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PORTLAND. THURSDAY, FKB. SO, 1908.
THE A LI) RICH BILL NO REMEDY.
Day by day the debate on the Aid
rich currency bill' goes on in the Sen
ate. But It adds nothing: to the en
lightenment of the country, nor con
tributes anything towards solution of
the main problem of our. currency and
financial situation. .
The reason Is that men can't get
over the old errors of our greenback
system, and of our present National
bank system, or system of bond-secured
currency adopted as an emer
gency measure for the Civil War.
Forty-five years ago these methods
and expedients were adopted, because
they then seemed the readiest means
to meet an emergent need; and now
people have come to regard legal ten
der Treasury notes, which are but
mere promises to pay, as money, and
the rigid and unscientific system of
bank currency secured by bonds, as
the only form of bank notes which
the country can have though In fact
it is the Very worst in the world, and
bo bad that there is no parallel to it.
"In 1863," says Fowler of New Jersey,
chairman of the House committee on
banking and currency, "when Secre
tary Chase wanted to raise money to
carry on the war, he devised this
scheme of basing our currency upon
Government bonds; and, by imposing
a 10 per cent tax upon bank note cir
culation, compelled the bankers to
buy the United States bonds and Issue
circulation based upon them. It was
a bond-selling scheme in its Inception,
and it has never been anything else
but a bond-speculating scheme."
Bank currency should be based on
movable or current assets, on mercan
tile bills representing the great com
modities of commerce. Such bank
notes must keep moving, because the
commodities keep moving, and the
mercantile bills that represent the
commodities must be paid at bank,
either In notes or in gold; and suffi
cient gold reserve is kept by the
banks for all accidents or emergen
cies. it has been and is the custom every
Fall, as Chairman Fowler explains,
to send Into the farming districts from
the central cities, say three hundred
millions of currency, for movement of
the crops and general .business. But
last Fall, when this demand was. ur
gent, there coincidentally happened a
financial difficulty in New York that
precipitated a run on the banks and
probably from $125,000,000 to $150,
000,000 of currency was seized, so
that the Kastern bankers not only
were utterly unable to send money to
the West, but were even compelled to
adopt clearing-house certificates. This
was the panic in the East and the
money stringency everywhere.
It came about through our stiff,
fixed, rigid and Inflexible system of
currency based on bonds, instead of
mercantile bills or bank credits. It
was simply a freeze, stopping the flow.
But if the resources of the banks
could have been converted Into cur
rent credits the flow would not have
been interrupted. It is a . certainty,
says Mr. Fowler, that the banks in
the central cities were owing the
country banks, more than $300,000,
ooo: It was an absolute debt, but
couldn't be converted Into a current
credit. A bond-secured currency was
locked' up. A proper bank currency
could not have been. But the trust
companies of the country took the en
tire issues of many of the great tVa
tional banks and held them as re
serve, and the banks had allowed It
because there was an interest profit to
them in the transaction.
The greater volume of bond-secured
currency, proposed by the Aldrlch bill,
will not help matters in the long run,
but in any emergency will aggravate
the difficulty. What we need is a
system having some approximation to
that of France or to that of Germany.
But probably tho partisan spirit In
our country, coupled with ignorance
of money, is too strong to permit the
country to obtain' it.
STATE BATKMAKING POWER.
The primary reason for ordering in
a joint rate on wheat by the Wash
ington Railroad Commission was a de
sire on the part of a few Puget Sound
millers to divert wheat from its nat
ural route to market by way of Port
land to the more distant markets of
Puget Sound. That the somewhat
questionable tactics of the interested
parties behind the scheme were un
successful is matter of congratulation
to both millers and producers in the
territory involved, but there are even
more Important reasons for welcom
ing the decision. In deciding that the
Railroad Commission can have no
powers beyond those of a mere ad
visory board for the Legislature,
Judge Hanford has shorn the Com
mission of authority which might
have been used with very serious re
sults, and has definitely explained that
the ratemaking power rests with the
Legislature.
The lesson has been a very expen
sive one for the State of Washington,
for where an ordinary advisory board
appointed for the purpose of gather
ing data, hearing complaints and at
tending to minor details would have
cost but a few thousand dollars, the
present board, which essayed to regu
late every thing in connection with a
railroad, has already used up about
$100,000 of the state funds. All this
might have been saved had the people
recalled their past experience In rate
making. The Anderson maximum
rate bill, introduced In the Legislature
by a Palpuse farmer, brought the first
large reduction in wheat freight rates,
and another reduction was made by
the McCroskey rate bill. These meas
ures were passed by the Legislature
after their merits had been thorough
ly examined by a body of more than
100 men who had been elected by the
people.
The opportunity for fair play for all
concerned, when a law is made in this
manner instead of by a commission of
thrqe men appointed for political pur
poses, is quite obvious. The framers
of the Washingotn constitution pro
vided for just such effective ratemaking-
legislation as the Anderson and
McCroskey bills when they decreed
that "the Legislature shall pass laws
establishing reasonable maximum
rates or charges for transportation of
passengers and freight, and to correct
abuses and to prevent discrimination
and extortion in the rates of freight
and passenger tariffs on the different
railroads, and other common carriers
In the state, and shall enforce such
laws by adequate penalties."
