New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-30

John s. Kennedy, the New York bank
/ or, found where bonds not owned IN
| Holland were to be bought.
| Getting Control of the st. Paul r. X.
James ]. Hill began TO work with
the legislators of Minnesota regarding
l the franchise. The state validated
land grants of 100000 acres, and soon
after the Legislature closed the gov
eminent passed like action. One day
! the grasshoppers vanished. A Few
settlers had remained on the farms,
and that year they raised the greatest
wheat crop ever grown in that region:
The new railroad had to work day and
night to carry away the crop, and soon
the farms were again in full swing.
BY 1879 the road was paid for and
a new group of millionaires was made
in the great Northwest. There were
five men in the syndicate. Hills fifth
had cost him very little. In May, 1879,
the ST. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba
Railroad was formed. 1t had cost the
syndicate a little less than S3OOOOO
TO get the road, and four years after
the incorporation II showed a value
of nearly $40000,000. In 1879 the
road had less than 600 miles or track,
fifty locomotives, less than hundred
passenger cars and about 500 freight
cars. Ii was capitalized at S3l 600, 900,
divided equally between stocks and
bonds. The road grew, and its early
growth came into the hands of Hill
/ and Stephen. Hill was general man.
aRer for some fifteen years. More
( and more after that Hill became the
/ railroad. BY 1898, as the Great North
/ ern, il had gone TO the Pacific Coast
and had rolled up a mileage Of 1890
miles. II was then capitalized at Sl43,-
/ 100000.
Northern Pacific Absorbed.
Almost from the day that the St.
Paul, Minneapolis e. Manitoba started
west it was case of survival OF the
/ fttest between it and the Northern
4 Pacific. BY 1898 the Northern Pacific
was tottering, and when the Great
! Northern cut rates it went into the
hands of a receiver. The hrst plan OF
! its denomination called for absorp-
ton by the Great Northern. The
United States Supreme Court declared
such a plan monopoly, but another
way around was found. The Northern
Pacific was recognized and turned
over to the men who controlled the
Great Northern. BY 1901 the length
Of the Great Northern was $500 miles;
Of the Northern Pacific $500 miles.
The control lay in the same hands as
had the original ST. Paul road, with the
addition Of the banking house OF j. +.
Morgan & Co.
Prior to that time neither the Great
Northern nor the Northern Pacific had
come further east than St. Paul, and
it was now necessary for each road to
have a connection into Chicago. Mr..
Hill decided that the Burlington was
the best road TO purchase and the Bur
lington was bought. The men at the
centre Of the great organization real
lied that they controlled an economic
power that would have been inconceiv-
able a quarter Of century before.
They had nearly twenty thousand miles
Of railroad, with a capitalization OF
5000 1000. 900 outstanding and receipts
Of $4,000, 900 a year. They had sold
much Of their stock in the Great
/ Northern as time went on, but the
group still held some $35,OOO,0OO, which
was about 80 per cent Of the stock,
and. through Morgan, held about $780,
600 900 of the stock of the Northern
Pacific.
The War with Hartman.
Taken altogether, the group of fnan-
ciers to which James j. Hill belonged
was one Of the most remarkable that
ever worked together in this country.
Twenty-Five wears after they undertook
their venture with the St. Paul Pa
cifc il occurred to them that they were
getting old. II came 20 N-r. Kennedy AS
far back as 1897 that they would bet
ter tie up their property, the treat
Northern. so that nobody else should
get hold of IL. To be sure, they did not
own the whole property, nor actually
half of the stock. but they certainly
controlled il; and they considered IL as
much their property as their houses.
So thew proposed 20 tie up the Great
/ Northern in a holding company, the
Northern Securities Company. Living
or dead. the majority vote OF their
stock should rule the Great Northern
Railway. They did not act at once, but
in the spring Of 1901 they were about
ready TO take it up. Then suddenly out
of a clear sky came catastrophe. lhey
were in danger Of losing their property
in the New York stock market
II was the Harriman-Schlh forces
hunting the Northern Pacihc and the
! hNTlllRlOI. II klltg ~ r+-N---f
tilted. the property of his associates,
who had been with him so long, would
be ruined and the whole structure
would be destroyed. The old guard OF
+ the Great Northern and their ally, J. ?:
/ Morgan. awakened suddenly 20 defend
their property in the great financial
battle Of May o, 1901. II was the day
Of the Northern Pacific corner. Harri-
man did not get the road from hill.
Then followed warfare between the
two great railroad men that lasted for
years.
Commercial World Power.
In addition to his gigantic railroad sys-
/ TEN Mr.. Hill developed two extensive
systems of water transportation con-
Meeting Herewith respective az the East
and West. One was a line, or group Of
/ lines, plying between Duluth and Buff
/ falo, some being huge express steam
ers, making no stops between those ter
minals, and others serving the "way
trade" at intermediate ports. Alto
gether they formed the greatest trans
portation system on the inland seas.