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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1907)
.THE SUNDAY OKJEtxUAIAJV. PORTLAND. OCTOBER 27, 1907. Fish and Harriman in Sharp gontrast The One Believes the Illinois "Central Should Be Operated in. the Interests of the People, .the Other Wants It to Strengthen Powerfully Intrenched Capital. , CHICAGO, Oct. 21. (Special.) When Edward H. .Harriman . and Stuyvesant Fish locked horns over . the policy of the IHinois ' Central Railroad the financial' and the railroad -worlds knew that It would be a fight to.a( finish. Wall street had good reason to know' ihat Harriman never quits, never knows 'defeat and "never cares for quarter.- Men and women, too, who have taken a good look at that pon-, derous and well-shaped Jaw which makes Stuyvesant Fish a marked- man wherever he goes, have realized that this scion of the Pilgrim Fathers never knows when he is beaten. . Two better or more determined fighters t would be difficult' to find If the world were searched. In the present contest neither has faltered for a moment since the lines of battle were drawn tightly, and it Is certain that no thought of a compromise has ever en tered the brain of either. ' .... . , It Is difficult to know or to fathom the motives of Harriman- and Fish. Without being disrespectful to Har riman It would seem that Fish is fight ing for a principle rather - than for power o'r for personal aggrandizement. Harriman may be none the leas de voted to principle, but he has, rightly or wrongly, attained the reputation of possessing a boundless ambition. That ambition is, according to his antagon ls, to become the master of the trans portation facilities of not only the United States, but of the world. This accusation brings a smile to Mr. Harrl mau's face and gives rise to one of the flrjt statements made in public by him which contlains the element of human sympathy or of sentlmentallsm. "My ambition Is as naught." he de clares. "I would be glad If I had never held a single share of stock In the Illinois Central Road, and certainly would be glad If I could leave It all, and all of this endless striving. But a man cannot quit. I believe that he is responsible to God for the talent that Is given him and that he must use the endeavor that Is In him to the best good for his fellow- men, unsel fishly and not for himself." Strange sentiment is this coming from a man whom Wall street and the railroad world declare to be Insensible to all Influence except that of over powering ambition, a man who brooks no control, either of personal senti ment or of public opinion, a man who brushes all things aside In the accom plishment of his purposes and a man who counts Individuals and even cor porations as nothing, except the means whereby .he can accomplish the tasks which he has set for himself. ... On the other hand, this is not dis counting the sentiment that dominates - the soul of Stuyvesant Fish. He comes from the stuff from which martyrs have been made in the dark ages, and he is today, the railroad world believes, a martyr to principle. How much easier would it have been for Fish to have subjected himself to tho domina tion of the money power of Wall street, .If you please, .but certainly of the power that makes and breaks men of means and creates the great railway combinations. - By so doing, and most men would have felt that they could bend without -losing an lota of their manhood, he could have had additional ricfes pourlngf.lnto his coffers, he could have had power and all that goes with playing the game as Wall street plays It. And Wall, street rewards its friends and never forgives its .-enemies. But Fish counted not the cost of-a clash with the. most .powerful railway mag nates of the age. He folt that he had ' managed the Illinois Central Railroad for 20 years tor the people, for the men and women of the soli of more than 20 states the Lnlon: that they had laid a trust upon hi shoulders which he could not uhlft and remain a true man. These men and women of the soil had trust d him for years. Their utmost con fidence in his integrity is illustrated by the fact that hundreds of them Jour neyed to Chicago each year Just to lhake him by the hand. To Stuyvesant Fish the respect of these plain pe'opl or me larm ana ractory was sweeter Incense than the adulation of Wall ittreet, and their words of confidence were better music to his ear than the rustle of paper-made dollars on the itock exchange. . , Mere sentiment, you exclaim, . Well, why not? ' Is not sentiment the greatest power on tne eartn today? Stuyvesant Fish Is a man who believes that the railroads of this country should be run by the people and In the Interests: of ths people, as he has run the Illinois Central. All the power that the Standard Oil