The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-09-25
get BACK At FISH
IN RAILROAD FIGHT
Aaranan Gives Out Statement
Showing Him Up in Un-
favorable Light.
BORROWED ROADS MONEY.
WAS OF HIS OWN CHOOSING
AND WAS INsUFFIcIENT-oTH-
Err UNWISE LOAN.

Chicago, Sept. 25.-J. T. Harahan
has issued a statement which is con-
strued by railroad men as an effort TO
drive Stuyvesant Fish out of Illinois
Central affairs forever.
The statement is i'm the form of a
reply to Fish's charges of m~ismanage-
ment and the padding of accounts. 1t
is addressed to the stockholders of
the Illinois Central. The most SEN
sationai charge is to the effect that
Fish while president of the 1. G. loan
ed himself more han a million from
the roads funds with such security
as suited his fancy.
Mr.. Harahan alleges that Fish was
unable to meet his obligation and but
for the prompt action of his friends
his honor would have been swept
away. To this deal Mr.. Harahan
traces the downfall of his enemy in
the councils of the mighty in l.. c.
circles.
The following is part Of the state
ment given out by Harahan:
The statement in the circular let
ter issued by Mr.. Fish to the stock
holders and published that the Illinois
Central accounts have been padded
or in any way manipulated is absolute
ly untrue. He knows that there has
been no change whatever in the reia-
lions of the Illinois Contra with the
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific.
The resolutions presented by him
some weeks ago to the board of direc-
tors, making these charges were re-
ferred to the accounting, traffic and
operating officers and their reports,
which were transmitted by me to the
board of directors, show that the
charges were utterly %groudless and
that the have been kept pre-
cisely as they were under Mr.. Fish's
administration n that the relations
with all connecting lines are the same
as before his retirement.
His reference to alleged donina-
tion by Union Pacific is merely an eff
fort to play upon what he to
be current ~prejudices, to further his
own interest and should not deceive
any one. The attack made by Mr.. Fish
upon the character of his fellow direc-
tors and upon the operating, account
ing and traffic officers of the
warrants a full statement to the
stockholders for the reason why Mr..
Fish was not intrusted with the con-
tinued management of the property.
Il inclose herewith copy of a let
ter addressed by eight directors of
the company to Mr.. Fish under date of
Nov. z. 1906, setting forth specifical-
1y some of the reasons why they
would not vote for his reelection as
president.
There were other reasons of a CON-
trolling character which were referred
to in general terms, but out of con-
sideration for Mr.. Fish were not
specifically mentioned in that letter.
The most conspicuous of these is
tina while Mr.. Fish was president of
your company and as such the virtual
custodian of its treasury, he loaned to
himself as an individual about 81 $780,
900 from the treasury of the company
upon security of his own selection,
which proved to be inadequate and I'M
marketable.
"Mr. Fish, being unable to repay the
loan. or to satisfactorily secur it,
there were various consultations
among his friends on the board of di-
rectors and negotiations designed for
the payment of the Indebtedness and
the protection of the credit of the
company as well as Mr.. Fish's repu-
tation.
After it was demonstrated that Mr..
Fish was unable to reimburse the
company a director individually loan
ed him the money necessary to repay
the company. In order to secure this
loan Mr.. Fish pledged not only the
unmarketable collateral above men,
toned, but also conveyed his resi-
dence in the city of New York and
his individual interest in the estate
of the late Hamilton Fish"
Moreover. he loaned to the presi-
dent of the Trust company of the Re-
public individually money of the I'LL
nois Central Railroad company upon
inadequate security. with the result
that the railroad company was unable
to collect the entire amount and suf-
fered a loss