New-York tribune., 1909-09-10

New York. as we'll
THE MORGAN-HIIL WAR
In the spring of 1901 J. Perpont Morgan and
James J. Hill undertook to acquire the Chicago
Burlington & Quincy Railroad for the joint In
tcrests OF the Northern Pacific and the Great
Northern. Mr.. Hartman wanted share in the
DEAL and IT was refused Then he started to
buy Northern Pacific. The Morgan-Hi group
joined battle The market was swept of North
ern Pacific stock. When on May OF that year
both sides decided that they had control and
called in whatever stock they had lent the
"short" interests in Northern Pacific were un-
able to get the stock at any price. and a panic
followed. Two days later Mr.. Hartman, sure
that he controlled Northern Pacific, sent for the
Morgan-Hill people and had a conference in the
Union Pacific offices. 1t found that he
held altogether $4,000 900 OF the S155 100000
capitalization of the railroad, but had little
less than half OF the common stock in which
control lay. Mr.. Hartman made it understood
that he would fight to the death. The Hill
Morgan people didn't want fight. Hence. after
little more parley the thing settled by Mr.
Hartman becoming director of Burlington.
A little later the Northern Securities Company
was formed to hold the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific The Union Pacific as heavy
stockholder in Northern Pacific. went into it
Then the United States Supreme Court broke
up the merger aud Mr.. Hartman was by no
means sorry It was Mr.. Hills redistribution
plan, however that scored against his rival
and left the latter distinctly minority in
terest Again Mr.. Hartman proposed fight.
and the enemy this time was ready, for the
boom days were over and fnancers had plenty
of time for hostilities. The battle went into the
courts where 1t stayed till 1903, when the Hill
interests won, just the elimination OF the
in I1e Ii Assurance
cety and the purchase of the majority stock by
Thomas F. Ryan cut off Mr.. Hartman from the
financial aid he had received ever since MI
Schiff. in 1901 got him on the Equitable board
The situation was so serious that for a few days
a market panic threatened. Then came the
historic Equitable board meeting, when the re-
port of the Frick committee was turned down
and James Hazen Hyde bitterly attacked the
railroad man
OUSTTNG OF STUYVESANT FISH.
Peace with Standard Oil followed. and within
year Mr.. Hartman and II. H. Rogers Joined In
the war on Stuyvesant Fish in the Illinois Cen
tral. Mr. Fish and Mr.. Hartman owned large
blocks of Illinois Central stock. The latter had
secured control of the Railroad Securities Com
pany. to which eighty thousand shares of Illi-
nois Central stock had been turned over. AIr.
Fish held q third interest in this company.
The Hartman interests were able TO outvote
Mr.. Fish at the board meeting. and the latter
was ousted, and James T. Harahan was elected
president in his place.
To recount all of L II Harriman's minor
railroad moves would be impossible even if all
OF them were known to the public. AS far back
as 1895 he had attracted some attention by his
opposition as a minor security holder OF the
Erie Railroad Company to j. Z. Morgan's re-
organization Of that line. Shortly after the
Chicago & Alton deal he reorganized the Kan
City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad into the
Kansas City Southern. He got control OF the
Baltimore 6; Ohio by purchasing the Pennsyl-
vania Railroads 100000 shares from that com
pany.
In April Of this year it was announced that
the last remaining difficulty of operation be-
tween the Hartman and Hill interests the
Pacific Coast had been settled through agree
ment between the two men, by which the Hill
road would have a part ownership OF the Port
land terminal In 1906 there unfolded
plan of his whereby he expected to establish
great terminal stations at Jamaica Bay. where
steamers might load and unload without coming
up TO Manhattan. The terminals We're 20
connect with the New York Central and the
Long Island Railroad. The plan involved an
expenditure Of S25,0C0oO0. In July of 1908
plan was formed whereby the Hartman inter
ests were 10 furnish the Wabash with funds 70
taking control OF those lines. and. st was pre-
dicted forcing the abandonment OF George
Gould's attempt TO form competitive trans
continental run. And a month later it was an
nounced that Mr.. Hartman had virtually com
pleted his own ocean ocean system.
THE HARTMAN LINES
He then had control Of the Union Pacific,
Southern Pacific. Central Pacific. Pacific Mall.
Oregon Short Line. Chicago. Illinois Central
Louisiana e. Texas and Central OF Georgia, and
a dominating influence in the Milwaukee q St
Paul. Baltimore & Ohio. Erie, Wheeling e Lake
Erie, Wabash Pittsburg Terminal, Western
Maryland and Wabash. total mileage of 49,.
s37. and total of stock and bonds outstanding
Of So, 365, 471,731
Under Mr.. Harriman's personal direction were
eighteen thousand miles or railway. In addition
he directed Atlantic and Pacific steamship lines
comprising fftyf four thousand miles Of water
transportation. traveller can start from New
York and 60 far Hong Kong. distance oc
e902 miles, without leaving the Hartman limos.
and most oc nle return journey could be made
By travelling on still other lines of his. When
the Mexican roads which being built
arc completed his system will also extend from
Seattle al the north TO Guadalajara at the south,
a distance Of 3,l69 miles.
Mr.. Hartman not merely the largest rail
,vav controller in the world. The Est published
in January Of this year by tho Interstate Com
nerce Commission giving the principal stock
holders of the leading railroad systems of the
country showed him 10 be also among tho
heaviest holders Of railroad stocks. Among his
investments there noted werc S1O,f1o,pD COM
mon and $1,000 preferred stock of the Union
Pacific. St413,OO0 Illinois Central. SG,717.3OO
Great Northern and 800 Northern Pacific.
a tota. of about S21, 100000. In addition. he
was known to have extensive holdings in other