SOME HA1UUHAX DKA1.S.
According to figures published by
the New York World, the Harriman
clique . has pocketed more than
$29,000,000 profit from its shady stock
deals with the Union Pacific Railroad.
Having this road by the throat, the
clique was able to plunder it deliber
ately and without limit. The only
wonder is that the freebooters stopped
where they did. The general princi
ple of their deals was to get hold of a
large block of stock in some other
railroad company at a low price, use
this to wreck the road, water it,
squeeze it and bedevil it according to
the approved methods of high finance,
and finally, when it had been drained
of its last cent of incidental profit, sell
it to the Union Pacific for twice Its
value.
The advantage of being at the same
time a man and a railroad is amply
demonstrated by these transactions.
The members of the Harriman clique
could buy the shares for themselves
as men for almost nothing,- then turn
round and sell to themselves as the
Union Pacific Railroad at any price
they chose to set, making the Union
Pacific investors pay the bills. The
total amount of squeezed and ex
hausted stock which they ' thus .un
loaded upon their unhappy constitu
ents was more than $139,000,000.
Naturally, as soon as the financial
stringency occurred the water began
to drip from . these 'holdings, whose
values shrank to something like their
actual figure. In the process the
stockholders of the Union Pacific lost
about $42,000,000. It may comfort
the souls of Oregonians to remember
that $13,000,000 of this loss belonged
to them If every one had his dues.
ItJs well enough to cite one or two
examples of these Harriman transac
tions in order 'to initiate the laity
somewhat, more deeply into that sort
of "business" which many of our great
moralists denounce us for not admif
lng. Take the purchase of Illinois
Central shares. 'Harriman bought
281,231 of them in the name of the
Union Pacific, enough to control the
company. Later he disepvered that
the laws of Illinois forbid a foreign
corporation to own a railroad in that
state. To evade the difficulty which
thus appeared he caused 15,000 shares
of Illinois Central stock to vanish
from the Union Pacific treasury, leav
ing not a wrack behind. What he did
with it heaven alone knows. Of course
he did not steal it, being a great finan
cier; but if an ordinary citizen should
do the same thing, we are apprehen
sive that he would have to go to jail.
No wonder Mr. Harriman did not
wish to answer the Inquiries the In
terstate Commerce Commission put to
him concerning this and other shady
performances. A Federal judge has
ordered him to answer the questions,
after a long delay, but of course an
appeal has been taken and the cause
has still to drag its sinuous length
through court after court before it is
settled. Meanwhile Mr. Harriman can
pose as an honest citizen and rail at
those who would punish his mis
deeds. For another example, take the Al
ton deal, which has .been so much
discussed. Harriman and his pals
bought this road in, 1899 for $39,000,
000. They at once got back six and a
half millions by declaring a dividend
out of funds which ought to fiave
been used for repairs for the road
was a wreck. Thy next reorganized
the company, . took a cash bonus of
ten millions and traded their, old stock
for 400,000 shares of new stock at $5
a share. The cost of the road now
stood them at about $20,000,000. Tho
rest had been swindled out of the old
owners and the confiding public. To
get back this $20,000,000 they bonded
the battered property for $62,000,000
and of these bonds sold themselves
$32,000,000 at 65 cents, which they
immediately resold to the convenient
Equitable and New York Life Insur
ance Companies at over 90 cents. .The
profit was a very pretty one. The same
bonds could not be sold in the open
market at the same time for more
1
than 86 cents on the dollar. This
shows how convenient it is for a king
of finance to have a fat insurance
company under his thumb at certain
crises.
The result of the Alton deal was
that Harriman got the road, for noth
ing and received a bonus for taking it.
This was perhaps the most flagrant of
all his plundering Schemes, but the
others differed from it only in degree.
He has robbed the Union Pacific
shareholders on the one hand and the
public tributary to that road and its
connections on the other, everything
that he could squeeze from either vic
tim going into the treasury 'of Stand
ard Oil and his own pocket in equita
ble shares. That is the kind of a
person Mr. Harriman is, and yet he
exercises more' actual control over the
fortunes and happiness of the Ameri
can people than any other individual
in the country. If we must have an
industrial despot, it would seem wise
to find some way of choosing a bet
ter man.
. UNCLE JOE'S POSE.
Very likely politicians have to exer
cise their imaginations just as public
utility magnates have to bribe and
swindle. Without these devices
neither franchise-grabbing nor office
getting could be carried on without'
serious shrinkage in magnitude and
profits. Still there is a point beyond
which fiction becomes indistinguish
able from impudence, and this point
the Illinois State Central Committee
seems to have passed in its resolutions
glorifying Mr. Cannon. This unblush
ing committee invites "the attention
of the country to the well-known
fact" that without Mr. Cannon's
"earnest and constant support" the
President could not have carried his
measures, like the rate bill and the
pure-food law, through Congress. The
committee goes on to express the ex
traordinary opinion that Mr. Roose
velt's policies "cannot be better car
ried out and continued" than by in
trusting them to Mr. Cannon as his
successor. In other words, the best
way to protect the sheep is to set the
wolf to guard them. ',
The character of Mr. Cannon pre
sents many fascinating aspects to the
charmed observer, but fidelity to Mr.
