The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1907-08-09
JAIL
The REbAT TIERS
Bonaparte Says No Immunity Deals
Such as Those Under Which
Rockefeller Escaped.

I
grand jury which meets in Chicago
J on August IA will inquire particu-
larly into E. H. Harriman's manage
ment of the Alton road at the time
it is charged that the railroad grant
ed thousands OF rebates to the oil
! trust.
The belief is growing that criminal
prosecution of Hartman, Rockefeller
and others viii be one of the results
of the recent disclosures at Chicago.
Secretary Bonaparte today said:
In some cases it is the opinion of
most of the prosecuting officials that
| the law can be much more clearly
and effectively enforced through the
imprisonment of individual defend
ants. The immunity given Rookie
Teller and his associates from per-
|sonal prosecution when they appear
ed as witnesses in the Chicago case
will not extend to the matter of re-
-Ibates accepted from other roads.
One Chance to Jail Him.
There is at least one ground on
which government attorneys believe
it is possible to prosecute Hartman
under the criminal section of the
Sherman act. This is the manner in,
which he suppressed competition in
the southwestern section OF the coun-
try BY forcing consolidation be-
tween his Southern Pacific and the
new railroad built by w. A. Clark,
of Montana, which was intended TO
furnish an outlet from southern Cal
ifornia. Neither Hartman nor Clark
were permitted to testify in this in
quiry as TO this transaction, the pur-
pose in keeping them off the stand
being to avoid granting them the IL
munity which they earn uIder the
law by testifyng before the com
mission.
There is a touch of the dramatic
in the COMMISSIONS account Of Har-
riman's holdup Of the Clark road. 1t
lappears that there is only one feast
BILE route for road running from
Salt Lake to Los Angeles, and at one
point this route is through narrow
CANYON or pass which is wide enough
for only one railroad right of way.
The party controlling this canyon
commands the situation.
Hartman Steps In.
It appears that Clark, who had
started his road in 1902 and succeed
ed in building 324 miles of his line
from Salt Lake to Caliente, New.
CAME to that part of his road run
ming through this narrow gorge,
which is known as the Meadow Val
lev Wash. This canyon is about 100
miles in length, deep and with rocky
walls on either side. The Clark en-
gineers wer at work on the grade
and track laying when they were
suddenly held up by an Injunction.
1t seems that many, years before
the Oregon Short Line. which is one
iof Harriman's subsidiary corpora
ltions, had been granted right OF
way through this canyon and had
abandoned it. The Clark people had
thought up the old tax deeds and
whatever remained of the abandoned
rights of the Oregon Short Line and
supposed that they had good title to
their right of way through the can
Won. The Hartman interests had
not questioned their tax deed Ies
so far as it affected the right of way
up to that time and it was soon APP
parent that Hartman had figured
on catching the new road builders
lat this stragetic point and holding
them up.
Hartman Had Upper Hand.
That is exactly what happened.
There was enough show of legality
in the old claim which Hartman had
received to support an injunction
proceeding and to keep a law case
alive for an indefinite length of time.
!Meanwhile the forces of Hartman
on the ground guarded the right OF
lway through the canyon and refused
Ito permit further construction.
Then came the inevitable compro-
mise. Hartman demanded half the
swag. He would permit the Clark
road to proceed through the canyon
and would even lend it a section of
his Southern Pacific to connect up
with Los Angeles, but only on writ
ten agreement that his road should
have an equal share with the Clark