Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-01
EXPOSE
HARTMAN 5 CRAB
AF TER MONOPOLY
Magnate's Schemes
Are Laid Bare
Railroad Kings Methods Of Killing
Competition Are Described Before
Interstate Commerce Conn
missioner Lane
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31.--Evidence
that the operations of e. II. Hartman
on this coast constitute a violation of
the interstate commerce law was
brought out before Commissioner
Franklin K. Lane today.
c. A. Severance, attorney for the
commission, showed that Hartman
paid a price out of proportion to the
value of the Coos Bay properties, real
izing that he was putting the possi-
bility of competition out of the way.
Hartman was not buying coal mines
primarily; he was buying monopoly.
r. A. Graham, who supplied this tes-
timony, created another sensation be-
fore he left the stand. AS an example
of the Hartman method of killing com
petition he told how, when Hartman
acquired the Oregan Railway & Navi-
cation company in 1901, his agents cir
culated literature throughout the ORR
ent warning merchants and others not
to ship freight over the Graham line,
the Oregon & Oriental, as it had no
the world. The circulars were dated
at Portland. AS a result of these meth
DDS Graham's line went out of business.
Graham was called to the stand for a
continuation of the story he related
yesterday showing how Hartman
forced his company, the Oregon &
Oriental line, out of business. He
stated that the Oregon Railway &
Navigation company owned by Harri-
man, routed his inward freights, and
that he was required by contract to
give the Oregon Railway and Naviga-
tion company through bills of lading
over that road and it's connections.
Denied Routing Rights
| So stringent We're the conditions of
| this contract that when Graham desired
to give some of mis- freight to the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & st. Paul road, the
officials of which were his friends,
Campbell of the Oregon Railway &
Navigation company would not permit
him, but compelled him TO ship over the
Chicago & Northwestern and the Illi-
nois Central.
Attorney Severance for the commits
sion went carefully into the terms of
thlS contract, drawing attention among
other things to the fact that there was
proViso showing careful regard for
the interstate commerce commission.
When the Coos Ba.-. Rosepurg ta
Eastern railway wa Luilt, Graham tes-
titled, he, in his capacity of railroad
contractor, was asked to take the work
and undertook it, Meeting John d.
Spreckels at Coronado, he induced him
to come into the enterprise. The in
vestment looked promising to Spreck-
els, so he agreed to buy thirty miles of
rails. payment to be made to him
after the bonds were solo and the sub
sidy paid.
1t was shown thai the entire property
in Coos Bay cost Spreckels Z der
ably less than a million dollars. When
Hartman came along and bought the
properties he was willing 10 pay ST.
100000 for them. This made it plain
that it was not the properties Harri-
man was after. He wanted to buy up
the possibility Of competition with his
railroad monopoly.
At noon all the testimony had been
taken and Commissioner Lane de-
clared the hearing at an end. On
Thursday next week the parties to the
hearing will go to Les Angeles where
the sessions will be resumed