The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1907-04-11
THE ALTON CASE.

Il The statements of Acknowledgement
Stead. of Illinois, must be taken with
more weight than anything which has
4 lately appeared with regard to Mr.. Har-
riman's operations. AS Attorney-Gen-
eral of his State, Mr.. Stead has official
/ RESPONSIBILITIES which keep his utter
1 ances carefully within bounds. There
| fore. what he says is OF incom-
parably more value that limit
less amount of windy suspira-
| ton of forced BREATH" by magazine
and newspaper writers of little infor-
| nation and less judgment. Mr.. Stead
i says that the Chicago & Alton K. h
was at one time a prosperous corpora
ton. and continued so until it fell into
/ the hands of Mr.. Hartman and his CO.
fnanciers They proceeded to load IL
down with debts in the shape of bonds
and stocks, which they fed to confid-
ing public, and made. it is believed
| about s25,0O0.O 900 by their crafty ana
dishonest manipulations. They increas-
ed the indebtedness of the corporation
sSO.646,21S, of which but S22,5oo;ooo'
according to Mr.. Harriman's own testi-
lmony was incurred for improvements,
| betterments or extensions of the roads.
This left over $57,000,000, or seven
| tenths of the whole, to be represented
! by bonds and securities, which meant
| r. he rnaH pyppnt
! indebtedness. and which We're patmed
off on the general public to the enrich
ment of Mr.. Hartman and his asso-
ciates. knowledge of this Is what
probably induced Senator Cnllom to de-
| clare that Hartman should be in the
penitentiary. AS matter of right and
conscience, it does not seem that Har-
riman is better than thief. No mat
| ter how much he may gild his opera
| tions with the name of financiering and
manag cement he has been playing the
gold bricl, on the public with as little
conscience as any swindler who fieeces
an unwary countryman. He has de-
stroyed the property of those who orig
inaliy built the Chicago & Alton. and
invested their money in 1t. He has done
this by loading it down with debt for
which the road has received only trif1e
of berefit. Then he has injured another
large class Of the public by selling to
them securities at fancy values which
have little or no worth. In the mean
while he and his clique have drawn out
from any danger of loss, and convert
ed their loot into more substantial
forms of property. leaving the public
and the luckless stockholders of the
Chicago s: Alton system to fight 1t out
between themselves. The question
comes up as to how this offense can be
properly characterized and punished.
So far the Attorney-General is In doubt
whether the State of Illinois should
take up the matter and how 1t can pro-
coed to punish Hartman and save the
innocent investors in the Chicago & AL
ton. To revoke the charter Of the road
and sweep the whole mass out of ex-
istence would not hurt Hartman, since
he and his friends have probably got
ten out of 1t nearly all that they can.
oIi tie OtHeF manu-, tHis "ouiu ucStio9
the property Of the bond and stock
holders and further rob them. Mr..
Stead at present believes that the most
effective method of procedure should
be by the company or the stockholders
I'm criminal proceedings against Mr..
Hartman. This Is in accordance with
our usual judicial practices. Men have
always a remedy, or at least they are
supposed to have a remedy. for any
criminal mismanagement of their prop
erty by those to whose care II Is in
trusted If they do not have this power
then something should be done at once
to give it to them. But 1t seems in
credible that with our mass OF legisla-
ton there is nowhere law properly
Furnishing men who take charge of a
corporation or other form of property
and proceed to criminally destroy 1t
for their own emOlument. Mr.. Stead
has still under consideration the ques-
ton whether the State Of illinois has
not somewhere or somehow the power
in criminal proceedings to bring Mr..
Hartman to justice for his wrong
doing.