Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1906-11-15
HARTMAN LINES
PLEASE EXPLAIN
Commission Sees Evidence of Trust
Like Nyrthern Securities.
Stuvvesant Fish Gives the Tip - Aim
Was to NeutraIize Benefits of the
Panama Canal to West by Con-
trolling All TranscontinentaI Rail
Lines.
THE HARTMAN SYSTEM.

The Hartman system has three main
lines between the Missouri River and
the Pacific Coast, which under separate
ownership are natural competitors for
traffic originating east of their eastern
termini or destined to points east of
those termini.
The main line Of the Union Pacific
extends from Omaha to Ogden, where
it connects with the Central Pacific,
extending from Ogden to San Fran
cisco.
The Oregon Short Line extends from
Granger to Pocatello and the O. r. & N.
from Pocatello to Portland. These two
lines combined are natural competitors
of the Union Pacific and Central Pa
cific.
The Kansas Pacific extends from
Kansas City to Denver and is a natural
competitor Of the Union Pacific main
line.
The Southern Pacific extends from
New Orleans to Los Angeles, and thence
to San Francisco and north to Port
land, forming a natural competing line
with the other lines described.
The acquisition of control of the Illi-
nois Central by Hartman gives him
line from Omaha to Chicago and thence
to New Orleans, thus connecting the
eastern termini of his several lines and
enabling him to route traffic from and
to eastern points by any of them. 1t
practically makes him supreme in the
whole territory west of the Missouri
river and south of the Columbia river
in the West and of Omaha in the East.
Washington, Nov. 1O-A general in
vestigation of what is known as the
Hartman system of railroads, under tho
conferred by law, is one Of
the subjects which have been discussed
for some time by the Interstate Com
merce Commission, and that body, it is
said, really stands committed to an in
quiry.
"We have been informed,n men,
Der of the Commission said recently,
that this system in some of its fea-
lures is not unlike the Northern Securi-
ties Company, which was dissolved
through the interposition of the Attor-
ney-General of the United States"
Any steps which may be taken by
the Commission along the lines referred
to will be, it is said, in accordance with
the general powers of the Commission
conferred by law, and not because Of
any immediate specific complaint of
of the statutes.
During the Fish Hartman contest for
he control of the Illinois Central Rail-
way, it was limited that data would be
placed in the hands of the Government
whereby it could get the official jack
screws under the Hartman system and
discover many interesting things. The
Commission will begin the task early in
he new year.
This investigation will be Of as much
Importance, in all probability, as was
hat which the Commission made into
he combination of the Northern Pacific
nd the Great Northern, which as tho
Northern Securities Company, was dis
olved by order of the Supreme Court
nder the antitrust law. In one way,
he action of Hartman resembles that
f j. Pierpont Morgan and James j.
ill in allying the Northern Pacific
nth the Great Northern. He controls
he Union Pacific, the Southern Pacific
nd the Oregon Short Line, which
hould be competing roads, in the judg-
lent of the Commission, and now he has
ne illinois Central and the Baltimore d
hio, which makes him a big factor in
etermining transcontinental rates. Fol-
wing its investigation of the COM
lnation of the Great Northern and the
orthern Pacific, the Commission trans
tilted testimony to the Department of
lstice which used it to bring about
le dissolution of the Northern Securi-
es Company.