Roosevelt and his policies is not one
of them. Uncle Joe is a back num
ber, a standpatter rooted fathoms
deep in the mire of tradition, formal
ism and special privilege. Upon the
abuses of the tariff and class legisla
tion he has grown rich and all his
relatives have waxed fat. His heart
strings are so intimately interwoven
with Dlngleylsm and trust favoritism
that it would cose his life to sever the
connection. Since the period of his
blooming and, buoyant entrance into
Congress, same thirty-six years ago,
Mr. Cannon has sedulously devoted
himself to talking on behalf of the
people and acting , on behalf of the
plunderers of the people. He has tri
umphantly illustrated the great truth
that, in spite of holy writ, a man can
serve two masters. He has done it by
keeping one of them befuddled with
promises and the other beslobbered
with favors. It is needless to add
that it is not to the people that the
favors have gone.
When Uncle Joe did not dare to
hinder Mr. Roosevelt he has either
stood neutral or damned his policies
with faintpralse. When the mutter
ings of the country became so terri
fying that Mr. Cannon grew timorous
for the consequences, he moved out of
the way and permitted the President's
policies to be enacted into law; but he
has never lost a chance to clip and
pare away whatever he could, and ir
there was an opportunity for a secret
stab at the heart he has always used
it. Such is the kind of fidelity which
Uncle Joe has shown to Mr. Roose
velt, and he now asks to be made his
trustee and successor on the score of
It. If this is not impudence, what is
it? Mr. Cannon's admirers in Illinois
must hold the intelligence of the
American people in deep disesteem.
DRAWING THE STATE TOGETHER.
The approaching completion of the
North Bank road, the early construc
tion in this city of the largest pack
ing plant . west of the Mississippi
River, together with a number of
other great enterprises well under
way, had momentarily, perhaps, di
verted our attention from completion
of the electric line between this city
and Salem. The enthusiastic celebration
of the opening of this most important
transportation enterprise has served
to remind us that the two chief cities
of the state have suddenly, without
any blare of trumpets, been brought
into the closest possible touch with
each other. The locomotive has been
termed the great American civilizer,
and, while the term may be highly
appropriate, it would be equally ap
propriate to term the electric car the
great American developer.
There was something more 'than
gentle sarcasm in the remarks of Gen
eral Manager O'Brien, of the Harri
man system, who at the reception at
Salem said that he welcomed the com
ing of the electric roads because they
worked up traffic -in small lots and
assembled it at points where it could
be turned over to the steam roads.
If the freight and passenger traffic
between Portland and Salem were to
show no changes in volume, it would,
of course, be a certainty that the com
ing of the Oregon Electric cars, with
their frequent service and fine equip
ment, would cut Into the business and
reduce the revenues of the Southern
Pacific, which prior t.o this time has
been alone in its glory on the route.
But the electric line, figuratively and
actually, goes out of the beaten path
and opens up new territory and makes
possible intensified and diversified
farming, which eventually will double
and treble, and double and treble
again, the traffic of the Willamette
Valley. , -
It Is from this increased traffic that
the Southern Pacific and other lines
reaching from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific will increase their revenues with
the long haul eastward on Willamette
Valley products assembled by the
electric lines and the Increased ton
nage of westbound merchandise which
will be distributed by the local lines.
On both sides of the track for the
entire distance between Portland and
Salem there, are thousands of acres
of rich land that has never produced
anything but brush and trees, and
there are more thousands of acres
which have been, cropped to death
with wheat, and must now be restored
by a course of diversified farming to
replenish the soil. The electric line
has brought all of this rich country in
easy access of Portland and Salem,
and in a very few years five-acre
tracts will be adding 'more . to the
wealth of the people than is now se
cured from quarter sections and half
sections. Portland has much to be
thankful for this year, but near the
head of the list of her many commer
cial blessings must stand the new
electric line which has drawn together
the two chief cities of the state.
Labor, the last marketable com
modity to feel the advance when good
times sends prices skyward, is, as
usual, the first to feel the cut when a
financial stringency begins. Since the
beginning of the row between the
Wall-street gamblers th'ere have been
steady additions to the ranks of the
unemployed, and even the departure
for Europe of many thousands has not
served to help matters very much.
All over the land are heard com
plaints from idle men, and, in almost
every line of industry, shorter hours
and lower wages are the rule. It is
merely another phase of the old 'law
of supply and demand. Last week
the firemen on Puget 'Sound tugs all
struck against a reduction of $5 per
month in their wages, and the com
pany was immediately overwhelmed
with applicants for the work at the
lower rate. Every one suffers to a
greater or lesser extent by these peri
odical spells of depression, and all will
accordingly rejoice when good times
and a restoration of wages appear.
