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

Il never saw William II. Wander
bilt really angry but once" said the
late Commodore Alfred Van SAINT
voord to me about 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 Gre
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.. Nanderbilt's death In
1885.
"The time of which I speak" con-
tinued Mr. Van Santvoord, was about
1885, when the Pennsylvania Rail-
Haven and Hartford, established a
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
/ . . raf,
Manhattan Island 10 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:
YAH have you got a couple of
steamboats, that you will sell to mep
Il did have at that lime two steam
boats which / would gladly have
sold because had built two larger
ones to take the place of my Hudson
river service. 7 had not. however,
had any satisfactory offers for them
/ was about to say. Yes, / have two
steamboats, that I'll sell TO you If
youll pay my price, but instead Of
doing that I choked myself for
saw that Mr.. Vanderbilt was very
angry So / asked myself what he
wanted of two steamboats,.
"'Van 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
. u i turlf
playing fair with me.
Now, I'm going to match them.
/ I'll buy two steamboats, and put
them into service between New
Haven and our branch line at Mott
! Haven. Then ] will carry passen-
gers TO and from New Haven at fifty
cents ahead-yes, twenty-five cents a
head, II necessary Well see how the
New Haven Railroad likes that
Now, it was a very strong tempta-
tion to me to sell my two boats to Mr.
Vanderbilt then and there. He was
lust 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
IANUlN Mt odiu ~ ln' Ahrl AhhA'
wouldn't be any quibbling about the
price
Next morning | saw him again
and said: Mr. Vanderbilt, | an
ready to make "A price for my steam
boats to you, but / won't do it until
have said something. You can't MAKE
successful competition against the
New Haven and the Pennsylvania b,
putting on a steamboat line betweel
New Haven and the New York Cen
tral az Mott Haven. because it take
five hours at least to make the trip b.
boat from New Haven to Mott Havel
and neither steamboat could accom-
modate moro than three or four hun
dred passengers each load, Tha
would be only a trife You'd buy tn
boats. put them on the line, run then
at a loss for a year, and then flint
yourself Inundated before the NeH
Haven and the Pennsylvania people
What's that to your Mr.. Wander
bilt asked.
"'lt's this to me. Friendship an
esteem are worth more at times tha
dollars: at least that is my reasoning
But if after what / have said you stil
persist. YOU can have the steamboats,
"Mr. Vanderbilt turned and locke
out of the window of his Office for
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