New-York tribune., 1907-03-24
PREFERS PENITENTIARY
Would Rather Go There than to the
PoorhouSe, Says Hartman.

z. II. Hartman was quoted yesterday by Of
the Wall Street news bureaus q saying. IN answer
a question what he thought OF Senator
Culloms reported remarks concerning him:
Senator cunom, am sure. does not really wish
20 put IN the pentenuaTy. lie simply regrets
that am not in the poorhouse
his great State Of Illinois in moribund and deca-
years q stookboideTs' suTpirs but was unable 10
get any benefit therefrom except through a further
the company a. that date was about s22. 1000. A
syndicate OF more than one hundred, represented
market price OF Sl75 to 500 share investing there
In nearly s0300039 and 10000 for hfty-eight ad-
As investors IN Chicago & Alton at this high cos;
We could have remained quiet, and even seen our
properly shrink and shrlve! by the millions and
% millions under the 80 per cent reduction IN
last eight years In that territory and the road
its owners might have been on the way 10 tn
Now; I prefer the penitentiary. r that is the re
ward for the upbuIding Of the railroad properue
OF this country rather than the poorhouse which is
the reward of unprogresslve railway management.
More than sZ2.ooo9o9 has been expended In tn
building up OF the Alton besides our original in,
yestInent % si2 oJo and the total diyldend an
interest disbursenents have not peen increased ns
more than three-quarters OF million or less thaA
handAng nearly three times the business, y a.
eight years ago. and the territory served by =
This was accomplished solely by the sale OF low
rae bones az discount and the cEopplng uRP RP, ol
where substantialiv one existed before and In
place OF per cent and per cent bonds and shares
there IS now nothing bearing higher than per cent
On the preferred sock, and the largest security
IS bond paying per cent.
The people OF Illinois and the Chicago * Alton
road had the benefit Of the lowest rate ever named
upon railroad bond in this country, and II had
the benefit of the value the speculative markets
place upon common stocks whose main asset y
hope IN the growth Of the country, just laws ana
Just administration thereof 80
We sold these Chicago & Alton securities for the
road and the men who had the courage 70 buy
the road for over Si2 $4,000 and put S55OOy0J0
more into IT, making the total amount 10 more than
E64 O3O0 OJher interests bought the common stock,
and 30 ger reduction IN fTelght rates IN mat
territory blasted the hopes they had IN H.
Resdes the S4O0000 put into the purchase
and improve ment OF the Alton road the company
itself by sale OF securities car trusts etc, has put
in s22 900 90 more so that the total investment is
Ia The neighborhood Of 100000 But. deducting
the Sc 100000 dividend from our investment our
total investment was SoAOoV0, ana a. to-day
rjceG there IS loss this investment or at least
$500 coo But at the average prices at which the
securities could have been sold by the syndicate
participants the profit on the investment could
never have been excessive for 80 large a risk.
Man years OF my life have been devoted 10 the
IMPROVEMENT and upbuildlng OF two OF the most
9orfant railroad lines or the state of Illinois, the
Illinois Central md the Chicago < Alton.