The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-24
A HOT CARD FROM MIR. FISH He Boasts Hartman and
 Peabody. APPEALS TO STOCKHOLDERS Says Union Pacific Controls the
 Illinois Central. Election of Directors for Illinois cen srai VIII Be Held soon and
 Mir Fish May Be
 ousted.
APPEALS TO STOCKHOLDERS

New York. Sept. 2s --steuyvesant
 Fish. former President of the Illinois Central Railroad. made public today the l following circular:
 To the Stockholders of the Illinois l Central Railroad Company:
 The annual meeting of the stock holders of the Illinois Central Railroad company Is to he held in Chicago on
 Wednesday. October IS, 1907.
 For thirty years have served as q director and as an officer and during | twenty of them as President The non- l ndence thus bestowed upon me imposes an obligation to deal candidly with you
 respecting the affairs of the corpora ton. I had expected to quietly retire at the ensuing meeting but many I stockholders have, without solicitation. sent me their proxies and many others have asked me for some word respect ing the recent management of the cor | poration.
 At the forthcoming election, four directors are to be chosen, three of l them to succeed Messrs. John Jacob As- tor. Steuyvesant Fish and F. H. Har- l riman. and one to fill a vacancy for a l term of one year.
 For some time past. there has been | persistent effort to place the control 1 Of your corporation Tn the hands of 1 those dominating the Union Pacific and | | 1t my duty to oppose this effort in or- | der to loyaIly discharge my obligations l of trustee to the Illinois Central The | policy of your company operating as 1t does, a north and south system, runs ming athwart the general trend of I traffic (which Is on east and west iinesl | has to deal with each of it's connec- | tions to the best advantage without making any exclusive traffic alliances. I Your railroad serves a territory of | great productiveness and has more ton- l mage to deliver to its connections than they can return to it. If the Illinois Central is to serve it's best purpose and secure the largest revenue to it's share | holders, it's independence should he maintained to the end that if shall re- | ceive the largest measure Of tunnags I in ret;lrn for the great volume pro-s I Guced along its line
 notwithstanding this view. which l seems to me must be admitted to be l correct by every shareholder of the 1 corporation who is loyal to it's best in- terests. there has been systematic and persistent effort to secure control of your board by men Identified with the Union Pacific. Of your directors. D. H. Hartman is President of the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific companies and Charles A. Peabody and Robert Walton Goelet are members of the Union Pacific board.
 'Tt was repeatedly and persistentlv stated by Mir. Hartman and Mir. Pea body and at the stockholders meeting. by William Nelson Cromwell. their ate torney, that the Union Pacific had no interest fin the Illinois Central shares, and 1t was denied that there was any purpose to control the Illinois Central in the interest of the Union Pacific or make 1t subservient thereto. Yet later when the testimony taken before the Kw.E s4a.x disclosed, 1t was found in the face Of these statements that the Union Pa- cific had bought, before your stockhoid- CTS meeting, 2S1. 1881 shares, or 29.6s per cent of the entire capital stock of your company.
 The Union Pacific. although owning but 30 per cent of the capital stock of the Illinois Central. were able to ac- oomplish their purposes of unseating me as President by influencing certain of your directors, which. in view of the tremendous speculation going on in New York last year, was not dif- fcult. The methods pursued by those of your Board of Directors who act in the interest of Union Pacific. have been so htgh-handed as to become the subject of widespread comment. At a recent meeting of the Board. 1 offered resolution of inquiry into subject matters which should properly be dis
 
 in the act Of reading my resolution, Mir. Peabody, representing Union Pa- cifc interests, moved to adjourn, and J. T. Harahan, who was presiding. summarily closed the session. Laters through the power given by the by- laws, the minority who truly repre- sented the interest of the Illinois Gen. tral shareholders. called a special meeting when offered a resolution of inquiry into the evident padding of the counts.
 ''The first third of the year showed an increase in the net receipts of $s55s- 670: then came the change of the pres- idency, and the next third of the year. the net receipts increased by $572.7S6. Finally the last four months, they were suddenly increased by $1.253,Ss9, of which increase s604,751 Is reported as made in the single month of June. Yet my resolution of inquiry was re- ferred for report to the President the very officer who had brought the ae- counting directly under his own con troi and. of course. it's whole purpose was defeated. It is for you to deter mine whether MT. Hartman and the Southern Pacific interests by their holdings of about 30 per cent of the stock is to name the directors of the Illinois Central Railroad Company without the consent and to the detri- ment of the remaining 70 per cent. DO you wish your property to be man aged as heretofore in the interest or the whole body of stockholders. or to be dominated by the Union Pacific. which. If thus put in control of four years, will in that time cause such per manent traffic contracts and engage ments to be made as will deprive me Illinois Central of the proper enlarge ment of its advantages and prevent 1t securing it's revenue for all time to come?
 The request of large numbers Of stockholders that I not only represent their holdings at the meeting. but also address the stockholders at large in advance thereof. is 8 sufficient excuse for this letter. as well as for the en- closures herewith of form of proxy running to two of my colleagues in the Moard. Charles M Beach and James Dew Cutting and myself
 (Eigned) SteuyTesant kAsA