The Dlarlo Espanol, a Spanish
newspaper printed at Havana, editori
ally makes the charge that it was the
Americans, and not the Spaniards,
who blew up the Maine. The paper
alleges that the crime was committed
by the Americans "under direct orders
from the War Department fo the
purpose of Justification in the plan to
despoil Spain of Cuba." The charge,
of course, Is ridiculous, but were it
true, it Is quite plain that the result of
that explosion has not lessened the
liberties of the fire-eating editor who
prints such rot. Imagine a newspa
per printing such serious charges in a
country ruled by Spain. The editor
of Diario Espanol should feel grateful
indeed for the change that lvas taken
place in his beloved Cuba, for under
the old regime such language as he is
guilty of would have landed him In
jail in short order.
A Necanicam correspondent quite
truthfully remarks that protection for
the elk means an addition to the sup
ply of cougar meat, and that the cou
gar usually kills 100 deer a year.
These facts should not influence legis
lators to relent in their efforts to pro
vide proper laws for the protection of
these game animals against the hunt
ers who would, if unmolested, kill
these vanishing animals .in season and
out of. season. The suggestion of the
Necanlcum correspondent that a large
bounty be paid for cougar and gray
wolf scalps is a good one. If it is lib
eral enough to make it art object for
hunters to go out and trail these de
structive marauders, the supply of
game would in due season show a
noticeable increase.
As one distinguished statesmen af
ter another gets upon his legs in the
House of Representatives and delivers
himself of a stump speech in favor of
Cannon or Fairbanks or Bryan or
some other Immortal herot the Nation
rubs its eyes and wonders what these
lofty patriots are paid for. Are they
paid to spellbind for their respective
bosses, or to legislate for the country?
There is one consolation In their pres
ent conduct. They do not spellbind
very well, but they do It a good deal
better than they could legislate. As
long as they devote themselves to
spouting hot air they are at least out
of mischief, which is saying a great
deal for the average Congressman.
Apparent, devotion to the cause of
religion has always been a favorite
cloak with which some crooked bank
ers shield themselves from the rude
gaze of the public. But religion is
not to blame for all of the crimes that
are committed in its name . or under
Its banner. For example, down in
wicked Tonopah, Nev., the State Bank
& Trust Company has just succeeded
in making a failure fully as complete
as that of some others, and nothing
in the news dispatches intimates that
the promoters were unduly religious.
It has been pretty cleanly demonstrat
ed that a thief is a thief irrespective
of his religious pretensions.
Probably no one regrets the cir
cumstances that prevented Mayor
Lane from attending the Salem ban
quet more than Mayor Lane himself.
Except for the automobile race and
the Cincinnati bowlers, the sporting
page would be as lifeless as the Fair
banks campaign.
Why ask? Of course, no one en
Joys the "climate of Chicago. The
people there simply endure it until
it proves fatal.
How's that? John Minto's place of
business open for the sale of stamps
till midnight? And in a town with
the lid on?
Of the 5000 big buyers reported now
in New York, none are likely to pur
chase their wares through Wall-street
brokers.
Over $27,000,000 worth of horses
in the commonwealth of Oregon. Who
now dare call us a one-horse state?
Why should Mayor Lane go to Sa
lem? Can't he get all the chaffing he
needs-right here at home?
If Taft and Hughes were not asleep
they must have heard the Cannon
boom.
Begins Smoking la Ninety-Sixth
"Year.
Kansas City Journal.
Frank Seyk, Sr., celebrated his HMth
birthday at the home of his son at
Keyaunee, Wis., by playing a clarinet
solo and singing a song to demonstrate
that, notwithstanding , his advanced
years his ears had not lost their sense
of harmony. Mr. Seyk is the most unique
character in that section of the state. His
memory is still keen and he is able to
recall incidents of many years back with
a vividness that arouses surprise. He is'
free from all bodily ailments and attrib
utes his longevity to dieting and regular
habits. He did not take up smoking un
til his 36th year, though he has been an
inveterate user of snuft all his life.
Fancy Has- Slays Lover's Bullet.
Pittsburg Dispatch.
The life of Miss Naomi Johnston, of
Baldwin, Pa., who was fired at by a re
jected lover was saved by a silver chat
elaine bag hanging at her waist, the
bag being cut in two by the bullet.
NARROWED TO TAFT OR HUGHES.
Appeal That .Presidential Contest
Should Be Between Them Alone.
Springfield (Maes.) Republican, Ind.-Dem.
It would be great and good fortune for
the Republican party if the struggle for
its Presidential nomination could now be
narrowed into a friendly contest between
Mr. Taft and Mr. Hushes, each of whom
is a high type of public man. In so far as
there are signs of such a development,
the Republican party is to be cordially
congratulated.
