Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-05-11
HARTMAN ON.
HIS POLICIES,
Government Should Cooperate
With Railroads, He Says.

With Railroads, He Says.
ALWAYS fAVORS REGULATION
Declares Ex-President Roosevelt, Pos
sibly Carried It Too Far-7lames In
terstate Commerce Commission Fol
Share In Psnic-Denies Rumors o.
| III Health and Retirement.
E. Fl. Hartman, president Of the
Union Pacific railroad, forcefully out
lined his policy of the cooperation and
consolidation of railroads in an inter
view at Los Angeles. CAL, the other day
Mr. Harriman's initial remarks were
| prediction Of the remarkable devel
opment which he believes is to come
to the west coast of Mexico, where he
is building 1880 miles of railroads
Asked about the extent of railroad
building on his lines and the territory
he would cover, he said:
"Our objective point is to connect
with the Mexican Central. and about
$50 miles of line will make this route
complete. We went about seventy
miles up the Yaqui river, into the min
eral country"
what is the attitude Of the Next
can government toward capital7"
every liberal-very liberal. indeed.
We found 1t SO. and when anything
unusual occurred we found we could
always get very quick decisions"
"Do they nave an interstate com.
MERGE commission down there?"
"No; they are quite intelligent"
do they try to exercise any juris-
diction over your operationsT
mo; they are very fair. They grant
a charter and state just what you can
do. will let you into little secret
and will state that the conditions as
brought about by my visit in 1901 are
now in existence. At that time ]
asked them what they would do If
worked up plan for them. They have
that plan in operation now"
"Have they government ownership
mo; they have not so much govern.
ment ownership as government part
nership. l told them in 1901 not to
make the mistake they have infAmer.
lea and build railroad lines at the ex.
pense Of wasting capital without serv-
ing the country. l have always IA.
vored combination, and l believe that
legislation will sooner or later be en-.
acted in favor Of combination and en-
forcing combination. By this do not
mean to remove individual compett
ton. Everybody should have the same
right to move what he wants over the
lines. l have always been In favor of
regulation That 'is on record. 1.-THE
men looking for political preferment
are doing all the talking and are mis-.
leading the people. Some Of them are
afraid to tell the truth for fear that
their heads will fall at the next cleo
ton. 1t is carried to such length
that finally the people think there is
really something in" all this talk be.
cause the other side has nothing Itc
say. M"'
1T is more or less the fault of the
railroads that they have become dis
credited to such an extent as they
have. *
To-day it is even a conspiracy for
the managers Of railways to get into
q room and talk of the relations of |!
their lines to each other, and they can
even be convicted If the fact can be
proved. Such conditions have been
carried too far. ~
tween the government and the cor
porations. We can make no gentle
mems agreement any more. The law
prevents, as l understand it. On the
other hand, the rates have become
more stable. Agitation against the
railways has reached the point where
l great many of the agitators are get
ing somewhat mixed up and afraid.,
Have you any reason to think that
Mr.. Taft will continue the same con-
litions as those brought during the
administration Of Mr.. Roosevelt?" e94
"The Interstate commerce act was
passed in 1887. There were regu1a-
ions long before Mr.. Roosevelt was
alked of. The Sherman act was pass.
ID about the same time, think The
dea of regulation did not originate
With Mr.. Roosevelt. 1t had become
lcute when Mr.. Roosevelt came into
he political field, and he was quick
minded enough to see it and possibly
:arried it too far. think the results
rave been rather disastrous. think
said to Mr.. Roosevelt in 1905 that
re ought aot to have the Hepburn
amendment passed without having AMI
that would give the rail-
Dads protection as wen as regulation.l
That was the time to- have done 1t.
We could have stopped all this recent
rouble If that had been done then.
''The fact was the interstate COM.
nerce commission was just as much X
It fault as the rebate payers and the
ebate takers. They failed to enforce
he original act, passed In 1887 or 1888
This should be considered in settle. /,
nent Of any kind-vfz. that they are 1t
anti no vro11 % tho ro fJxooAc Co-4 .Ns.S l ,