Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-09-01


shop 1t will be worth It,"
1t is very evident that the editor in
writing these lines had in mind the
famous ALTON deal" in (which Mr..
Hartman and his associates were en-
gagged, and by which millions OF dol
lars Of the securities of that company
were sold to the favored few at a
shamefully low price, and were after
ward by these beneficiaries of the deal
sold to the general investor at price
involving an enormous profit to them
selves. And not contented with this,
the proceeds of the Inadequate price,
which was permitted to find its way
into the treasury of the company, was
afterward diverted from the purpose
for which. by the terms Of the deed Of
trust under which the securities were
issued, they should have been expend-
ed and were returned into the hands
of the spectators in the form of un-
earned dividends.
He also probably had in view the
sale to the Union Pacific company by
the same coterie of high financiers"
of various other stocks and securities,
notably the stock of the st. Joseph &
Grand Island, the Illinois Central and
other companies of which the Union
Pacific has at various times become
possessed.
These last transactions provoked
from the New York Sun, which cannot
be accused of general lack of sym
pathy for the acts of the masters Of
finance" the following, which appeared
in the financial comment of late
issue Of that paper:
zone thing that came out from
Washington met the unreserved ap-
lproval of ali except the most rabid OF
Hartman partisans. Without excep-
ton men of fair and impartial mind
declared that the department of justice
was right in insisting that Mr.. Har-
riman fully and candidly answer all
questions relating to- the stock pur-
chases by the Union Pacific. In the
opinion Of most of these men the
greatest scandal in all the interstate
commerce revelations of Hartman OPP
erations was the sale. to the Union
Pacific of st. Joseph & Grand Island
stock held personally by Mr.. Hartman
and the sale of Illinois Central stock
held by Mr.. Hartman, other directors
of the Union Pacific and certain OF
their business associates. This easy
way of finding market for stocks
purchased by officers of the company
as individuals and sold by them to the
wealthy company they controlled Gre
ated in some quarters the impression,
in many others the conviction, that
other large stock purchases by the
dividuals influential in the Union Pa
cific management, that the Union Pa
cific bag was a convenient dumping
place for st. Paul, New York Central,
Atchisoh or whatever other railroad
stock may have been bought, specula-
lively or otherwise, by various mem
bers of the Hartman party.
MANY prominent financiers have
long commended that the interstate
commerce commission leniently over
looked one of it's most important duties
in delaying application to the courts
to compel Mr.. Hartman to answer the
questions put to him in this connection.
The point involved, they insisted, was
of the utmost importance as affecting
the earnings of the road, the rights of
the stockholders and the integrity or
fairness of operations in the stock
market which are of direct interest to
investors generally. 1t was recalled
yesterday that the matter was consid-
cred important enough by conserva-
tive London financial paper to warrant
it's conclusion that there was playing
with loaded dice in Union Pacific
circles Every investor or Spectator
wants to know whether that harsh
conclusion is warranted, and there was
thus qualification yesterday at the de-
termination of the interstate COM
merce commission to find out 1t was
suggested that information of value
and Importance might be obtained from
the clearing house sheets of the stock
exchange or by subpoenaing expert
enced market operators, for instance,
James r. Keene."
The London financial paper referred
to in the above quotation with refer
ence to playing with loaded dice" is
the London Economist, the leading
| financial journal of Great Britain,
whose utterances are regarded by a
large portion of the investing public
of that country as the law and gospel
of finance. In the editorial quoted the
Economist bitterly arraigned a lot of
the "high fnanciers' who manipulate
American railroads and their securities
as being a lot of conscienceless spec
ulators who used the securities of the
companies which they controlled to
play the game of speculation on Wall
street with loaded dice"
1t is encouraging to know that the
country is waking up to the fact that
the average citizen who is attempting
to make out of legitimately conducting
the business of the country COM