It is an exceptional privilege that Is
offered. In personal character and in
fitness to discharge the duties of the
Presidential office, the two men are both
highly attractive. It is easy to appre
ciate how Republicans of ideals and un
selfish love of country may hesitate be
tween them, for both are personally free
from plutocratic alliances inimical to the
Interests of the people, and both have a
sobriety of mind and a stability of tem
perament engaging to contemplate. The
selection of one or the other would
bring into the campaign the strong ap
peal to the American voter which thf
best traditions of the Republican party
embody, however vulnerable either might
be on account of special issues or be
cause of general conditions adverse to
the party in power.
The President himself could do much
to promote a friendly contest between
the two most promising candidates, as
they now appear, by severely neutraliz
ing himself and his office.
Is this a fine-spun criticism? It may
seem so to Mr. Taft; it will seem so to
Mr. Roosevelt. Yet It cannot be, broadly
speaking, if It remains the business of
the people to elect their own rulers; nor
can it be, even from the more narrow
viewpoint of a party, if the party is to be
strong with the people and unhampered
by unnecessary factional divisions. One
can think of nothing more advantageous
to the Republican party, during the time
intervening between the present and the
Chicago convention, than such a contest
between the Secretary of War and Gov
ernor Hughes that the outcome, whatf
ever It might be, could never be ascribed
to the use of executive power In what
ever form. To Insure such a contest be
tween candidates eminently worthy in
themselves, the President needs only to
supplement his promised refutation of
the charge that he has been using place
holders to Mr. Taft's advantage with a
declaration of his own neutrality and
the neutrality of his own office that will
carry conviction to every mind.
Watterson Disbelieves.
Henry Watterson, who is sojourning for
the Winter on 'the gulf shore of Florida,
writes now and again elaborate articles
for the Louisville Courier-Journal, the
latest of which deals with the President's
recent message and denies the conclu
sions of those who assert that the mes
sage is noticed that the President is. in
spite of all his renunciations, an expec
tant candidate. Here is a passage:
Nothing; could so disparage the President,
as nothing; could so show the slight conse
quence which is attached to his plighted
word. It is not too much to say of it that,
uttered privately, it would constitute an
affront.
Tet. a person by the name of Bourne, or
O'Bourne, who seems to . be a Senator in
Congress from somewhere out West, and is
described as a great friend and admirer of
Mr. Roosevelt, is credited with this yawp:
"The message is the greatest public docu
ment since the reclaration of Independ
ence, and it means the renomination of
President Roosevelt beyond all question."
The President, in the doubtful event that
he saw fit to dignify Buch an individual
with any notice at all, might send for him
and address him somewhat in the following
style and language, to wit: "Mr. Bourne,
or Mr. O'Bourne," as the case may be, "my
word and honor are pledged that I shall
not be a candidate. He who Intimates that
I may be is not my friend, and I shall con
sider him my enemy. Unless you cease
talk which is offensive to me, oblige me
by keeping away from the white House."
Bryan Getting; Rich, but Hln Party
New York Times, Dem.
Mr. Bryan makes money by being a
leader and by being a. candidate. It
keeps him before the people and cre
ates a demand for his paid lectures.
He confesses that 'he has made a for
tune enough to keep him in comfort
the rest of his life. He visited New
York a week or two ago, and spoke
many times here and in this vicinity.
What word did he say, what thought
did he utter, that any human being
was the better or the wiser for having
heard? Mr. Bryan is better off, for
he got a good price for the lecture he
delivered. He makes a business of
political leadership. It pays him. But
it is death to the Democratic party.
He Is probably the most conspicuous
example now before the American peo
ple of commercialism in politics-.
He is so empty, shallow and devoid
of ideas that he spends much of his
time In approving, applauding and re
peating what Mr. Roosevelt says. It is
idiotic to suppose that the Democrats
can advance to victory under a leader
who Is but a copy and echo of the
other party's much more capable lead
er. In such a condition an opposition
party is obviously superfluous.
Fine Bottles Made by Machine.
Salem (N. J.) Dispatch in Philadelphia
' Record.
A glass-blowing machine that will make
a narrow-neck bottle is an invention of
Timothy Kelly, in this eity. While Jar
machines have been in use for several
mpnths. the hand-blowens and manufac
turers were sure that a machine to form
a narrow neck would never be perfected,
as it requires a varying pressure, while
the workman watched the formation of
the glass in the mold. Kelly has been
secretly working on the machine for over
a year in a closed room at the Salem
Glass Works, in this city, and today
produced the first perfect bottles ever
shown from a machine.
Law of Squatter and Renter.
St. Louis (Mo.) Dispatch.
Joseph Custer, a shoemaker in St
Louis, occupies a streetcar in the sub
urbs as a dwelling, and objects to pay
ing $4 a year rent for it, and back
rent amounting to $12. on the ground
that he is a squatter and not a renter
The court has reserved decision.
This Virginia Editor "All In."
London (Va.) (Mirror.
The editor is all in, down and out this
week from the effects of a heavy cold
and the work of getting out this Issue of
the Mirror has been a hard undertaking
to one who has a feeling of being 300
years old and who has a constant desire
to want to sleep If off.
Orchard Lands of Long Ago.
