Forest. director of the Southern Pa
cihc of which Mr.. Hartman is president
and one of counsel for Mr. Hartman. was
named In ~ pctilioT signed by MI f4arri-
4 uat anr slx othcr airectors to ixuccaed Mr..
Grinnell By-reason of his Southern Pacific
Affiliations MFR. De Forest was not accepta-
bic to Mr., FISH Mr. Cromwell declares
i that under the agreement Mr.. Fish was
hound 10 accept Mr.. De Forest and TO cast
bofh his own and the Hartman proxies for
him. .
AT today's meeting Mr.. Fish. after for
maly being called upon by Mr. Cromwell
to cast the proxies In favor OF De Forest,
arose and declared with great emphasis:
81 will never under any circumstances
vote for Mr.. De Forest -
Mr.. Fish thereupon placed James Dewitt
Cutting of New York in nomination. He
then cast a total of 6l37O3 shares for Cut
ting. Mr.. Cromwell a matter of record
voted 200 shares against Cutting and later
cast them for DE Forest. who he had pla ced
in nomination. Mr.. Cutting was thereupon
declared formally elected to fill out the
unexpired term OF Mr.. Grinnell which II
two years. Charles NJ Beach. j. T. Hara-
han and Cornelius Vandebit, whose terms
had expired, were reelected without oppo-
sition. Mr. Fish gave his proxies to Mr.
Harahan despite the fact that the latter
had signed the Hartman petition in favor
of De Forest just before the meeting
Position OF Fish.
. | At 10 O'Clock this morning a perfunctory
meeting OF the board of directors was held
at which 1t was stated only routine busl-
ness was transacted. At noon the stock
holders meeting was called to order by
Mr.. Fish amidst expectant silence Mr.
Fish stated his side OF the controversy in
a prepared statement, which was In part
as follows
For the first time ! am called upon In
behalf OF the stockholders to Withstand a
| forctble and organized effort to change the
policy OF the company and in the interest
il over to those who control another rail-
road system. For a year or more past IL
those connected with the manaeement OF
the Union Pacific system OF railroads have
been purchasing shares of the Illinois Cen
/ During the month Of June last / sent out
as has been my custom for many years
= past. notices TO each and every stockholder
of record of the time and place OF the
annual meeting, with request for n
proxy, for which form of proxy / this
year for the reasons above stated. omit.
; ted the name of Mr. T.. H. Hartman pre- al
dent of the Union Pacific Railroad COM
pany.
Mr.. Fish then went on tell OF the di-
rectors meeting OF July IS, at which Mr..
Peabody offered his resolution that COM
mittee consisting OF Messrs. Astor,
AucheRclOss. Goelet, Luttgen and Van
derbilt be appointed to collect proxies for
the next meeting and the committee 70
have discretion to consult counsel on any
legal questions that might arise
r This forced me to lay before the di-
{ rectors then present In plain terms that
Mr. Peabody's motion appeared 10 be an
: attempt by such of the directors as were
] also directors OF the Union Pacific TO
e turn the control OF the Illinois Central
over to the control OF those controlling
! the former company AS is we'll known,
T the directors Of the Illinois Central COM
A pany, who are also directors of the Union
Pacific company. are r.. II. Hartman,
/ Charles a. Peabody and Robert Walton
Cioelet, each Of whom WAS present at said
meeting the total attendance at which
consisted of seven directors including
, myself In view Of the lack Of notice
and the smallness of the attendance I
then stated 10 the board that saw
> al .agI, ha a MIA fa1x
through a pane of glass, and being un-
' ! willing TO be a party to IT, would leave
4 the meeting and break the quorum, which
| / then did
Mr. Fish having concluded his state-
Z ment Mr Cromwell then presented a
Y written demand that Mr. Fish vote his