Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-06
Vanderbilt and Goelet.


Just before the meeting, when the re-
election of Mr.. Harahan was in doubt. it
is said, he sent word to Mr.. Fish. through
a brother officer of the road, that If Mr..
Fish would re-elect him he would be elect
ing a friend who would stand by him
through thick and thin"
Mr.. Harahan has since been won over by
the Harriman-Peabody combination with
the lure, it is said, of an offer of the pres
idency of the road. the plan being, as 1t is
now understood, to depose Mr.. Fish and
elect Mr.. Harahan in his place. Mr.. Hara-
han is sixty-five years old, and the age
limit for retirement on pension in the IL
linois Central is seventy, On being retired
as president the pension Mr.. Harahan
would receive would be much larger than
vice presidents pension.
In one way or another the Harriman-Pea-
body combination has won over Mr.. Van
derbilt and Mr.. Goelet. These with Mr..
Hartman, Mr.. Peabody, Mr.. Auchincloss,
Mr.. Luttgen and Mr.. Harahan gives them
seven of thirteen members of the board. 1t
is believed that John Jacob Aston. who has
hitherto been with Mr.. Fish, has also rang.
ed himself on the Hartman side. Fear oil
opposing such a powerful man as Mr.. Har-
riman whose record rs resourceful and
merciless fighter Is a genuine bugaboo in
the financial district, is said to be the rea-
son behind the assertions of Mr.. Fish, who
is a great, big, kindly man, innocent Of all
trickery and with hatred for the devices
OF the new school of high" financiers.
Combination May Weaken.
There is a possibility that the Hartman
Peabody combination will weaken at the
last moment and make no attempt to GUST
Mr.. Fish today, because Of the tremen-
dous opposition they have stirred up among
railroad and financial interests not directly
involved. Many men of Importance in the
financial affairs Of the nation got busy
yesterday when they learned of the Harri-
man move, and some OF them told him
and his associates plainly they were max
ing a serious mistake in forcing out man
who was the choice of fully rs per cent of
the stockholders of the company: Late In
the day a member of a banking house
made on behalf of E. H. Hartman, the fol-
lowing peculiar statement, designed to APP
pease these interests:
There is no contest for control. 1t Is
purely question of policy whether Mr.
Fish will be deposed or not. The controll-
ing interests may decide to retain him for
a time, and l hope that they do SO decide.
I think you will find that the affair has
blown over and that the majority party IN
the board also has controlling interest In
the stock
You cannot state too positively that
there is no personal animosity toward Mr.
Fish on the part of Mr.. Hartman. I do
not know what Mr.. Fish's feelings toward
Mr. Hartman may be. Mr.. Hartman is
animated by only one motive in the matter,
and that Is the pest interests OIL Doln rail-
roads concerned.
In the Interest Of the U. P.
There are two striking things about this
statement. The first Is the claim that Mr..
Hartman and his associates, chiefly Kuhn,
Loeb & Co. and the Standard Oil Company,
own a controlling interest in the stock of
the Illinois Central. The second is the
phrase, 1.-The best interests of both rail-
roads concerned" 1t has been charged
from the outset and always den.ed by Mr..
Hartman that he wanted to get Mr.. Fish
out for the purpose of making the Illinois
Central always an Independent road, a
subsidiary of his Union Pacific system. He
has always claimed that he was actuated
only by wishes for the welfare of the 1lli-
nois Central. His bankers, however, In
their statement admit that another rail-
road is involved.
Mr. Fish spent all day yesterday at his
office. II Broadway, New York, where the
directors meeting will be held at IL am.
today. He refused to say anything for
publication concerning the fight to GUST
him.
Mr. Fish has peculiar old-fashioned scru-
Piles against electioneering of any kind. He
has not even asked Mr.. Vanderbilt, Mr.. AS
tor, Mr. Goelet or any of the directors
whom he placed in the board to vote for
him. He refuses to campaign for himself,
should be left unhampered to exercise their
own judgments.
Friends who have urged him to at least
use his personal friendship against what
they turn the high finance tricks of the Har-
riman-Peabody combination, have been dis
couraged from repeating the suggestion. He
has told them If he Is going to be beaten
he will go down to defeat without violating
any of the principles which he holds should
govern clean American business methods.