By James Whitcomb Riley. -The
orchard lands of long ago'
O drowsy winds, awake and blow
The snowy blossom? back to me.
And all the buds that used to be!
Blow back again the grassy ways
Of truant feet and lift the haze
Of happy Summer from the trees
That trail their tresses In the seas
Of grain that float and overflow
The orchard lands of long ago!
Blow back the melody that slips
In lazy Isughter from the lias
That marvel much that any ldss
Is sweeter than the ar,ple is
Blow back the twitter of the birds
The lisp, the thrills, and the words
Of merriment that found the shine
Of S-ummer time a glorious wine.
That drenched the leaves that loved U
so
In orchard lands of long ago.
O Memory! alight and sing
Where rosy-bellied pippins cling.
And golden sunsets glint and gleam
As In that old Arabian dream
The fruits of that enchanted tree
The glad. Aladdin robbed for me!
And drowsy winds, awake and fan
My blood as when It overran
A heart, ripe as the apples grow.
In orchard lands of long ago!
Harriman's Personal Profits in ILP. Jugglery
Amazing Record of Frenzied Stock-Jobbing Finance Millions into the
Private Pockets of the "Little Wizard's" Cliciue Answers to Questions
Not Answered Before Interstate Commerce Commission.
New Tork World.
IN report No. 943 issued by the Inter
state Commerce Commission appears a
summary of the stocks in other rail
roads bought by the Union Pacific by
Mr. Harriman's direction. Omitting minor
matters, like the Pacific Fruit Express,
the Fresno City Railway and installment
subscriptions, the stocks bought with the
money and credit of the Union. Pacific
stockholders and their prices were: ,
Coat to Union Pacific Stockholder.
Stock. Shares. Coet.
Atch., Top. & Santa Fe. . .100,000 $1 0. ;!.- 1 100
Baltimore & Ohio RD3.406 45.4tM.iutn
Chicago & Alton pf li;t.4:tl 8.4t,7xi
Chic, Mtlw. & St. Paul... 31 0 6!!t7.7
Chic. & Northwaetern 23.720 5,30.i.t7.'l
Illinois Central 2S1.2.U 41.442."2S
New York Central 142.S37 1!U4.:!24,
St. Joseph St. Grand Island. 60,822 2.022.04O
Total cost J139.200.OSfl
These facts were brought out by the
Interstate Commerce Commission from
the testimony of the Union Pacific of
ficials. But both Edward H. Harriman
and Kuhn, Loeb & Co., who were hla
bankers and brokers In these transac
tions, refused to tell who the sellers to
the Union Pacific were, the price a.t which
the sellers bought and the profit that the
sellers made.
A comparison of the past week's market
values of these stocks with the prices
paid for them shows a loss by depreci
ation to the Union Pacific stockholders
as follows:
I.on to Union Pacific Stockholders.
Atchison. Topeka 4 Santa Fe $ l.T4r.0V)
P.altimore & Ohio J2.17.f.4
Chicago & Alton pf 3,K77,0O2
Chicago, Milwaukee & fit. Paul .... l.fi'.io.imo
Chicago Northwestern 1.B2S. 5o4
Illinois Central 13,U8,70:s
New Tork Central 5,K12.831
St. Joseph & Grand Island 48(1,000
Total loss $42,034,S4,
But nowhere in the testimony does the
individual profit of Edward H. Harriman
and his partners appear. Questions on
this point by the counsel of the Inter
state Commerce Commission were not an
swered either by Harriman or by the
members of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. After a
delay of many months a motion to com
pel them to answer was made before
Judge Hough of the United States Court
for this district.
"One 'Wlio Had Stolen."
Judge Hough decided that these ques
tions must be answered, saying signifi
cantly in reply to the plea of Kuhn, Loeb
& Co. that their transactions with Har
riman were privileged:
. "It would be a singular extension of the
rule concerning privileged communications
that permitted the Identity of one deposit
ing securities with a bank to be con
cealed by that merghant. The principle,
if acknowledged, would screen one who
had stolen what he so desposlted."
Both Edward H. Harriman and Kuhn,
Loeb & Co. have taken an appeal from
the order of Judge Hough compelling
them to answer these questions, and
their personal profit has not yet become
a matter of official record.
The Harriman Profit 11. -
The World is able to anticipate In
part the answers which Harriman would
make to these questions If he would tell
the truth. It is able to disclose in ad
vance of his testimony the profits which
he and his partners made. How these
profits were divided, what was Harri
man's share, what was Kuhn, Loeb &
Co.'a share, and how much Henry H.
Rogers and James Stillman, who shared
in certain of the profits, respectively
took, the World Is unable to state, as the
manner of division Is not contained in the
same records as those from which this
information has been obtained.
Illinois Central.
Of the 2S1.231 shares of Illinois Central
stock for wpich the stockholders paid $175
a share, 105,000 shares were sold by Kuhn,
Loeb & Co, as agents for a syndicate,
80,000 shares belonged to the Railroad Se
curities Company, 30,000 came from E. H.
