THE AMERICAN RAILWAY MILLIONAIRE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 8767, 19 March 1907, Page 1

THE AMERICAN RAILWAY MILLIONAIRE.

E. H. Harriman, the American railway millionaire, who ia raid to now be embarrassed, is described by the American correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald as “the one commanding figure of the hour.” Harriman is president of the “Pour Pacifies,” whoso combined capital is nominally the enormous sum of 1,365,303;745 dollars. He has used the credit of these roads to raise money to buy a controlling interest in other roads, so""that he is absolute ruler of one-sixth of all the railroads in the country. The correspondent states that the railway* irregularities unearthed by the Interstate Commerce Commission have given the country a worse shock than that caused by, tho insurance scandals. As a matter of fact, the disclosures are a direct sequel to the insurance scandals. Harriman packed insurance directorates with his nominees and then borrowed huge sums of insurance money, and tie testimony to this effect led to the second enquiry. Witnesses before the Commission have made it 'clear that the eontrol of so many lines in one management has been used to stifle competition and exact extortionate prices from tho public. As an example of Harriman’s methods, the correspondent cites the cheating of James Keene and his following out of several million dollars, which is said to have been clearly proved before the Commission. “ Keene knew that Ithe Southern Pacific was earning great sums, and bought heavily in hope to get enough stock to gain control. The competing road, the Union-Pacific, as was believed, owned some of its rival’s stock, and l under the law could have been barred from voting it. But before the election Harriman made a nominal sale of these 300,000 shares to William Eockfeller, and after these had been voted against the Keene party they were sold back at the same price, less 185,500 dollars commission. How in the course of tho struggle the Union Pacific book had to be produced in court, and if it can be shown that there was a conspiracy to make them conceal the truth, Mr Keene may now get his revenge, and, perhaps, even some of his money.” Tho demand for reform is said to be irresistible, and there is talk of a criminal prosecution in the Keene case. It has taken Harriman 45 years to climb from the position of office boy to power greater than thatjpossessed by any of tho railway magnates of the past, and his fall may be dramatically sudden. Tho mutterings among tho 40,000 shareholders whoso property ho has managed are ominous of a storm. Ho and his followers certainly owned less than 10 per cent of the properties in their custody, and, perhaps, much less than that. As with the army of policy-holders, tho real owners were at best a secondary consideration.