Company and the billions of money It controls could not make him betray the trust which he thinks the people have placed In him. ' It has been hinted' in some quarters that it Is the loss of position and the desire to regain It that is moving Fish to seek revenge, not justice. A grosser libel upon a man's motives could not well be uttered. He has the courage of his con vlctlons and a hearty contempt for- men of the Harriman stripe, whether his con tempt be well founded or not. "I have never run this railroad from Wall street," he once declared, "and I shall never do so, no matter what happens. With all the strength and power that lies within me I shall fight to keep this property from the clutches of the money octopus wnicn is represented by Edward H. Harriman." For years Stuyvesant Fish"s personality has dominated the great mass of stock holders on the Illinois Central as n otner stockholders have been dominated He nas taKen more delight in mingling with the "common people" than sitting in the seats of the mighty.. Those who have watched his comings and his goings have remarxea tne strange -coincidence th during all the years he ruled the road ne has been found among the people aiong nis une upon the occasions when Mrs. Ftsh has een giving anv of hr "functions" to the "400." In appearance Fish looks like a farmer and he hates show and cant and society as society Is now constituted, and he has a firm grip upon the higher ideals which have moved men like Martin Luther to create a moral and world-wide regeneration. . . It would be difficult to find two men in battle who present a wider1 contrast. Big and ungainly of stature, with a head like that of a Jungle Hon. with a Jaw which should have made Harriman pause before he threw down the gauntlet to him. Stuyvesant Fish Is a man whom men and women turn around to look at when he passes. There Is no gathering, "social, political, financial or railroad, In which the eye of the- onlooker would not Instinctively turn first of all to Stuyvesant Ftsh and ask who he was. He has one of the most compelling presences that ever a man was gifted with and character Is written upon every line of hia massive face. For years he has been the idol of the ma jority of Illinois Central stock-holders, whom he loved to call his "great family," and whose Interests he has cared for. His annual meetings have been Unique events In the railway world, for each year every stockholder received an annual pass which entitled him to a ride to Chi cago for the purpose of attending. Con sequently a motley crowd of millionaires, such as John Jacob Astor, Cornelius Van derbllt and Edward H. Harriman have sat down with the "Bill" Dosiers and the Ferdinand Coles from the interior towns and mingled as equals. And these days were the red letter days 1h Stuyvesant. Fish's life as they have been in "the lives of the tillers of the soil along the line , of the Illinois Central. Mr. Fish's ambition, if ambition he possessed, was to make the Illinois Central distinctively the railroad of the people, and his life's work has been de voted to It. And now he sees the crunch ing car of railway centralization driven by Edward H. Harriman ruthlessly, as it seems to him, grinding to atoms his life work and dispelling his life's dream. Is It any wonder that there Is no cry for quarter In the soul of Stuyvesant Fish? ... Harriman is the enigma and the sphinx of the railroad world. He is the riddle that has never been guessed . and the puzzle that- has never been, solved. He is a self-made man, compelling success by a genius that is uncanny from a man of so small physical stature. So diminutive and insignificant is Edward H. Harriman to look upon that he is often passed by without even so much as an inquiring glance. His Inner soul has never been, laid bare to the gaze of the public as has Stuyvesant Fish's. If he has sentiment it has been concealed. If he has consideration for others it has been U hidden, and If he has the good of all mankind at heart, as he says, he has been woefully misjudged. And yet there is no question that In his private home life there Is not a sweeter character than Edward -H. Harriman. With a home life that is ideal and inspiring in its love and duty, there maybe read a side of Harri man of which the world knows little, it would seem a contradiction too terrible to entertain that a man whose home is ruled by love and devotion can have. when it comes to dealing with the out side world, no sentiment. W hue Fish is naturally open-hearted and frank, Harri man Is by nature retiring and retrospec tive, little given to laying bare his thoughts for the vulgar inspection. In the Killing struggle which he has had to make for himself a great name. ' Harriman has been forced -to regard everyone and everything as a possible factor or op position. It has been a rough school, ana th difference in the methods of the two men is accounted for by the difference of temperament. Men who have worked for Harriman love to tell, m secret, or nis many kindnesses and of the many chari ties which he loves to do In secret. But they tell of It only In whispers, for should It come to the ears of Harriman it would mean Instant and severe rebuke. A sidelight was thrown upon Harrtman's character early in the Illinois Central fight. Upon one occasion a newspaper man went to Harriman for an interview. He asked the press representative why it was that the newspapers showed such hostility and antagonism toward him. 