New-York tribune., 1907-09-27
FISH ANSWE
NTRIKES At H4RRIM4N.
Says He Is Back of Formers Action
Counter CHARGES.

Stuyvesant Fish decided Yesterday to recon
slder his determination not to reply to the recent
| statement issued by ]. T. Harahan, president of
the Illinois Central Railroad, in which he charged
MT flsh, when president of the company, with
! having loaned to himself on unmarketabe secu-
rity $1500-0o0 and also with having deposited
| large sum of money belonging to the road with
trust company after its credit was impaired,
causing loss TO the railroad
ch wednesday. the day the Harahan state
ment was made public Mr. Fish refused to say
more than to refer to a statement he had made
on February q in answer to somewhat similar
accusations made by z. II. Hartman before the
Interstate Commerce Commission. Yesterday,
however, he sent for the newspaper men and
gave them a long typewriter statement in
which he again charged Mr. Hartman with
trying to get control of the Illinois Central. and
accused him of being the author of the state
ment sent out by Mr.. Harahan He defended his
actions while president of the road. and
stated that Mr.. Hartman had received a great
many loans from the Illinois Central. of
s1,400,0OO in 1885. and that Charles a. Peabody
and several of the other directors had borrowed
money from the company.
In regard to the 81 900, 900 he was charged with
having lent to himself unmarketable
rity. Mr.. Fish said that the security
questionably adequate and marketable, and. that
the loan was made at a time when the company
was most anxious to put out some of its surplus.
Respecting the deposit with the Trust Company
OF the Republic he said that the latter
of the institutions with which they carried
counts. and that the deposit never in dan
ger. He added that he was a trustee, but
an officer of the company.
FROM HARTMAN. SAYS FISH.
Mr. Fishs statement was IN part follows
There is something pathetic in the apologetic
insincerty of the circular letter sent from
Chicago under date OF September "a in the name
OF J. T. Harahan, president of the Illinois
Central but at the dictation OF +. H. Hartman
and others IN New York who represent the
Union Pacific. In it set forth several
charges. with the profession that they had been
suppressed for Il long time out of consideration
for my feelings; while. In fact, all of them had
been published long ago and each had been met
by me at the time and disposed of. But the
one point at issue to be decided by the stock
holders of the Illinois Central at the coming
nUal meeting. is nowhere touched upon. That
issue is this:
Shall the Illinois Central road running from
the lakes to the Gulf. and sending much Of
its traffic east and west over the transconti
mental lines become "A mere feeder and fattener
OF the Union Pacific? Can any such pervcrsion
of the purposes and opportunities of the Illinois
Central be profitable to the stockholders? VIII
the Illinois Central stockholders submit to have
all their voice and power in the management
and Contro. OF their property delegated To one
man, under the power of attorney plan which
Mr.. Hartman has so adroitly used to his own
profit?
\ certain interest does. however, attach to
some OF the specious excuses put out by
Mr.. Hartman and his financial associates for
my having been ousted; and there Ia also IN
terest attaching to the reasons = ny II has been
necessary change and modify those excuses
so often. The circular of September ~. which
is fathered by MIR Harahan. shows on its face
that IT enanates from Mr. Hartman in that It
contains precisely the same allegations that he
had injected into his testimony before the Inter
state Commerce Commission last February.
When testfying before the Interstate Com
rskrce Commission in February 1907. Mr.. Har-
rinan used extraordinary efforts 20 evadc an
swering the questions pat To him In respect 20
his dealings and those OF some or his associates
with the Chicago & Alton. the Union Pacific
and other companies Of which he and they were
officers and directors The commission has since
petitioned the federal court here In New York TO
compel Mr.. Hartman and otto II. Kahn OF
Messrs. Kuhn. Loeb & Co to answer the ques-
tions which they then declined 10 answer on
the advice Of counsel. The hearing in that mat
ter is set for October u. 1901
THE FIGHT IN ILLINOIS CENTRAL
But the reason given last February by Mr..
Hartman for having turned me out OF the pres
idency of the Illinois Central was b. no means
the only one which he had given Al the last
meeting of the stockholders OF the iHlhols Zen
;ral Railroad Company. held on October Ia.
1906 Mr. Hartman and his attorney, William
Nelson cromwell. made their fight solely the
ground that | would not consent 10 the election
to the Illinois Central board Of another director
Of the Union Pacific-SOuthern Paclhc system AS
York newspapers of November :, 1906. the
Union Pacific party then took another tack by
publishing the letter Of November I, 1906. of
which J. T Harahan sends forth
To the criticisms made by Mr.. Hartman one
item and only one has now been added TO
wit: That on a loan to Mr. Dresser the Illinois
Central Railroad Company made loss The
amount of the loan was between S;|ooop ans
500 900 At the time it was made the collateral
given nv Mr. Dresser was marketable and
abundant After the suspension of his firm in
the spring of 1903 the collateral was sold. and
the illinois Central Railroad Company made a
loss thereon. the amount or WHICH ihihh' WAS
about $1,000.
Whatever it was. submit that If in the full
and detailed records OF the twenty five years
i'm which | was treasurer. vice-presldent and
nresdent of the Illinois Central Railroad
Company, my personal enemies VINO nave access
TO its books only claim that caused tne
coropany A single small loss. in reSpcct TO the
milIions-I might say hundreds of millions
loaned in the meanwhile more of it TO Mr.. Iar-
rjnnan than any other Individual, / am content
70 lei the matter rest there It is needless to
add that on no other loan made by me, and, of
cnnrse on none to me- did the Illinois Central
Railroad Company ever lose a dollar
GETTING BACK AT HARTMAN.
Nor need l refer TO the so-called investment
&, T,,Jv 1906 by nIr. Hartman and his assocl-
ates of = bout S130,OOo.UO of the money or the
stockholders of the Union Pacific in the pur-
chase from, him and them of their securities
which have in the while deprecated by
some $4,000 900, more or less But as the
Union Pacific party have not seen fit TO go back
into the ancient history of the Illinois tentrai,
| may well say now, as az any other ttne;
that my differences with Mr.. Hartman and
Charles A Peabody, who were theh, as noH'
directors OF the Union Pacific, began IN 19o4-
when they sought to have the board OF directors
or the Illinois Central Railroad Company dele
ga te the powers vested in it by charter to an
executive committee, and offered ne member
shin therein and the craftsmanship thereof
This | prevented. Then began the large Pur-
cbases of Illinois Central shares by or through
Nessrs Kuhn. Loeb & Co, which were so Sc