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Show E. H. Ilarrlman. Certain of the eastern press, especially the New York World, is bitter as death toward Mr. E. H. Harriman. Its indictment is chiofly that Mr. Harriman has been an unusually sharp and bold operator In stocks. That doubtless, Is bad business, but there have been striking examples of that in New York since the World was published. pub-lished. There was one Cornelius Vanderbilt who had some reputation in his line. On one oooanlon old Daniel Drew was sure that he had hjm oornered and then old Cornelius issued $40,-000,000 $40,-000,000 of new stock in tho New York Central, tossod enough on the market to bo able to fill his shorts and to do up old Daniel. One Jay Gould had some reputation in that lino. Thoro was one Samuel J. Tllden, who in his day, had much reputation as a lawyer and statesman and financier. But it was Samuol J. Tllden who was tho first man In the United States to wreck a railroad. Wo mention tho foregoing, but they are but a beggarly few of the thousands that have bucked at that same game and lost and won fortunes. And tho chief blame is against the system. A proper execution of the laws would have stopped the greater part of that kind of work yeai-s ago. And when the respectability of tho business Is considered, whatever it may bo, it fills tho most fashionable pews In the most venerable ven-erable churches of tho metropolis. But among railroad managers, wo bog to say that Mr. E. H. Harriman, during tho past seven or eight years, has done better work than any other man, not excepting Mr. J. J. Hill or tho late groat president of tho Pennsylvnia Central. He has recreated one road 2,000 miles long. Beginning Be-ginning with a streak of rusty stool, a right of way and a load of debt that would have appalled any other man, Mr. Harriman converted this into a mighty effective groat highway and an expen diture which would have paralyzed any other man. The . effect of It can bo understood whon jH the Argonaut of San Francisco says that by his Hfl work Mr. Harriman saved that city as tho great lH center of commerce on the Pacific, that except jjl for it San Franoisco would have been defeated lil in its struggle to maintain its superiority. At the same timo he has put in form 2,500 moro miles of road from this oity to Butte and Port- : land, and has boon tho most potontial factor in J converting Idaho from a desert to one of the foremost of agricultural sttitos. In another year, j if he is spared, he will have tho main line of tho "uion Pacific double tracked and long stretches . double track on the old Central Pacific rail-Qad. rail-Qad. He has cut out curves, reduced grades, Obbbbb! bridged the great inland sea, laid new tracks SH which aggregate an expense of $30,000,000. Ho 11 has constructed and equipped many hundred 11 miles of new road, reduced distances on tho old ones, and moreover, has kept up and greatly lm- 11 proved the Southern Paoific from San Francisco Hl to New Orleans, and performed the miracle of laying his hand upon tho raging Colorado and compelling it to return to within its own banks, after it had become wild and was running amuck in lower California. In this city ho is spending $5,000,000 to prepare proper terminals here and to give this oity a modern street car service, and has other great; works in contemplation. It strikes us that such a man ought not to be picked out and designated "an undesirable citizen." Ex-cept Ex-cept for him it is pitiable to contemplate the con-ditlon con-ditlon whi oh this central West would have been : in today. To do what he has, he has been 1 obliged to use the material which ho found to work upon, and to raise tho money necessary to ; do his. work in a wrestle with the keenest and most unscrupulous crowd that ever played upon the finances of a great nation. And ho is making good every day, and with a superb sagaoity Is planning to keep his continental lines the fore-most fore-most between the seas and to meet the demands upon them, which is growing beyond comparl- ' son, satisfied. Whon he began he was almost un-known un-known and not much experienced in the business. Mr. C. P. Huntington, whom ho succeeded, had i boon recognized for a quarter of a century as ; one of the very ablest railroad managers in the 1 nation. It is enough to say that Mr. Harriman took hold of what Mr. Huntington had left well-nigh well-nigh a wreck, recreated it and made of it the very foremost of continontal roads and proved ' himself the pluokiost, clearest-brained and most HB far-sighted captain of industry between tho seas. EJ |