'Do you want a frank answer I do," was the reply, "for I think it is underserved." 'It is because you have treated tne newspaper men throughout tne country with contempt and have not even taken the trouble to be courteous to them." Harriman sank Into deep thought tor a few moments, when he replied- "I presume you will not believe me when I tell you that l am very sorry they feet this way. I do not feel unfriendly to the newspapers nor to the news paper men. I simply haven't the time to talk with them. This moment there are three important directors' meet ings in session In my office awaiting my coming. If (I began talking to newspaper men they would take all of my time. The. interests I represent are too vast for me to -waste a moment, and when I do take the time to talk -they seem willfully to misrepresent me. Then if they report me carrectly the editorial writer always sees fit to say something nasty. I realize, how ever, that the newspapers ought to be taken more into confidence, and I'm going to try to do it." . . It will be remembered that ever since that date Edward H. Harriman has never denied himself to a news paper man and has talked upon every occasion. Previous to that time he had never had a picture taken, and no one had ever successfully snapshotted him. Now his photograph ran be seen in the dally newspapers, and only the other night he kept a dinner party waiting while a newspaper photographer came to his rooms in the Auditorium Annex and took a picture, filling the rooms with smoke. Of Harrlman's greatness there can be no doubt, as there cannot be of the fact that he has the qualities which attract men if he chooses to take the time to exercise those qualities. He Is one of those anomalies who are ter rors In business and delightful com panions out of office. .The man has a brain - that is phenomenal, and the quickest brains cannot keep pace with him. In directors' meetings and In conversation he grasps great problems with which he is not familiar even be fore the men who have studied them for a lifetime get well Into the ex planation. This fact has caused him to cultivate unconsciously an impatient attitude when in conversation or when in business relations. "Yes, yes," he Is wont to exclaim when talking over important affairs, "I understand' that thoroughly; go on to something else. Let us set along and make progress." This habit is riman himself recognizes his impa tience and he says of himself: "It is Impossible for me to say a thing over. When it's gone the concentration of thought which brought it has snapped and I em on to something else." This fact makes Harriman the difficult man of his time to interview successfully. He realizes this, and it makes him diffident in talking to reporters and as shy as a woman. There is a third and lesser light which has been sandwiched between Fish and Harriman in the Illinois Cen tral fight. Reference Is made to J. T. Harahan, president 'Of the road and successor to Stuyvesant Fish. Hara han is a true Celt, and the pride in his nationality is seen by the fact that he has caused all of his stations and buildings between Chicago and New Orleans to be painted a vivid green. It is also signalized by the fact that the Illinois Central is laughingly called the "Irish Central." He is distinct ively a self-made man, having had no education except that which is got ten by hard knocks with construction gangs and in the machine shop. His lack of what the world pleases to call educational advantages and education makes Harahan clotne himself with a crust of .diffidence which is sometimes painful. By this It Is not meant to signify that he Is difficult of access. On the contrary, his door Is always open and anyone may walk into the president's office almost unannounced. Regarding Harahan the railway world differs. Some declare that he should have remained true to Fish, while others Insist that there was no reason why he should have sacrificed himself and his future for a man who he believed did not keep his pledged word. Work is Harahan's diversion. He travels more upon uls line than any other railway president, and