Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-17

learned the technical part of the game in
his childhood from the very bottom, and
nobody understands it better than he.
by the time he was twenty-five years old
he had made enough money to buy a seat
on the stock exchange and became a pro-
fessional speculator-a gambler. a stock
Jebber. some people call it-buyfng and
selling stocks on his own account well
as for commission houses, which distribute
orders around among the individual trad
ers to conceal their own operations. He
went through the stormy times created by
Jim Fisk. Jay Gould Daniel Drew and
other big operators and in those days
learned great deal from his actual eX
perienee and contact with the sharpest
and shrewdest Adventures in the world.
He has an extraordinary memory for facts
and figures. He never forgets anything.
When he was on the market he could tell
you offhand, without looking at the tape,
the quotations for any stock on the list.
He knew every man on the street and
could ascertain almost by instinct what he
was up to.
This power of penetration and his knowl-
edge made him very valuable to the big
operators, and they employed him to his
great profit. He organized the firm of
Hartman & Co.. which is still in exist
ence, before he was twenty-five, and it has
always had the patronage of rich and pow
erful customers. who trusted him to the
limit. He married Miss Mary Averell the
daughter of a well-known capitalist and
railroad manager of reputation, and his
lHdiTleU lie mas Deen eXCeDtlOnalIy napDy
and fortunate. You often hear 1t said that
no man is a hero to lis valet. but think
Hartman is an exception His servants,
his secretaries and others who are the
closest to him in mis- everyday life like
the members of his family, are devoted to
him, and that Is pretty high recommended
ton. On the street they call him a cold
oleoded little cuss.' and that is good de-
scription of the man; but the members of
his family and his secretaries resent the
epithet with Indignation
A Strong Quartet.
Before the March panic continued my
friend, ''seven men thought they controlled
the situation. They were Hartman, Will
liam Rockefeller, Rogers, Stillman, schiff,
Ryan and Morgan. but they found they
could not do it. The world is too big for
them. Ryan and Morgan have practically
pulled out and while they are likely to re-
appear at any time, they are not in it to-
day. Stillman Is still in Europe and has
not had anything to do with affairs for
some time. That leaves Hartman, Rogers,
Rockefeller and Schiff who are now play
Ing on the defensive against public opinion
and the Roosevelt administration, and are
proceeding with the greatest caution. be-
cause they realize that the times are pre-
carious.
They have had a narrow escape and they
realize 1t, but If the government will now
give us a little rest and prevent the noisy
special agents and attorneys of the De-
partment of Justice and the interstate COM
merce commission from filling the news
papers with hOt-air sensations. public con-
f1dence will soon be restored and things
will go along all right. There is more re-
spect for Congress and for congressional
legislation than there used to be: there is
more respect for the interstate commerce
commission and the courts; there is
more respect for the authority of the
federal government among the corporations
than there ever was before, and if agta-
ton can be stopped the laws will be OBJ
served and the decisions and orders of
the interstate commerce commission Will
be respected hereafter. Everybody ap-
proves the Presidents speech at Indanap-
oils.
THE President will make a great mistake
II he drags everybody into the courts: II
he insists upon indicting every railroad
manager and trying every charge that has
been made by his special agents. He can
vindicate the law and establish the princi-
pie by prosecuting and convcting the most
conspicuous offenders, like the Pennsylva-
MIA or the New York Central or the Union
Pacific. or the Great Northern. That will
accomplish all that is necessary and stop
the determinations and rebates and COM
binationS that complained of. But
every transportation company in the coun-
try. small and great, is equally guilty
Every railroad manager and freight agent
has done the same thing and everybody
sion as we'll as the spectators on the street
and the shippers on the produce exchanges
But it will be impossible for the govern
ment to prosecute every one of them, and it
would destroy the prosperity of the country
if such a thing were attempted. The Stand
ard Oil Company is probably the greatest
offender. Therefore it should be made an
example of. but no good can be accom-
plished. and n great deal of harm can be
done by prosecuting everybody.
John D. Rockefeller takes no personal
interest in the affairs of the Standard Oil
Company. He hasn't been to his Office for
years. His son attends to his investments
and the details of his business. William
Rockefeller and II. II. Rogers are the tinan-
Cial managers of the Standard Oil Com
pany. John d. is not consulted at all. but
they have the usa of his capital and juggla
with his name. John DIS influence. when
ever he uses it. is always good. If it were
not for him things would be worse than
they are. He has become conservative and
holds the others back. He things
with a perspective that they cannot per-
ceve. His Judgment is. therefore, more
accurate than theirs. but he never inter-
feres. and seldom sees anybody from the