Evening journal., 1912-10-11
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
A Test Of Friendship That
Meant More Than Victory
pv uoIIond
By Holland.

Il never saw William H. Wander
bilt really angry but once" said the
late Commodore Alfred Van SAINT
voord to me about a year before his
death in 1901.
Commodore Van Santvoord and Mr..
Vanderbilt were intimate personal
and business friends The Commo-
dore was sometimes spoken of as the
king Of traffic by steamboats, upon
the Hudson river. He was the ere
ator Of the leading steamboat line
upon that river. IL would be pre-
sumed that the competition for pas
senger traffic between the Van SAINT
voord steamboats, and the Vanderbilt
railroad lines along the Hudson would
be so severe as to make certainly
business and probably personal
friendship out Of the question. That
competition, however, never in any
way interfered with the close per-
sonal intimacies that were maintained
between the two men for thirty years,
or until Mr.. Vanderbilt's death in
1885.
"The time of which I speak" con-
tinued Mr. Van Santvoord, was about
1885, when the Pennsylvania Rail-
road, in association with the New
Haven and Hartford, established
/ line of railroad ferryboats around
New York by means of which
through passenger traffic between
New England, Philadelphia, Wash
ington the West and the Southwest
could be sesured. These boats were
so built that they could take on a
whole train OF Pullman cars and then
transport the unbroken train around
Manhattan Island TO and from the
water terminal of the two railroad
systems. The distance was eleven
miles
"Mr. Vanderbilt sent for me short
| ly after this railway ferry was put
in operation. The first thing he said
TO me was:
EVAN, have you got couple OF
steamboats, that you will sell to meH
81 did have at that lime two steam
boats which / would gladly have
sold, because I had built two larger
ones TO take the place Of my Hudson
river service. | had not, shovever,
had any satisfactory offers for them.
was about to say, Yes, / have two
steamboats that I'll sell to you If
you'll pay my price, but instead of
doing that / choked myself, for ]
saw that Mr. Vanderbilt was very
angry. So I asked myself what he
wanted of two steamboats,.
Ivan, he said, the Pennsylvania
Railroad and the New Haven have
tied up aogether They are running
railroad ferryboats around New York
This is being done to cut into our
New York Central and Hudson River
Railroad passenger business. It isn't
playing fair with me-
"'Now, I'm going to match them.
| I'll buy two steamboats, and put
thcm into service between New
Haven and our branch line at Mott
Haven. Then I viii carry passen-
gers to and from New Haven al fifty
cents ahead-yes, twenty-five cents a
head, If necessary. Wen see how the
New Haven Railroad likes that.
Nov, Il was very strong tempta-
tlon to me to sell my two boats to Mr..
Vanderbilt then and there. He was
Just in the frame of mind which
would have led him 10 have bought
them at any price ! fixed upon them.
But | said to Mr.. Vanderbilt that
would, think the matter over over
night, and see him in the morning. In
reply he said to me that there
wouldn't be any quibbling about the
price.
Next morning / saw him again,
and l said: Mr., Vanderbilt l am
ready to make a price for my steam
boats TO you but | won't do it until
have said something. You can't make
a successful competition against the
New Haven and the Pennsylvania by
putting on a steamboat line between
New Haven and the New York Cen
tral at Mott Haven, because it takes
five hours at least to make the trip by
boat from New Haven to Mott Haven
and neither steamboat could accom-
modate more than three or four hun
dred passengers each load. That
would be only trifie You'd buy the
boats, put them on the line, run them
at loss for year, and then find
yourself Inundated before the New
Haven and the pennsylvania people.
Whats that TO ~you?' MIR Wander.
bilt asked
"lt's this to me. Friendship and
esteem are worth more at times thar
dollars; at least that is my reasoning
But If after what | have said you still
persist. YOU can have the steamboats,.
"Mr. Vanderbilt turned and looked
out Of the window of his Office for Z