New-York tribune., 1909-09-10
CAREER OF HARTMAN
FROM 4 BROKERS' CLERK
TO RAILROAD KING.
Had Gained Control Of Nea-ly
ro0.oo0 Miles of Tronsporta-
ton Lines.

copal Church at Hampstead Long Island, where
the future flnancier was born in 1S4S. He
had three brothers. Nelson, Orlando and Will
lam, and two sisters, Lily and Annie. When
Edward Henry six years old the family
moved to Jersey City, and then began period
OF extreme hardship lasting for four years. in
which the father had no regular salary. 1t was
the sterling qualities of Mr.. Harriman's mother.
who came of an old aristocratic family OF New
Brunswick, \. J., which brought the family
through this crisis. Later she inherited little
money, which provided home for the family in
Jersey City and gave the boys scant educa-
ton in district and church school.
The young man entered Wall Street late in
the Co.'s as a clerk At that time he gave little
Indication of his ability. Socially. however, he
vac we'll liked. He is described as being full
o. fun and fond OF society. He had a mind
Of his even then. James Stillman, life
long friend once said: II never saw Ed Har-
,irnan hurry, except OF his own -oltion"
There are many stories to account for the
way IN which he came to buy a seat on the
exchange, which he did August 13 1870
One is that he was pungtng in the market with
ell he possessed during the celebrated corner In
gold engineered by Gould, Fisk and kimber;
that he took mis- profits BLACK Friday" and
invested the whole in seat Oh the exchange.
A more probable story. however. is that he was
assisted by a relative, one of his fathers branch
of the family.
Early in life he married Miss Mary Averell
whose father was capitalist and a successful
railroad man. It proved in every way fortu-
nate and happy marriage
The keynote Of Edward H Harrinlan's career
was craving for direct, personal. unshared au-
thority. He himself handled the immense mass
OF details connected with the running of the
Unioh Pacific and the Southern Pacific. O. NJ.
Hays became president of the Southern Pacific
after C. P. Huntington died. Soon after Mr..
Hartman got control OF the road Mr.. Hays re-
.ixned.' The ex-president told friend he
couldn't the use Of the Southern Pacific pay
ing $4,000 a year for Office boy and he
couldn't buy even a ton of rails without Mr..
Harriman's O. <. Horace G. Burt was made
head Of the Union Pacific after the reorganiza-
tion. When the strain became too much for
him and he too dropped out, his complaint was
that Mr.. Hartman even insisted counting
the company's stamps.
When the broker began his phenominal career
as railroad man he was not personally very
wealthy, as capitalists go. Half a dozen of the
men who employed him 10 manipulate railroads
with their money and under their direction
could have bought him out many times
That relationship didn't last long. Those who
stayed in recognized e master and one
who in little time rich they. Il
don't truckle toady to any of the big men,
he said 10 interviewer year or two ago. Il
don't have 10. Why should t.
HIS METHODS.
Mr.. Hsrrimau's methods OF intense applica-
tion TO detail hurried him 10 his grave. Yet
by them he gained control of some 600 miles
Of transportation lines and arnassed a personal
fortune estimated at over s10o,000Goo. In the
last few years IL had become the generally &C
ceptsd statement here and abroad that Z =.
Hartman the unexampled phenomenon Of
American railway growth His vas in a sense
double intellect His inanciering involved the
establishing Of credit represented by 100000
coo More remarkable was his practical con-
structive work by which he conceived and per
fected the Union Pacific Railroad system. He
could not only finance big system, he could
build il and run it we'll
Il was not until ten years after Stuyvesant
Fish. then president of the Illinois Central. dis
covered the railroad man and made him
1ice-president of that company that the future
master made himself known to the outside
world. Meanwhile he had been stirring the
inner circles. He hadn't been in Illinois Cen
tral five years before he undertook, during Mr..
Fighs absence in Europe, TO order the other
rice-presidents around as if he held supreme
authority There was a general fight, and Mr..
Hartman got out Cor time.
Not TIL 1888 was the presence OF a new leader
recognized. Il was then that he bought the Chi
cago &; Alton for his associates in the Union
Pacific, Of which he chairman OF tho ex-
ecutiye committee. The other members Of the
syndicate were James Stillman Jacob H. Schff
and George J. Gould.
Mr.. Hartman had gone into the Union Pacific
with the Kuhn-Loeb- Rockefeller interests, who
bought IL from the United States government in
Ieyl. The old road, built first as national
enterprise. the first transcontinental line. had
isIlcn into such state OF decay that II was do
seT1bed as a right OF way and two streaks OF
, rust. Dividends we're Il thing of the past Mr..
hartman. seeing boom times ahead, believed it
good property TO buy at hard time prices. It
was sold In bankruptcy for s14.O00.OOO
THE UNION PACIFIC PROBLEM
Tho rcad had the bed. grades. rails anG equip
ment ~ thirty years before. II vas isolated
fI.iing from inland town 10 desert VIII
isse Ite Western feeder and original twin the
southern Pacific, had become q rival. carrying
!" Aew Orleans the tonnage that should havo
gone 10 the Union Pacific
ire ne y railroad man. only recently a mere
STOCK or0Aer. began Tie tremendous task OF
NiftcIlly rebuilding trunk line two thousand
nile; long through! q desert ard over a mountain
ing. lie mao first 10 convince mis- associa tes
mat nc practically untried, could succeed where
veteran ia.iroad gcniuses had failed. There were
iaiii"ns 10 be raised for construction. IN a
'TaT t1IE fIna nciJl feat had been accom-
pllshed. Ti!en Ire efficiency work began. II
Hlsalt The cutting down Of mountains grade
- 10 feet 10 the mite established and ad-
'ere1 10, even wllc: il meant taking 241 feet
rom an elevation, making 100000 yard IN.
u cut 30 feet deep and 900 feet long a half
mile tunnel through solid rock. Perhaps the
climax OF Mr.. Harriman's constructive wori;