The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-22
Railroad Circles Greatly Stir
red Over His Recent Coup
In Purchase of B. & o. Stock
Will Soon Own a Line of
Ry. From Coast to Coast.
"TRIP Of MILITARY BAND
TO EUROPE FALLS THRU
Story of "Fog Horn" Funs-
ton, Pride of Sun Flower
State.
BY E. c. Snyder.

Washington, d. c., Sept. 22-Rail-
road circles East have been greatly
stirred up for the past week over the
purchase of large block of B. & o.
stock held by the Pennsylvania rail-
road company by the Hartman inter-
ests. The confirmation of the rumor
also that Mr.. Hartman had bought
the Pennsylvania holdings in Read
ing shows to the railroad world that
E. H. Hartman is one of the COM
manding figures in the business life
of today and a worthy successor to that
remarkable financial genius, Jay
Gould.
1t has been the dream of Edward
Hartman ever since he became fac
tor in the Union Pacific management to
own and operate line of railroad
reaching from Ocean to Ocean. After
his purchase of the Union Pacific he
gradually absorbed the Central and
Southern Pacific, the Oregon railway
and Navigation company and the Ore
gon Short Line. With close traffic
arrangements with the Chicago and
Northwestern Hartman became a pow
er in the West. Not satisfied, however,
with operating nearly six thousand
miles of railroad in the West and
Northwest Mr. Hartman has been in
tensely ambitious to reach the Allan
tic ocean and through the purchase of
the B. e o. and Reading stock 1t will
be but little while before man can
leave San Francisco en- route to New
York without leaving his car at Chi
cagO and ride the entire distance on
lines owned and operated by the Har-
riman interests.
The coup which Mr.. Hartman
brought about in advancing the Union
Pacific stock $17 share in a single
day illustrates the genius this man has
for large things. The Union Pacific,
it must not be forgotten. was built
largely by the people, the direct debt
to the National Treasury for aid ex-
tended to the enterprise amounted with
accrued interest to upwards of fifty
millions of dollars after its reorganiza-
tion and its emegrence from the re-
ceivership. The government realizing
the potential character of the Over
land" system aided the building Of the
line from Council Bluffs to Ogden by
giving it an empire in public lands. 1t
has been selling these lands at tre-
menduous prices but it still has left
about four million acres with land as
sets valued at nearly ten millions Of
dollars. Realizing that the railroad
would be infinitely stronger If the
government debt was wiped out plan
of payment was arranged and the
treasury enriched to the extent of the
upset price agreed upon. Edward
Hartman was the directing force to
bring this condition of affairs to pass
and with bulldog tendency he has gone
ahead until the pool of which he is
the head has rugged the stock market
to the tune of many millions, while his
requirement fo the B. & o. and Read
ing holdings makes the Hartman prop
critics among the very richest in the
world. What boots it if the Hepburn
maximum rate bill is on the statute
book when the market can be manip-
ulated as in the Union Pacific case
while the fellows on the inside take
the profits. The masterly manner in
which Edward Hartman has secured
an Eastern outlet is the largest
achievement in railway manipulation
for decade.