Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-26
COMPETITION
THROTTLEDBY
AN RONHAND
WESTERN LINES CONTROLLED
BY UNION PACIFIC
SALT LAKE ABSORBED, SANTA FE
osEYs ORDERS
Attorney General 5onaparte Finds
Financier Planned Deliberately
to Seize Entire Transportation
This Side Mississippi
BY Associated Press.

By Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25.-Attorney
General Bonaparte today directed that
a bill in equity be filed to set aside
the control by the Union Pacific Rail-
road company and its subsidiary corr
porations of the Southern Pacific and
the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt
gal the ownership by the Union Pacific
of the Oregon Short Line and of stock
in the Santa Fe. the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific, all Of said lines
being competitors of the Union Pa
cific.
The attorney general today issued an
official statement to this effect, which.
after referring to the extended investt-
CATION by the interstate commerce COM
mission into the relations existing be-
tween the various lines of railroad en-
gagged in the transcontinental traffic.
says:
Violates Sherman Law
From the evidence SO addueed and
from independent Investigation the de-
partment has arrived at the conclusion
that the stockholding of the Union Pa
cific and it's subsidiary company in
the other corporations mentioned above
is in direct violation of the Sherman
act.
THE department regards the suit as
of first Importance, as it is sought by
means thereof to break up substantial
monopoly of transportation business Of
the country between the Missouri river
on the east, and the entire Pacific
coast south of Portland. on the west
aside from the railroad companies
above named, the other defendants in
the suit are the Farmers Loan and
Trust company of New York, which Is
the depository of all the stock REQUIRED
to give proxies to such persons as may
! be named by Mr.. Hartman and Mr..
Clark for a period of years. There
are also the following individual de-
PENDANTS who are alleged to have oon-
ceived and carried out the conspiracy
complained of, to-wit:
"E. II. Hartman, Jacob II. Schiff,
Otto H. Kahn, James Stillman. Henrv
c. Frick, Henry S. Frick, Henry II.
Rogers and William A. Clark
While naming the individual Defend
ants, the statement makes no mention
of any intention to prosecute any of
these officials personally in any GRIM
inal proceedings. The statement con-
tinues:
Hartman Planned Monopoly
"It appears by the testimony in the
possession of the department that a
combination was formed about the be-
ginning of the year 1901 by e. H. Har-
riman of New York, the president of
the Union Pacific, and certain of his
associates, for the purpose of obtain
ing monopoly OF all transcontinentaI
business.
The first move was the acquisition
of sufficient stock of the Southern Pa
.cific company to insure its control.
That company owned a line of rail-
road extending from New Orleans and
points in Texas on tide water, through
California to Portland, Ore; also an
other line from Ogden, Utah, to San
Francisco.
"The Southern Pacific had been for
years one of the principal competitors
of the Union Pacific. AS the result
of such control by stock ownership,
the management of the two companies
had been amalgamated. and since 1902
a majority of the board of directors
of the Southern Pacific have been
members of the board of directors Of
the Union Pacific. Competition be-
tween the two companies has been
substantially eliminated.
Santa Fe No Competitor
"The San ePdro. Los Angeles & Salt
Lake road was projected as an inde-
pendent line by w. A. Clark and his
associates, to run from San Pedro on
tide water in California through Los
Angeles to Salt Lake city, having con-
nection at that point with the Union
Pacific and with the Gould system.
f4s11
in progress the parties in control of
the Union Pacific, by means of
harassing litigation, designed to pre-
vent the acquisition of necessary right
of way, and by threats of paraneling
the line, if constructed. so as to render
the same Improbable, and by other
means, induced Clark and his associ-
ates to abandon the scheme of an in
dependent road and to join with the
Oregon Short Line, taking over certain
track owned or controlled by that COM
pany in Southern Utah and Eastern
Nevada and giving to the Oregon
Short Line an equal stock interest in
the San Pedro Los Angeles & Salt Lrke
road with that held by Clark and his
associates.
"In addition traffic agreements and
contracts were made between the Salt
Lake and various corporations included
in the Hartman system, so called.
which deprives the Salt Lake of Its in-
dependence and makes it, in effect.
part of the same system.
Composition Destroyed
"As to the Santa Fe.. which is a COM
peting line with both the Union Pacific
and Southern Pacific, 1t appears that
Mr. Hartman and his associates ac-
quired sufficient interest in the Santa
Fe so that two members Of the Union
Pacific board, towit: Messrs. Frick and
Rogers, became. and still are. directors
of the Santa Fe and the Union Pacific.
as a corporation, purchased and still
holds a large block of Santa Fe stock.
"As result of the close union be-
tween these lines competition has to
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