The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-02
M'ADOO OUTDOES
 MASTERS OF OLD
Ry HOLLAND


 New York June 1.-(Special. )-James J. Hill appealed to his New York bankers when the Great Northern railroad sys- tenn was under construction for an ad- vance of a good many millions. New York aided by Canada and London found the money for him. MT. Hill at that time was quoted as saying in private. as he afterward did in public, that the American railroads would need billion year tor five years at least if they were to be able to meet the great de- mands that would be made upon them for traffic.
 F. H. Hartman called upon his New York bankers with a proposition inyolv- ing loan to him in behalf of the Union Pacific of a good many millions. He received the money, but the senior part ner in that banking house confessed 10 friends that it was with some concern that they made the advance. Further more it was said that if MT. Hartman could have found the way he would have secured many millions more, believing that the expenditure of these millions would make it possible so to lower the cost of operation of the Union Pacific as to increase the investment value of the stock. He was compelled however, to be satisfied with the comparatively few millions which he obtained.
 c. P Huntington was often in the mar ket in order to secure loans. and if he could have found legislative favor and perhaps congressional favor he would have sought for many millions more, for he beliey ed that the investment of mil- lions in the improvement of roadbeds and particularly terminals might offset the indisposition of legislators or public service commissions to increase rates.
 The fai seeing managers of the Penn- sylvania, particularly the late A. J. Cas- sett, ventured to say publicly some years ago that there must be many millions or new capital secured if feright conges- ton was to be prevented in five years, for the industries and the agriculture or the country were growing more rapidly than railroad facilities for handling conl- modities. Could there have been an ii4- crease in rates granted by the interstate commerce commission the necessity for the expenditure of many millions through freshly secured capital might have been obviated. partially at least
 A STUPENDOUS RAISE
 Now comes the director general of the federated American railroad system and by single stroke of the pen authorizes an increase of passenger and freight traf- fic the aggregate of which, based upon the best estimates of traffic. should be a little under GOO. In other words, one man vested with more power than any public service commission or the 1n- terstate commerce commission, possibly than any legislative body, by single command grants to the railroads such increase of rates as will yield them upon the best estimate of traffic between $S50, GOO, JoO and s9o0,000000 in a single year. The power which is in the hands of Director General McAdoo has been ire quentlv spoken of in the financial dis trict as stupendous, unsurpassed by any individual power. excepting that pos sessed by the autocratic rulers of em- i pires, perhaps only by Russia's Czar when that empire possessed czar. i But this is not all. Mir McAdoo from l his sick bed, according to authentic re- ports, formulated an order whereby the l railroads of the United States under his i direction and that of his subordinates will come into possession of nearly 1 s1.oeo, ,e0o0oo of fresh capital.
 i WHEN THEY WERE IN POWER 1 According to common agreement, the l four great railroad forces in the United States who were in authority within the i past 30 years were James J. Hill, E. II. Hartman, Collis F. Huntington and A. J. Cassatt Each one of these men was an autocrat. At times the authority was exercised in imperious manner and at
 times. especially in the case of MT. Hill
 the iron determination was concealed 1 by plausible and even windy statements MT. Cassatt was perhaps more directly l and Intimately in touch with the stock l holders of the Pennsylvania Railroad 1 stockholders of the Great Northen. Mir Hartman with the stockholders of the Union Pacific. and Mir. Huntington with l the stockholders of the Southern Pacific
 Three at least of these railroad construc