The San Francisco call., 1909-11-30
JUDGE LOvFTT
SMILES, But He
Will NOT TALK
AffabIy Declines to Express Him.
self on Any Question In
vOIving His Railroads
Prefers to Be interviewed About
the Height of San Fran
ciscO's Buildings

Robert Scott Lovett, the successor of
Edward H. Hartman as president of
the Hartman system" of railroads and
transportation lines, arrived in San
Francisco at 9 o'clock yesterday morn
ing with kind and ready smile, an
imperturbabIe silence and the intention
OF familiarizing himself. with the pres
ent needs and problems of the South
ern Pacifc in California. With Judge
Lovett are Julius Kruttschnitt, direc-
tor of maintenance and operation; ]. c.
Stubbs. traffic director; z. o. McCor-
mick, assistant traffic director of the
Hartman system, and E. E. Stillman of
the New York Office of the lines. E.
I. Calvin. vice president of the South
ern- Pacific company. met the party al
Ashland, ore. and came south with his
chief
Lovett promptly established himself
D.. in Offices on the tenth floor of the Flood
building. adjoining the Offices of Cal
vim. He was in conference with Cal
vim and Chief Engineer Hood of the
Southern Pacific and other department
"A
railroad presidents time while in Cali
fornia viii be devoted TO the work be-
ing done by the Southern Pacific be-
tween Roseville and Colfax, where
grade Of i per cent is being estab
lished for the accommodation of east
bound traffic.
GREAT RAILROAD PROBLEM
What, in the opinion Of Julius Krutt-
schnitt, is the greatest piece of rail
road construction now being done is
under way between those two points.
for z distance Of SO miles The ques-
1ion Of the electrizaJion OF the mountain
division Of the road east of Roseville
VIII also be considered by Lovett He
hroke his silence on that point 10 the
extent of saying The engineers are
studying on that question now. We
viii be governed by the considera tions
Of efficiency OF course economy is an
Important consideration, TOO, but doesn't
efficiency mean economy"
Judge Lovett has the Yankee man.
nerisr-for all that he is a Texan born
and bred-of answering one question
by putting another
The most definite statement that
Judge Lovett would make was that
William r. Herrin could have the post
or chief counsel for the Hartman sys-
TEN. the place which Lovett himself
had flled at the time OF the death of
Hartman in September. II he desired il.
DUNE TO BE IN NEW YORK
Mr. Herrin can become chief counsel
II he wants 10. but I don't know that
he wants TO take the place" was the
way Lovett expressed it Mr.. Peter F.
Dunno is 70 be in New York during the
trial Of the suits brought by the gov
ernment to dissolve the Southern Pa
cifc and Union Pacific combination. He
will In that action take the place
i'm fc y
That action is for a violation of the
Sherman antitrust act, is il not2" Low
EFT was asked.
For an alleged violation" he re-
Piled. with 2 gentle smile OF rebuke at
the intimation that the Hartman sys-
TEN could have violated any law. na-
tionai or celestial
Does the decision OF the United
states circuit court of St Paul in dis
solving the Standard oil company have
any bearing on the Southern Pacific
Union Pacific case2'
That is another matter" said Low
EFT. with the same indulgent smile.
FREE WITH HIS SMILES
Lovett probably smiles more than
any other railroad president in the
country When he smiles his eyes
radiate crows feet and his face, which
bears a large nose, assumes a likeness
70 that OF Abraham Lincoln.
One opinion Lovett inherited from
Hartman with his position. and that is
the view that San Francisco has sky
scrapers enough and to spare. 1t will
he remembered that when Hartman
was last in san Francisco he gave an
extended interview. in which he de-
clared emphatically that there were too
many tail buildings in this city and
that the rational limit to the height
should be six stories.
When the subject of the Southern
Patifc being in politics was mentioned
Lovett smiled QUizzically. a railroad
in politics. never heard Of such an
Institution" he said. His smile broad
ened more indulgently when IL was
suggested that many people in Cali
fornia had heard of the institution"
SILENT on LEADING QUESTIONS
on questions of railroad policy
Isovett was what an eastern magazine
writer recently called him, "A smiling
sphinx"
7 can not discuss the Portland ter
rninaL I am glad you told me
there was dispute between the
Southern Pacific and the state over San
Pedro harbor. III look into Il.
In the matter Of through rates on
oriental goods shipped via San Fran
cisco direct to the east. you would bet
ter-s speak to some Of your ratemen about
IndE- eSs ! DeueNe 1 an president OF
the Pacific Mall have probably been
elected by this time"
What are your views on the recon-
mendation that a court be formed to
pass upon the decisions of the inter-
state commerce commission2" Lovett
was asked.
Isn't that a political question:" he
replied.
Judge Lovett would not discuss the
possible relations between the South
ern Pacific and the Hill roads. or the
Southern Pacific and the Western Pa
cifc. About the only project that he
would even consider without downright
evasion was the extension of the
Northwestern Pacific to Eureka And
on that he passed the responsibility.
The Santa Fe is also Interested in
that. is il not2v he asked. Il think
there viii be construction work con-
rfnued there"
ROSE FROM FARMLAND
The visiting railroad president is the
only executive head OF a road who
started in grubbing stumps along the
sc~L of When fha Ho-u%o~