Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-12
PEABODY TO. TESTIFY.
Commerce Commission viii
Call Mutual Life President.
WANTED IN HARTMAN CASE
Expected to Give Facts About Illinois
Central Deal.
WILL BE IMPORTANT WITNESS
As Union Pacific Director He is said
to Have Received Railroad Mag
mates Offer of Stock.
WILL BE IMPORTANT WITNESS

NEW YORK, January FIT has become
pretty GENERALLY understood here that
Charles A. Peabody. president of the Mu-
tual Life Insurance Company. will be called
as witness by the interstate commerce
commission when 1t takes up the investiga-
ton of the Hartman railroads on its return
from the west, unless Mr.. Peabody shall
| have started on his intended trip to Europe
before the commissions subpoena reaches
/; him.
Mr.. Peabody has announced his intention
of sailing January Is, which is next
Friday. This date is two days after the
dividend meeting of the Illinois Central
| board of directors. of which he is a mem
Der. The directors of the Union Pacific
meet on the following day, and Mr.. Pea
body is also member of that board.
On July Is last the Illinois Central di-
rectors held a meeting at which the at
tack on Stuyvesant Fish began. 1t became
| known yesterday that Mr.. Peabody at that
meeting made two motions, one that the
stock list Of the road should be furnished
to brokerage firm applying for it which
had known Affiliations with the Hartman
interests, and the second that a proxy
committee consisting Of directors who
afterward turned out TO be hostile to Presi-
dent Fish should be appointed by the
board to supersede Mr. Fish's request
for proxies for the annual stockholders
meeting.
Fish Broke Quorum.
Mr.. Fish eventually broke the quorum
| of this meeting to prevent the motion
the proxy committee being carried but
not until after he had expressed plainly
his views on the attempt to get control of
the road in the interests of the Union Pa
cific. 1t was the day after this meeting
that the Union Pacific directors met and
received the offer from Mr.. Hartman and
his associates Kuhn Loeb Co., H. H.
Rogers and James Stillman to turn over
to the Union Pacific $4,000 shares of
| Illinois Central and the majority stock of
the Railroad Securities. Company, which
had in it $3.50 shares more. Mr.. Peabody
was one of the Union Pacific directors to
whom the offer was made
On July 25 the Illinois Centrals direc-
tors met, with Gov Dineen present, and
finally adjourned after being unable to
reach solution of the trouble That af-
ternoon Mr.. Fish received an invitation
from H. H. Rogers to attend a conference
In the latter's office on July &c. This was
the conference between Mr.. Fish. Mr..
Hartman, Mr.. Peabody and Mr.. Rogers,
which Mr. Fish described as follows when
the stockholders of the Illinois Central
met on October l! to elect successor to
the late Major Grinnell:
"A conference was had between Mr.. Har-
riman, Mr.. Peabody and myself on July
26, at which / was assured that there was
no intention or plan to turn over the con-
troll of this company to those controlling
any other corporation, but, on the con-
trary, that the vacancy in the board re-
surting from the death of William Morton
Grinnell would be filed by man Of char
acter. Independent of any Clique, who
would represent the whole body Of the
holders of the $9,040,000 of stock without
regard to any outside interest
Stillman and Rogers Excused.
It was on the same day that the Union
Pacifics directors met to receive the re-
port of the committee appointed to look
into the offer of Mr.. Hartman and his
associates to sell the road the SIS 100000
Illinois Central stock. Mr.. Peabody at
tended the meeting and voted in favor of
the proposition on the favorable report OF
the committee appointed at the previous
meeting. E. H. Hartman, James sun
man and H H. Rogers were excused from
voting on this motion on the ground that
they were Interested in the subject mat
ter" :.
published interviews declared after THIS
that there was no connection between
Union Pacific and Illinois Central matters,
but an interview which the interstate COM
MERGE commission is understood TO nave
taken an interest in is one with Mr. Haf-
rimau. which was telegraphed to Cmcago
from this city. That was on November
g the day that Mr.. Fish was OuSted from
the presidency of the Illinois Central Mr. |
Hartman said, among other things:
IT became director of the Illinois Cen
trail in 1888. 1 owned then over i3W9
shares and was the largest individual
stockholder of the road as l am now II
seems to have escaped attention that
have always been the largest stockholder
of the Illinois Central from that time:
The interesting thing about this inter- |
view from the standpoint of the interstate
commerce commission is that MT. Harri-
man personally transferred 3oOoo Shares
of Illinois Central to the Union Pacific un- |
der the effer of July 10. and it is likely
that the commission will endeaVor 10 mo
out whether he had 15,Ooo shares more oi
his own that were not then transferred
or was not correctly quoted In the inter-
view of November =.
Statement by Bankers.
There is still another phase of the mat
ter that has lately come to the attention
of the commission. On October %, a few
days after the stockholders meeting of
the Illinois Central, Kuhn. Loeb Co..
Mr. Harriman's bankers, issued this state |
ment:
Concerning the controversy that has
arisen in connection with the recent an
nual election in the Illinois Central Rail- |
road Company. our firm. which is acting
as bankers only is unwilling to be drawn
into these differences.
I'VE held proxies for a considerable |
amount Of stock. which were sem by US
to Mr.. Fish. at the instance of the own
ers and as far as our firm Is concerned !
this ends our connection with the stua- |
ton"
This statement has been understood to !
cover the position of Kuhn. Loeb & Co. |
as far back as the summer when the trans |
fer, of the accumulated Illinois Central to |
the Union Pacific was made. II that theory \
should hold true. when the commission
takes up its inquiry into the Illinois Central |
incident 1t would follow that the bankers |
were acting for some one in selling loo00O |
shares of Illinois Central to the Union Pa |
cifc. In that case it is understood that |
the interstate commerce commission will |
inquire carefully who the principals were |