The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-11-08
Fish is OuSted and Haahan is Advanced to Presidency of
 the Illinois Central
QUESTION OF VERACITY
 IS RAISED AT MEETING
Harahan Is Great Friend of the South and His Rise From a Day Laborer to His Present Position
 Shows His Worth.

New York, November By the elec- ton today of J. T. Harahan as president of the Illinois Central Railroad company to succeed Stuyvesant Fish, 1t is be- lleved that E. II. Hartman has at last realized the fulflment of his plan to con- trol a railroad line from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
 In this great plan the Illinois Central was the one link missing to complete a line of track from New York to San Francisco, and Portland Ore. from tho great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the gulf to the Pacific again. Until within a few months eastern terminals of the Hartman system were at Kansas City, Omaha and New Orleans. The first important step in the direction of secur- ing the desired outlet on the Atlantic sea- board for the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroad is believed to have been taken by Mr. Hartman several weeks ago, when 1t was reported that one of the roads under his control had taken over control of the Baltimore and Ohio by purchasing a block of 40000 shares of the Baltimore and Ohio company, which was sold by the Pennsylvania Railroad company. This would give Mir. Hartman a route from Chicago and St. Louis to Baltimore and New York.
 Connect the Two Terminals.
 To complete the ambitious proposition for continuous line from ocean to ocean 1t was necessary only to connect the west ern terminals of the Baltimore and Ohio with the eastern terminals of the South ern Pacific and Union Pacific, and this purpose the Illinois Central serves amply It's line from Omaha to Chicago ties to- gether the Union Pacific and Baltimore and Ohio, while the Illinois Central branch from Chicago to New Orleans gives the Southern Pacific entrance into Chicago and the seaboard.
 Taken together this railway system when unified. puts under one control more than 23,OO0 miles of track capitalized at more than s1,7OO,OooOOo.
 Harahan Elected President.
 James T. Harahan. vice president of the Illinois Central, was elected president of the company at meeting of the board of directors in this city by vote of eight to nothing the adherents of President Stuyvesant Fish not voting. The meeting is reported to have been a stormy one. The directors who voted for MT. Harahan were John Jacob Astor, J. w. Auchin cioss, Robert w. Goelet James T. Hara- han. E. H. Hartman Walter Luttgen. Charles A. Peabody and Cornelius van- derblt. The following directors did not vote for Stuyvesant Fish Charles NJ. Beach, J. Dewitt Cutting and Charles s. fftt.. offcio member of the board. John c. Welling, another director, was not pres ent owing to illness. No successor to Mir. Harahan was chosen. but the other off, ficers of the company. whose terms ex- pired. were reelected by q vote of ten to nothing. Messrs. Fish and Beach not voting.
 Directors Write Fish a Letter.
 Shortly before the meeting the eight directors who voted for MT. Harahan sent q letter to President Fish, giving their reasons for refusing to vote for his re- election. The letter declared that in June last, without consulting the other mem- bers of the board of directors. Mir Fish issued a circular to the stockholders re- questing proxies for the annual election At the next meeting of the board 1t was declared Mr. Peabody offered a resolution that a committee of directors. including Messrs. Astor. Auchincloss. Goelet, Lutt- gen and Vanderbilt, be appointed to re- quire proxies from stockholders for the annual meeting. It was declared that MT. Fish defeated such action by leaving the room and breaking a quorum. The board then adjourned. and durng the following week if was declared Messrs. Fish Pea body and Hartman signed agreement that the successor 10 W. Morton Grinnel be selected by a majority of the directors. that MT. Peabody's resolutions be with drawn and not revived. and that Mir liar rman asked that the Hartman Kuhn Loeb proxies be given to MT. Fish.
 This agreement is said to have been made to secure peace and provided that MT Fish was to vote all the proxies. The letter continued follows:
 All Proxies Delivered.
 At the meeting held immediately after the signature of the paper, Mir. Pea body withdrew his motion, all proxies which could be controlled were subse- quently delivered to you, and you were relied on to carry out this agreement We feel warranted in saying that but for the agreement a proxy committee would have been appointed by the board which would have obtained a majority of proxies and you would have been In consider able minority.
 Shortly before the annual meeting Messrs Auchincloss. Goetlet. Harahan, Hartman, Luttgen. Peabody and Van derbilt majority of the directors noti- fled you in writing of the selection of Mir Henry W. Deforest as successor to Mr. Grinnel in strict conformity with the agreement and requested that the proxies in your hands be cast for him as agreed by you. which you absolutely refused to do. and instead used the proxies to elect your personal nominee. You were not satisfied to decline to vote for