there isn't a detail of and department with which he is not familiar. He has the qualities, rough and ready though they be, which bind men to him. With educational advantages. Harahan would have been a Harriman. With out them, he is one of tht most efficient railway operating men in tjie world today. HYPNOTIC WONDER OF AGE Ignorant Swiss Girl Paints Perfectly When Under Spell. GENEVA, Oct. 19. In a hamlet close to Geneva there dwells the hypnotic phe nomenon of the age. It is Johanna Bmitch, a girl of 25. She is the daughter of ordinary cultivators of the soIL She Is and always has been In perfect health. Although educated at the convent schools, she; knows nothing, nominally, of drawing or art In any form. Yet when In an hypnotic trance, Fraulein Smltch paints the most ravishing pictures. Connoisseurs pronounce many of these to be master pieces. Some months ago a doctor in Geneva, wishing to make some hypnotic experi ments, desired some subjects. In par ticular, he wanted a healthy and robust country- maid, one with the simple, un learned mind of the peasant. And in this way Johanna Smitoh became one of his subjects. He questioned the girl about her knowledge of things and found her great est ignorance lay along the lines of art. The'girl had never received drawing les sons, she had never seen any real paint ings except the few that adorned the walls of her village ohurch or the white- We hear from some quarters a complaint of dullness in the retail trade. This does not apply to us. We cannot speak for others, but we vouch for the fact that there is no dullness at the corner of Fifth and Alder. "7 BECAUSE we have and maintain the largest and most com- plete stock of Ready-to-Wear Apparel on the Pacific Coast w H SELECT YOUR COAT FROM LARGEST STOCK 01 IDE US' NEW TAILORED COATS AT S18.50 $35.00 Street or Evening Coat, made of finest quality im ported broadcloth, loose style, collarless, 50 inches long, interlined and lined with soft peau de cygne braid and soutache. trimmings in new designs; also new braided cuff; colors blue, black, red, brown, light blue, cham pagne, gray, white and - O Gtf russet, at . . .... A O.Ov Select Your Suit From the Largest Stock on the Coast NEW TAILORED SDITS AT 525.00 Smart Suits in fine quality broadcloth, handsomely trimmed, very full plaited skirt, with deep f old; finely tailored and finished in black, blue, brown, green, red; in every size from 34 to 46; values XQ rf ; ffl up to $50.00 PZi3mKJKJ ftf It -k- $e yl? f t "L i i H V jr . .' 1 Elastic Belts 85c Regular $1.25 values. Made of imported Silk Belting, two inches wide, finished with new lattice back piece and buckle, in black, navy, red, brown and white. - ; . Kimonos and Bathrobes Eiderdown Bath Robes, with collar and cuffs satin trimmed all the popular shades; worth $5.00 . . .$2.9S Long German Flannel Kimonos, shirred yoke, satin trimmed, pretty floral designs; $2.50 values; Monday $1.83 SEPARATE SKIRTS "Women's Skirts of Altman voile; full-plaited model of.com - binatkm box and side plaits ; finished above hem with six nar- row tucks. Values up to $20.00. .................. .$10.00 Misses' and Small Women's Separate Skirts (second floor), in chiffon Panamas, in blue and black. Values to $12.50 $5.00 HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS of NEW HATS We've got to sell 'em. "Priced them so they will sell. Monday we will again feature another great assortment of those famous popular-priced hats we are so justly famous for at $2.95, $3.95, $4.95. Variety here is always at the top notch. If you fail to get suited from our stock we have competent, tasty milliners to make you a hat, in every case subject to approval J M. ACHBSON COMPANY WHOLESALE AND DETAIL. FIFTH AND ALDER STREETS washed walls of tho convent. And, more over, she was color blind. She , could not distinguish clearly between blue and preen and violet, or place any of the shades of red. Asfar as being a hypnotic subject was concerned, the doctor speedily found she AGITATION IS BEGUN FOR NEW SCHOOLHOU3E FOR MT. TABOR lft1syittsiS,tf)tM-Sililfiiii)i fiiini )! rTMtiiiV,iiri'iTir-;?iiir-rii 'irfrfniirirniiiKihtJOTrTiTirii?fT i'rri-Ti-v-rf-fi)iirlTir 1 iItt"--i 1 - PRESENT STRl'CTCBE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST IX THE CITT. The Mount Tabor schoolhouse, which the people of the district are seeking: to have replaced with a mod ern structure, located at some more suitable point, is on an open piece of ground on the coVner of West ave nue and the Base Line road. It is the oldest schoolhouse of the type now in service in the city, and there is now a wide-spread agitation to have it condemned. It is an eight-room structure built IS years ago. N. Normandin, a former school director, said yesterday: "The building ought to' be condemned, for