Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-09-10

director of the Illinois Central railroad.
He was at that time working in close
friendship with Stuyvesant Fish, who
was elected second yice-president in the
same year. Mr.. Fish had also been a
member of the Stock exchange from
1876 to 1879. and the two young men
went into the Illinois Central to work
along together. In 1887 Mr.. Hartman
became vice-president and Mr. Fish was
elected president. Mr.. Hartman was
then about 20 years old.
Begins to Gather Railroads.
During the panic and preceding the
election of President Mckinley a num-
Der Of large western railroads had gone
TO smash, among them the Northern
Pacific and the Union Pacific. The
wreck of the latter was particularly bad
and seemed perfectly hopeless. \ Nor
gan syndicate made an attempt To rescue
the road. but gave up the plan in sheer
disgust. But Hartman never lost his
confidence. He formed a mixed syndi
cate, backed by Kuhn. Loeb & Co.. of
New York. and including two members
Of the Vanderbilt faction. two of the
GOuldS. two Of the Boston crowd that
had sunk millions in the old Union Pa
cihc and several independent capitalists,
among them Hartman. The road was
merly line from Omaha to OGDEN.
paid the government SJS.O00.0O0 in cash
and 81 100000 To settle with the hold
ers OF the old first mortgage bonds. The
road was turned over TO the syndicate
at midnight on the last day of January,
1898
The same syndicate purchased for So,
3OD,tBD a block of coal company bonds
and other railroad bonds and in the fol
lowing month group Of branch lines.
called the Kansas Pacific. for SO.3O3.O0O.
That was the last dollar ever subscribed
by the syndicate for the creation Of the
great Hartman system. The members
Of the syndicate received back every cent
they had invested within three years and
all the subsequent purchases Of railroads
were made on the credit of the Union
Pacific and the few other lines under
its control.
Hartman soon became the controlling
spirit Of the Union Pacific. He cleverly
used the credit of this road for acquir
ing, without spending q single dollar. thei
control OF one railroad after the other
The first railroad thus absorbed was the,
Oregon Railroad d Navigation company
whose stockholders were induced to eX-i
change their stock for Union Paciticj
stock.
In the summer Of 1899 Mr.. Hartmann
temporarily dropped his financial
schemes and took scientific EXPLORING
fitted out at his own expense. The fol-i
lowing year he bought the Kansas City,
Pittsburg Il Gulf railroad and reOr-
ganized the Chicago x Alton. which he
had acquired in the early spring of 1899
Next came the Southern Pacific, which,
became part of the Hartman system on
February l. 1901. The credit Of the
Union Pacific was used to accomplish
the absorption. The Union Pacific exc
cuted a mortgage for S10O,000,O00 and
sold $40 100000 of bonds at par. thus
paying for the stock of the Southerni
Pacific
When Hartman tried to obtain con-
troll of the burlington railroad and the,
Morgan interests snapped it away fr0m
him, buying it for the Northern Pacific
Hartman became determined to obtain
control of the Northern Pacific. This
led to a bitter fight between the Harri-
man and the Morgan-Hill interests and
caused the panic of May 9, 1901. This
was one of the few cases i'll which Har-
rlman did not succeed in carrying out his;
plans. lie fought hard and went TO law,
to force the Northern Security company.
declared Illegal by the supreme court, TO,
return to him the Union Pacific stock
he had turned over to the Morgan-Hill
clique for Northern Security stock. but
in the end he had to take what Mr.. Hill
was willing 10 give him.
In the following years Hartman CON
tinued the eXtenton of his system toward
the east and south. He acquired con
troll of the Illinois Central railroad. GUST
ing his former friend Stuyvesant Fish
from the presidency, obtained strong
hold over the st. Joseph & Grand Island
by using the credit of the Union Pacific
and through the Oregon Shortline he OBJ
tanned interests i'll the Atchison. Topeka
& Santa Fe. the Baltimore & Ohio. the
Milwaukee 4 st. Paul. the Chicago &
North-W estern, the New York Central
and several minor railroads. These rail
roads and his interests in the Equitable
Life Assurance society and other insug-
ance "ompanies placed him in control of
property valued at more than $1,000
000,000 and one Of the most dangerous
rivals of John y. Rockefeller, ]. p. Nor
gan and James J. Hill. as well as a po-
itical power. particularly in the west.