Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-18
HARTMAN SAYS
DOCTORS ORDER
HIM TO RETIRE
RAILROAD WIZARD lNTlMATES
HE MAY QUIT STREET
GIVES FIRST OPINION AS TO
ROOSEVELT
Transportation King Believes Former
President Acted According to
Law but Erred in Going
to Extremes
tContlnued from Pace one,

(Continued from Page One,
from this he branched out into other
| subjects.
He spoke of Roosevelt-the first time
he has done so in many months. He
| did not speak harshly of the retired
| president In fact he was inclined TO
be exceptionally lenient.
Speaking of the former president and
his use of the big stick on corpora
tions, Mr. Hartman said:
THE retired president was not to
blame, although L believe that he
probably went little too far. He was
only trying to enforce law that had
been put into effect long before his
time. The panic, however, l pelleVe,
would not have resulted had he not
carried on his prosecutions with such
vigorous hand.
"I advised Mr.. Roosevelt against the
| passage of the Hepburn act and the
amendment to the sherman antitrust
act. [ also advised him that railroads
should be regulated. l have always
favored railroad regulation to GER
tain extent. There are letters on rec
ord today in washington which l wrote
| to Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Taft in 1905
in which 1 expressed myself as favor
| ing railroad regulation. l mention
this, and I will read the letter which
wrote Mr.. Taft to show that / am
not taking a stand today which was
different than the stand have always
taken.
Never Wanted Rebates
"The transportation lines never
wanted to receive rebates, and it was
only because of existing conditions
that it was made necessary. The peo-
pie do not seem to understand us. Per-
hans we have not talked enough. Pol
iticians, for purposes and reasons bet
ter known to themselves, have used
the railroads to make campaign ma
terial The railroads have been great
empire builders and not the malefac-
tors that the public has been led TO
believe they are. IL seems 10 pc an
a matter Of inability to understand.
We have opened up great unsettled re-
gions and done more than any other
institution toward the upbuilding OF
the country.
"Our methods have been to eliminate
the expense of fighting and devote the
money to development Railroad rates
are moret stable now than ever before.
Capital should be devoted to develop
ment instead of waste, and this rs
possible only when competition is elm
mated.
ut seems that everybody has been
trying to see just how much they could
get out of us. If anybody has kick
coming from any source they try to
Mr.. Hartman was calm all through
this portion of his discussion, and did
not talk like one harboring any i'll feel
ing against those whom he believed
had opposed him in his efforts to be-
come master of the railroads on the
American continent, or who had at
tempted to retard him IN the pullulnS
of new systems.
Mr.. Hartman greeted the reporters
at his cottage at the Raymond hotel
by declaring that oil, water and Call
fornia were all right. He spoke with
amusement and his eyes sparkled as he
invited his interrogators to be seated.
He began:
Now, Mexico, I believe, is what I
am expected to talk about. WE'LL
Mexico is great empire. I should say
that, after the Imperial valley, GER
tain portions of Mexico have prospects
unequaled by any other region in the
world
1--WE find the Mexican government
much fairer to deal with than our
home government I went down there
in 1901 and reached an agreement with
the officials of that country. All we
have to do now is to draw up the
necessary papers. and, instead of re-
tarding our work, they lend their aid
in every way.
1.-THE Mexican. when given plenty to
eat, is a good workman. He goes about
his work attending his own business.
He appears to an exceedingly efficient
laborer. Those I watched down on the
Mazatlan road kept pace with ma
chine in placing rails that the ma
chine turned out.
I'VE have had as many as 100 Next
can workmen employed on the road at
one time.
This land west of the mountains
and through which our road is running
is the most fertile in the world. Swift
ly moving rivers form great fertile re-
gions near their mouths, where vege
tation grows in abundance. This is "A
great territory and is capable of sup
plying the needs of all who should mi
CRATE there.
Orange Luxury to Him
81 remember that in my youth
thought it a great treat to get an
orange. The luxuries of yesterday are
the necessities of today. Things that
we could have got along without few
years back we must have now. This
great region in Mexico is capable OF
supplying those former luxuries which
are now necessities"
Mr.. Hartman was asked if there ex-
listed an interstate commerce commits
sion in Mexico. In reply to this ques-
ton he said:
NO, I believe not. The people down
there are fairly intelligent. 1 hope,
however, to find more Americans taking
advantage of the great Mexican coun-
try. In Guaymas I was disappointed to
find the settlers to be German and
French, rather than Americans. The
people of the United States should not
overlook the opportunities there.