The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-09-10
DEATH AND CAREER OF Ed
WARD HENRY HARTMAN.


In the death of Edward Henry Har-
simsn, there passes from hfe's stage
the most striking figure of the rail
road and financial world Few Ameri-
cans have made the impress on this
generation that has been made by Har-
liman.
1t is not easy to judge Mr.. Hartman
adequately. About his career there
was much to be admired and much that
was to be deprecated, even denounced.
He was entitled to the admiration of
everyone In this, that he was distinctly
n self-msde product. He started m
life a penniless boy and by the sheer
force of his own character and ability
worked his way upward to great wealth
and, what was more, TO the position
of being the ablest railroad executive
and administrator the United States
has yet seen. To say this, means that
he was without a peer in the great
field Of railroad administration His
achievements in converting worthless
lines, with nothing but a right of way
and a few old rails into great carriers.
are the msrvels of this great industrial
age. When it came to the management
of railroads, Mr.. Hartman built up.
He did not wreck and tear down as so
many men of high place in the financial
annals of the country have done.
II was no ordinary mentality this
that struggled upward from nothing
until he had encompassed the control
of railroad system that stretched
from ocean 70 ocean and from the Great
Lakes 10 the gulf and which was ex-
tending its reach across Mexico and
20 the Isthmus of Panama. The wiz
ards Of olden days could not have con
Jured up such an achievement as this
in their widest dreams.
Viewed from such things as these,
the Hartman who now lies dead. was
a great American to be admired and
mourned. As a husband and father,
in his private life, he was a good citi-
zen.
The other side to the picture is the
Hartman deep in reckless operations
Of stock jobbing, in the looting Of rail
way systems, in The manipulation OF
securities, in the piling mountain high
Of indebtedness on railroad properties
that will stand for generations as a
tax on the public and a burden on the
average citizen. This was the same
Hartman who dipped deep into politics
local, State. and national, and had
chosen to office, high and low. men who
were merely his puppets and creatures
To 60 over the list of the men now in
public life who owe their first allegiance
TO Hartman would be long story and
one calculated TO make the believer in
good government blush for shame. II
VIII be long time before the country
RECEIVERS from the effects of the thing.
Hartman did in such directions a.
these.
Mr.. Hartman died at the age OF
sixty-one. II was thought he had MANY
years before him. Il is said that hc
had got past the time when he be
heved that he could defy the Govern.
ment and proceed in disregard Of pub.
lie sentiment, and that, had he lived
there would have been revealed in
stronger lights many of the better quail.
tiles Of the man which were long hid
den. In this. there is a valuable lessor
for those who believe private individ
uals and interests can long permanent
" proceed in defiance Of the will OF
the people. It would appear that Mr.
Hartman had reached the stage wher,
be was ready 90 turn his vast energies
in better directions than ne often had
Great as Mr.. Hartman was in the
financial and railroad world. il is vet
true that his influence on things wa,
overestimated. The great railroad
properties he has controlled will con
tinue to exist and 20 improve. Hi.
passing is another proof that no man j,
indispensable, even though that man b,
the most brilliant railroad genius of hi.
age.