Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-09-11

the possibilities of the great empire
building on the shores Of the Pacific
ocean with more ciearness than Har-
riman. Though small in body and
v in brain, he was not small In
his grasp of things. He thought in
terms of the continent. planned In
millions, built with systems.
His Greatest Monument.
Hartman has often been compared,
to Jay Gould. In my own opinion, he
was a bigger man than Gould and a.
better one. With all the abuse that
has been heaped upon him he is en-
titled to that which his own deeds
carved out. lie was not as shrewd
a man on the Stock Exchange as
Gould, not as foxy perhaps, If you
like the term, but he had infinitely
bigger ideals and more audacity to
plan and execute great undertakings.
Gould was essentially a fnancier.
Hartman was that and more, and 1t
Is the "more' that will redeem him.
The romance of the Pacific railroads
and steamship lines and of his other
6AC0t i0lliOdd dtdlS GduuDl OG NtDtu
off the slate. Whatever we may think
of Hartman in Wall street or Harri-
man In politics or Hartman in ino
surance or Hartman in Chicago and
Alton, his work on the Pacific empire,
both this side and on the seas, win
fire the Imagination and compel re-
spect. Good and evil mingle in all
men. This is the good Of Hartman.
1t is his greatest monument.
1t was recently stated that Harri-
man controlled $4,000 miles Of rail-
way. or six times across the CONT
nent; that these lines employ $4,000
men; that, in addition, he directed 81
600 miles of steamship lines, max
ing 1900 miles of transportation in
all; that one could go from New York
to Hongkong without ever leaving the
Hartman lines and that he could re-
turn by another route on Hartman
lines nearly all the way.
To show something of the mans
great activities, the mere corporations
of which he was the head Or with
which he was officially connected may
give a hint. although little more than a
hint. He had beer a member of the New
York Stock Exchange since 1870. He
was president of the Oregon Railroad
and Navigation company. president Of
the Oregon Short Line, president of the
Southern Pacific. president of the
Texas and New Orleans Railroad CON-
pany, president Of the Southern Pa
cifc Coast railway, president of the
Oregon and California Railroad COM
pany, president of the Central Pacific
Railroad company, president of the
Louisiana and Western Railroad COM
pany, president of Morgan's Louisiana
and Texas Railroad and Steamship
president of the Pacific Mail
Steamship company, president of he
Railroad Securities company, president
of the Southern Pacific Terminal COM
pany, president OF b Portland n
Asiatic steamship company, president
of the Union Pacific, chairman of the
executive committee Of the Wells Far
go company, director of the Illinois
Central Railroad company, director Of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad COM
pany.. director of the Erie Railroad
company, director of the Colorado Fuel
and Iron company. director of he
Western Union Telegraph company, di-
rector of the National City Bank OF
New York. director of the Chicago and
Alton Railroad company, director Of
the Pere Marquette Railroad company,
director OF the San Pedro, Los Angeles
and Salt Lake Railroad company, d.
rector OF the S~usquehanna and West
ern Railroad company, director OF the
New York Central Railroad company
and many more, to say nothing or the
Equitable Assurance society, of which
he was once a director, but from which
he resigned during the Hughes investi-
cation.
Controlled Whatever He Touched.
After reading all that list II ear
wonder not only that he died so soon,
but that be lived so long, for be 1t
understood that Edward III. Hartman
was no mere perfunctory director
Whatever he touched he controlled
either that or something broke. he
was not a dummy. Nor could he ave
controlled all these properties, only a
fraction of which he could have owned
personally, unless his business associ-
ates reposed the greatest confidence
in his integrity and ability. 1t was
his power Of organization, of construc-
ton, his intimate knowledge OF the
whole country as it related to railroad
ing. his daring methods and his sue
cess that won him their allegiance.
He became far and away the greatest
railroad power Of his day and perhaps
of any day that the country has YET
known. There may be railroad kings
in future that will control more mile
age, but none up to his own time.
His latest dream of making the New
York Central a part of his gigantic
system was coming TO fruition only
when death snatched him away from
it. Even as 1t was, the greatest OF our
railroads was listed as a Hartman
property. and its stocks moved in sym