The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-08
ILLINOIS CENTRAL AND FISH.
.1IRRIMAN HEAD HUNTERS OUT
AFTER THE PRESIDENT.

..,oopcement That They Have Been buy.
~ ing stock for the Next Election Taken
NTH Some Salt in Wall Street, which
xnoys That the Stock 10 Hard to Buy.
y n. Hartman, II became known yester-
a.v Ia prosecuting as energetically as pos
sIhls tho project to defeat Stuyvssant Fish
=. nresiden OF the Illinois Central conceived
vsar ago, after Mr.. Fish's stand for q
,horoueh renovation Of the affairs Of the
Mutual Life Insurance Company. Mr..
Hartman and President Peabody OF the
Mutual. both Of whom are directors OF the
Illinois Central, together with other .fnan-
osrs having the same grievance against
M, Fish. have for some time been buying
m stock, and though the amount Of their
holdines has not been disclosed, they have
snnarentlv made sufficient Roadway to
iustify themselves in coming out in the open
;or the first time since the project was born.
Yesterday there were sent to the Wall
street offices Of the newspapers statements
"A fayora BILE as the Street considers possible
10 the Hartman eide Of the controversy.
To a considerable extent these statements
came az a surprise, for great many had been
lad to believe that Mr.. Hartman would
defer his meditated contest for q year, in
yiev OF the indictment Of two officers Of the
Mutual and the criminal investigation
which District Attorney Jerome has not yet
completed. One Of these statements, dis
tibuted in typewriter form, was as follows:
Although the annual meeting Of the stock
holders of the Illinois Central Railroad Com
pany will not be held until October II. more
Than three months hence. there are unmistak-
" sk-A NhA-A -vtl h. N ANn fAat
for control. The first evidence upon this
point would seem to be contained In a brief
circular which has been addressed to the
stockholders Of the company by Mr.. Stuyve-
nnt Fish, not as president, but as an indi-
yldual. That IL, he does not sign the circular
a. president nor does he state that he sends 1t
out by authority Of his board OF directors.
There Is excellent authority for the statement
that the directors OF the company were not
consulted either formally or informally re-
earding the circular. A peculiar feature Of
the circular Is the following statement.
namely:
while no special meeting Of the stock
holders has been called, and II may be that
none will be called. yet In order to provide
, for such a contin gency In case 1t should arise.
{ and on the assumption that you may not be
able to attend L In person. you are requested to
kindly execute the enclosed proxy and to
; mail II. In the stamped envelope enclosed
= herewith. TO the secretary OF the company at
Chicago"
The inference drawn from this circular by
many OF those who have received II Is that
there Is a possibility that a special meeting Of
the stockholders for some purpose not yet an
nouncedma y be called on the usual thirty days
notice in advance OF the annual meeting In
October. Moreover. the request that the
proxy be mailed to the secretary Of the COM
psny. which request ia repeated In q notice at
the bottom Of the proxy. Is apparently intended
to convey the impression that the proxy Ia an
official one, that 10. one asked for by the pres
ent management As q matter OF fact the
proxy runs to Stuyvesant Fish or falling him
to John c. yelling, who is a director OF the
company and also first vice-president.
II Ia asserted by those In q position to know
the situation that the circular and proxy
together indicate a desire on Mr.. Fish's part
10 f~orestall not only any outside interests that
may attempt to contest his control or domino
ton of the Illinois Central Railroad Company,
but also to anticipate any action on the part
of certain Of the present directors who may
desire to continue themselves In office against
Mr.. Fish's wishes.
The entire proceeding is a most unusual one
for the reasons given. that Is the request
for the proxies so long before the annual
meeting, the reference to a possible special
meeting and the effort to convey the I'm
preston hat the proxy Ia In support OF the
present board OF directors, whereas. both
the circular and proxy are individual docu-
ments.
The prevailing impression In Wall street
Ia that tne party which Mr.. Fish is endeavor-
Ing to ~forestall Ia his old friend and associate
in the management of the Illinois Central
Railroad Company, E. II. Hartman. but a.
yet neither he nor his associates have given
any evidence OF activity In collecting proxies
or taking steps toward attacking MIR. Fish's
position. That the two men no longer main
tain cordial or harmonious relations Is well
known, but the split between them did not,
as many persons believe. begin with their
differences in life insurance matters last
winter. II dates back to the time that Mr..
Fish dropped his old time associate from the
board OF directors Of the railroad company.
without serving him any notice Of his inten-
ton to do so. It is stated by those in a
position to know that Mr.. Fish's holdings
Of Illinois Central stock are not very extensive.
while rumors have been current for q long
time that the 30 = called Hartman Union
Pacific party have been acquiring considera-
bic amounts Of ID for many months past.
II this should prove to be the case. the pros
poets should seem to be good for q pretty
lively contest at the annual meeting In October
or any special meeting that may be sprung
upon the stockholders before that date.
Neither Mr.. Hartman nor Mr.. Fish was
h his office yesterday. Officers OF the
Union Pacific, In MIR. Harriman's absence,
refused TO discuss the source OF the state
ment or to comment upon any OF the as
ertions made in It. ,
4We know nothing OF the Illinois Gem
trail they said. Better see Secretary
HackstaF OF that company. He can prob
ably tell you what you want to know
Though none OF the general officers. OF the
Illinois Central were TO be found, It was
stated by an associate Of President 'Fish's
that the criticisms OF his action were alb
Srd.
For twenty years. it was said. even
before ~Stuyvesant Fish vi president OF
the road, it has been the custom to send
out proxies at about this time. Sometimes
! has been two or three weeks later than
the proxies were mailed this year. but there
nss been no great variance. Invariably
proxies have been mailed at an earlier date
than has been the custom OF most other
railroad companies, for the very good
reason that Illinois Central Is held widely
by investors. many Of them In Europe. The
stock is not a speculative stock, but an in
restnent stock, and Mr.. Fish has done
wisely, both this year and in q SCORE OF
Previous wears. in giving to investors annie