Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-27
Would Take Them All


would gradually increase as you took
one road after another so that you
might spread not only over the Pacific
coast but spread out over the Atlantic
coast?
Mr.. Harriman-Yes, but hasn't your
organization increased it's power?
Commissioner Lane-It undoubtedly
has. That is what ! am coming to. Do
you think the law itself should inter-
vene and should restrict you in power
| to use money raised for railroad pur-
poses and raised on railroad securities
to the actual improvement of that rail-
| road, or should you be allowed to use
| it for the acquisition of other rail-
roads?
| Mr.. Hartmann think we should be
| allowed to use it for the acquisition of
other railroads and under proper regu-
! lation.
| Commissioner Lane-Now what
Mr.. Harriman-One minute. What
mean is this AS the law exists, rail-
roads are prevented from consolidating
or combining. Take the instance of the
Burlington, Great Northern and North
ern Pacific. 1t was not a good thing
for the Northern Pacific and Great
Northern and Burlington, or for the
Great Northern and Northern Pacific
to buy all the stock and eliminate from
the system $4,000 or 10000 small stock
holders. That is what they did.
Eliminate Stockholders
"They turned those $4,000 or $4,000
small stockholders from stockholders
| into creditors, so that they were elimi-
mated from the development of the
business on the lines of railroad. They
did not care anything about it as long
as they got the interest on the bonds.
| - OF n nH
whereby the Burlington and Northern
Pacific and Great Northern under
some legal restriction had been per-
mitted to make contracts by which
they could approximately have accom-
| plished the same thing, 1t would not
have been necessary to issue the $780,
| 100000 of bonds to acquire the Burling-
| ton stock and the ownership Of these
securities would have been in the hands
of the people where, believe, it Is bet
ter it should be. We have never gone
to the extent of eliminating, as far as
we could possibly avoid it, ownership
by small people in our property; we
have been partners of others and have
tried to be partners of the public"
Commissioner Lane-And you want
the powers of the commission still
further increased?
Mr.. Hartmann cannot say that
do, unless we have our own powers in
creased.
Commissioner Lane-You want your
powers increased so that you can COM
bine, and you want us given power in
the first place to insure rates.
Should Go Hand in Hand
Mr.. -Iarriman-Yes, to regulate and
go hand in hand with us. There is no
other country in the world where the
business interests are so antagonized
by the government as this one.
Commissioner Lane-Where is there
another government in the world which
has given so much land and money to
the railroads as this?
Mr.. Harriman-But there is no other
country where the railroads have i'm
proved the country as in this one.
Commissioner Lane-Is it not a fact
that every regulative order on the rail-
roads is the result of some policy pur-
sued by the railroads themselves?
Mr.. Hartmann believe you are
right. 1 think the railroads themselves
are more to blame than any one factor
for the condition that exists today,
antagonisms between the people and
the legislatures and the railroads them
selves.