Harriman as an individual, 30.000 from
H. H. Rogers and 30,000 from James Still
man. The Railroad Securities Company
was a Harriman holding corporation. The
average price which this Illinois Central
stock cost Harriman and his partners
was 130. It was sold to the Union Pa
cific at 175. The profit of $45 a share on
275,000 shares amounted to $12,375,000.
The profit was really more than this,
because the Railroad Securities Company
did not own these 80.000 shares of stock
free and clear, but had Issued $8,000,000
of 4 per cent gold bonds with the 89,000
shares of Illinois Central stock pledged
as security. These bonds had been sold
and had reduced by that much the cost
to Harriman and his associates.
15,000 Shares Vanish.
How this Illinois Central stock was
used at the Union Pacific stockholders'
expense In the recent Illinois Central elec
tion is In part disclosed by the report of
the Union Pacific Railroad Company, as
printed in the London Times' financial
ROOSEVELT A "READY-MADE" MAX
Merchant Tailor Says Chief Executive
Is a Poor Dresser.
New York World.
"President Roosevelt Is a poor dresser.
His clothes have a 'no-more-no-less, from-mills-to-man'
look."
"Secretary Taft dresses very well for a
fat man, but he should avoid the dinner
Jacket. His enormous girth makes his
dress vest look like a belt."
"Speaker Cannon is a total loss as far
as clothes are concerned. Once in a
while he looks pretty good, but the most
of the time he looks like h !"
"Vice-President Fairbanks is a difficult
man to drape correctly. His clothing is
of costly material, but in full dress he
looks as comfortable as a man hanging
from a tree."
"Senator Beverldge is a swell dresser."
" 'Tim" Woodruff looks like a cozy
corner."
Now you know what the chief sartorial
scout of the Merchant Tailors' National
Exchange thinks of these prominent
statesmen as far as clothes are concerned.
"Hughey" Ardlelgh, official handicapper
of the organization, is the man who dis
covered the weak spots in Washington's
wardrobe. He has made his report at
the final try-on of the clothing carpen
ters, who have been in session at the
Park-Avenue Hotel.
"I attended the President's reception in
Washington, D. C. a few weeks ago."
said "Hughey," "and the clothing discords
I saw there made me yearn or a -air of
overalls. I had all I could do to keep my
chalk In my pocket. And the tailor that
has to make the alterations in that bunch
will need more than one piece of chalk."
Thooght President Waa Looking.
Washington (D. C.) Dispatch in New York
Herald.
Deputy Clerk James D. Maher of the
United States Supreme Court was the
Innocent cause of a flurry in the House
of Representatives. Mr. Maher, having
a few spare moments, wandered over to
the House side of the Capitol for relaxa
tion. Whether the joke was perpetrated
by tho doorkeepers on the House side or
by sombody else. Mr. Maher. suddenly
found himself alone in the executive gal
lery of the House, which is especially re
served for the President and his family.
Mr. Maher bears a striking resemblance
to tho President in stature, coloring and
facial expression! and his presence in the
gallery roused the House in a most aston
ishing manner until It was definitely as
certained tha the President himself was
not watching the proceedings.
and commercial supplement on January
3, where It occupies two pases. Accord
ing to this report 13,000 shares of the
Illinois Central stock vanished from the
Union Pacific treasury without one penny
being received in exchange therefor.
Interstate Commerce Commission report
No. 943 states on pu?;e 20 that between
June 30, 1906, and February 2S. l:To7. .the
Union Pacific acquired 21,231 shares of
Illinois. Central stock, Sfl.floO .shares of
which belonged to the Railroad Securities
Company and were represented by the
purcliase of the Railroad Securities Com
pany stock.
It appears from the Iondnn Times' re
port that on June 30, 10o7. the. Union Pa
cific had. Including the Railroad Securi
ties Company's holdings, only 2illl.'-':t I
aharea of Illinois Central atock, which
rout, accord I n to the tahulnr otnte
ment on page 213 of the London Times,
4 1.44 2.02S, which are the Identical
tiKttres sriven on pacre 20 of the Inter
state Commerce report an helnc; the
cost of 2S1.2;tt nharrn of Illinois Cen
tral. It would seem from this that for the
purpose of evading the laws of the State
of Illinois aguinet forelKii corporations
controlling Illinois railroads 15.000 shares
of this tock were taken from the Union
Pacific treasury without one penny of
payment.
Of the Baltimore & Ohio stock 77.000
shares of common stock were put in by
Harriman and partners, the Temainiii!?
shares having been boiiRht from the
Pennsylvania Railroad direct. The Har
riman stock Cost an average of a little
lws than 8",. It was sold to the Union
Pacific at 120. The profit of :5 on 77,0"0
shares amounted to $2,61)5,000.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe stock
cost an average of 90 and was sold for an
average of 103.03, making a profit of $1.
300.000. On the St. Paul stock there was profit
of $.".63,000, on Chicago & Northwestern a
profit of $000,01.10 and on the New ork
Central a profit of $1,500,000.
The St. Joseph stock was admittedly
bought from Edward II. Harriman at a
cost of $2,022,540, on which Harriman made
a profit of $930,000.