it is unfit for school purposes. ' It was not properly built nor Is it well located. Water from the roof pours down the sides and enters the basement, keeping it damp all Winter. Last year after the rains started the basement and basement walls were'always damp, cold and ' dangerous to the children, who were huddled there during the noon hour and recesses. There is no sewer age, and the toilet roo'ms are Incomparably bad. The Board of Education is disgruntled over the way the district came into the city, but it is annexed now and the people are paying their taxes the same as those of other sections of the district, and are entitled to decent school facilities, which this building does not afford and which would not be tolerated anywhere else. Of course, if the building were condemned now, as it might be, our children would have no building to attend, but there is a strong movement for another bull ling in a better place." . Mrs. R. H. Tatem, president of the Mount Tabor Home Training Circle, does not hesitate to say that the building and its location are unsuitable.- She said that last Winter she undertook to reach the schoolhouse .and wag compelled to wade through mud to the very door. A general report from the circle to the Mount Tabor Improvement Association sets forth in plain words the general bad condition of the schoolhouse and grounds. was an excellent one. He put her under the Influence and commanded her to draw a picture, one of those Ih her vil lage church. Quickly and almost perfectly she drew a head of the Madonna. The doctor provided her with a box of water colors, and ordered her to color the draw ing. This she did most excellently and .correctly. Several artists were present at the next experiment, and so interested were they that they furnished all the requisite ma terials for an oil painting, and also sent copies of a few noted paintings to the doctor's chambers. Under the hypnotic influence Fraulein Smltch was ordered to paint a large pic ture, which included many figures. She handled the palette and mixed the colors as if to the manner . born. First ' she sketched in on the canvas the skeletons of the figures, and then applied her brushes. She worked with marvelous rapidity and tirelessly for a couple of hours. Next flay she "continued where she had left off, and In less than a week the painting was finished. It was excellent in detail, coloring" and technique. The artists mar veled; so did the doctor. The experiments have been ' going on regularly since. Fraulein Smitch has painted some scores of pictures, mostly sacred subjects. She has tried in her normal condition to draw and paint, and although offered large pecuniary rewards, cannot do anything at all. So remarkable is her case that medical experts interested in hypnotism have been Invited from several countries to make a special study of It. Filipinos Can't Be Naturalized. SANTA ROSA, Cal., Oct. 28. Acting upon advice of the United States District Attorney's office. County Clerk Fred L. Wright has refused the application of Benlgno Bocco, a local Filipino, for nat uralization papers. Assistant District Attorney Whll, in a written opinion, holds that until such time as they may be especially granted by Congress, nat uralization rights do not apply to Fili pinos, although as such all Filipinos are entitled to the protection of the United States Government. For Biliousness There is nothing so good as TAR RANT'S. It cleanses and refreshes the stomach, clears the brain and restores the appetite. TARRANT'S Seltzer Aperient Keg. V- S. Fu. Oftcol has been prescribed by physicians for 62 yean There's nothing like it at any price. A sparkling effervescent drink. Taitei like soda water. Children like it. At tfrottltts 50c. and SI .00 or brmaii front The Tarrant Co. 44 Budioa S tract Mew York SOME of the best looking feet in town come here for shoes; that's one reason why they're best looking-; we put shoes on them that keep them so. If you feel like getting an un usually good shoe for $3.50, $4 or $5, just ask to see our Selz Royal Blue Shoes; . the best shoes made for the money. We satisfy lots oi people with them. Seventh and D e -8-1 o lO Seventh and Washington IXUoCIl til Cll O Washington PORTLAND'S BEST SHOE STORE "If It'i Shoes, It. Rosenthal's" Old Dr. Grey's Sanitarium lfic ouiy leUablu piaco lor eonttnamcnla Id Portland. Keguiar licensed physicians and professional trained nurses, perfect seclusion, honest dealingv Infants adopted. The finest equipped sanitarium for the cure of chronic and rebellious diseases ui the Northwest. Diseases of women a SDecialty. Graduate lady physicians in attendance. Terms very reasonable. Address, Dr. J. D. Grey, 251 Alder street, corner Xbird. Portland. Cr, Corraspondaaa solicited. Telephone Main 2700. - ft GH 106.2