The Champion Prof it-MnUer.
Chicago & Alton, however, was -the
champion profit-maker in the list.
In 1S09 Harriman, Schlff, Stillman and
Gould bought the old Chicago & Alton
Railroad Company for $3!),0i.600. They
at once declared a dividend of 30 per
cent, and repaid themselves $6,53S,3S0. They
then transferred their stock to a dummy
named Louis L. Stanton, who organized
the Chicago & Alton Railway Company,
which paid $10,000,000 and 390.318 shares of
new stock for the old stock, thus reduc
ing the cost of the road to $22,470,220 and
making the shares of new stock cost $5
apiece. This trifling cost was more than
recouped by the issue of $02,0O!,000 ot
bonds, of which they first sold to them
selves $32,000,000 at 65 cents on the dollar,
and then resold, through the syndicate
managers, Kuhn, Loeb & Co., in part to
the New York Life at 96 and to the Equit
able at 92. The last $22,000,000 of bonds
were nominally sold to Kuhn, Loeb A
Co. for 00 cents on the dollar, and resold
through the Stock Exchange at 76'i to
86.
Including these bond transactions the
new stock cost Harriman and associates
nothing. They not only got the Chicago
& Alton Railroad without paying any
thing for it, but received a cash bonus
for taking it.
After all this had been done they sold
to the Union Pacific stockholders, at f.Stf.50
a share, 103.431 shares of the new Chicago
& Alton Railway stock, which, disregard
ing the bonds, had cost not more than fi
a share. The Union Pacific paid $S.9M."S1
for what at the most liberal estimate,
had not cost Harriman, Stillman and
Kuhn. Loeb & Co. more than half a
million dollars.
Disregarding the $8,000,000 received from
the hypothecation of the Railroad Securi
ties 80,000 shares of Illinois Central stock
and the profits from selling Chicago &
Alton bonds to themselves at 60 and 63
nnH reselling them to life !niiiranee com
panies and others at 78 to 9ti, the direct
and indisputable profits which Harriman
and his associates made out of the Union
Pacific stockholders by buying stocks at
a low price and selling them to the com
pany of which they are trustees at a high
price wero as follows:
The Harriman Personal Profll.
Stock. ProfUs.
Atchison, Topeka & Banta Fe $ 1.300,000
Baltimore & Ohio 2.U!i,1.Hl
Chicago & Allon 8.44(1, 7M.
ChicaKO & Northwestern (iiHj.OeO
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul... 1.5"o.ik
Illinois Central 12. 373.000
New York Central l,5im.im
St. Joseph ar Grand Island 030.00"
Total Harriman profits... $23,300,781
As it happens, the loss to the Union
Pacific stockholders is some . $12,O00,0i'0
more than the personal profits of Harri
man and his associates, which is the re
sult of general stock values being lower
now than they were when Harriman
bought or manufactured the stocks which
he sold at high prices afterward to ths
Union Pacific.
TWO MILLION "SHINES" PAY RENT,
Bootblacklns; Corporation's Lease In
New Yerk City Buildings.
New York World.
Spaces in the new Hudson Terminal
Buildings have been rented to a boot
blacking corporation for a long term of
years at rates a&gregatlng $124,000. It
will take 2,480.000 five-cent "shines" to
pay the rent.
This arrangement expresses in Its terms
the important development which has
come to bootblacking as an occupation
in New York.
Years ago the business was found to
be worth tho attention ot syndicates,
which with the padrone now ' have the
Industry pretty much their own way.
Almost completely vanished Is the typo
of boy bootblack that was common in
the city when Horatio Alger wrote his
"Ragged Dick" and "Tattered Tom"
books. The plucky little chap with his
box slung over his shoulder has given
way to the more or hss mature Italian
with a chair and stand which may liavo
cost anything from $4 to $223, and for
whose location a rental may be paid
equal to that of a fairly good suite In
an apartment-house.
In the late agitation over .Manils in
City Hall Park, it was found that forty
bootblacks there were making approxi
mately $120,000 a year.
Women have gone into bootblacking In
New York, but not permanently. A
Chinese who tried the trade-in Amster
dam avenue somn years ago was forced
out by tho neighborhood. When tho
"Shiners" organized against the oppres
sions of "Slgnor Rosevclto, " Police Com
missioner, in ISM. there were ahout 2500
of them. Presumably there are now many
more.
The trade of blacking boots may hav
had a classical origin. If it had. the
trail is lost. Nowhere ele has the busi
ness risen to such dignity as In New
York, and there are reasons. For in
stance, a recent observer in London
found that out of 0 men passing him In
Piccadilly Circus the boots of so looked
as if they had not been polished for a
week. The Manhattan hustle, even as
exemplified by the commuter, always per
mits of time for a "shine."
Llfe-Saver Prefer Work to lloncy.
Trenton (N. J.) Dispatch.
A tramp saved a child of John
Schuyler, near Lakewood, N. J., from
icy water, and surprised Schuyler by
accenting work rather than money as
his reward.