OCR Text |
Show MR. IIABEIMAN'S DEATH. The heavy news of the death of Prosidont E. K. IJnrriman of the Union Pacific and other railway systems, is carried in the dispatches this morning. morn-ing. J I is evident that Mr. Harriman was given up by tho great medical experts ex-perts of Europe, and sent home to die. But ho fought a great fight for his life, and maintained a steady, calm front to tho last. Jlis protecting hand was upon all the interests in his charge, and thoso were enormous. At the beginning be-ginning of l lie end, when ho recognized the inevitable, he callod his great trusted trust-ed chieftains about, him, and gave direction di-rection to them as to whnl, should be dono to "carry out the Harriman policies" poli-cies" of which so much has been heard. And, whatever may be said of those policies in other parts of the Pcpublic, for all this region they made toward betterment, upbuilding, and progress. Ifo did a mighty work for the Union Pacitic and for the old Centnil Pacific, cutting down grndos, straightening curves, and. chief of all, putting in tho great trestle-work across the Great Salt. Lako, known as the "Lucin cul ofi'." His liugo work in this improving of the great transcontinental railroad kept it in the forefront of all, enabling it to excel all rivals in speed and safety. Ho also bought and completely rebuilt the street railway system of this city, and among the very last of his positive posi-tive activities was tho purchase of tho Snltatr railroad and resort, and the approval ap-proval of plans for extensive improvements improve-ments in connection therewith. From his early years, Mr. Harriman has been . extremely active in business; and as his business extended, he became be-came more and more powerful. . Tho practical coliapso of tho Union Pacific railroad management in the panic year of 1S03 gave him his big opportunity. He and his associates bought the control con-trol of the company for $-11,000,000, and the proceeded at once with his work of upbuilding. On the death of Collis P. Huntington in 1890 he had secured control of the Huntington railroad rail-road interests, and when tho Union Pacific Pa-cific opportunity presented, he was ready for it. In the six years from 1.S93 onwards, he spent some .$200,000.- uuu in improving tnese two great properties. prop-erties. Mr. Harriman has had many spectacular spec-tacular contests, three of the most noteworthy note-worthy being his great fight for the control of the Northern Pacific, in w.hi.ch he. failed; and his gaining control con-trol of the Illinois Central, and of the Chicago & Alton. Ho was the most brilliant figure in the financial activities ac-tivities of tho country, his most pronounced pro-nounced rival being President .lames J. Hill; and in the domain of mere cnpital at command, John D. Rockefeller and John r. Morgan. He was indeed a mighty figure. His great mistake was in undertaking to do too much of the detail of his great enterprises, holding in his own hands too many of the finer strings. He will be missed from the field of American business activity as no other mnn would be, and the verdict must be that hc tried to carry a load too heavy for one man to bear. He was by comparison a young man, and might reasonably have counted upou many years more of active usefulness. He was well along in his sixty -deooud 3'ear. and died of over-strain and attempting at-tempting too much, in that he wanted a personal hand in the doing of small things as well as groat. We find in tho latest edition of "Who's Who in j America" this apparently revised and bright up to date sketch of Mr. Harriman Harri-man 's life: ilr. Harriman was born in ITampstcad, L. 1., New York, February 25, 1848; he received a common school education; became a broker's clerk In Wall Street at the ago of fourteen; later a stock broker on his own account; he has been a mepaber of the New Yorlc Htock Exchange Ex-change since August J3, 1870; he was president and director, of the Oregon P.all-wny P.all-wny and Navigation Company, Portland and Asiatic Steamship Company; president presi-dent and chairman of tho executive committee com-mittee of the Union Pacific Railroad Company; Com-pany; chairman of the executive committee com-mittee of Wells-Fargo and Company; member of tho board of managers of the Delaware and Hudson Company; president presi-dent and director of the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company. Southern Pacific Pa-cific Company; Texas and Now Orleans Railroad Company, Southern Pacific (.oast Railway, Oregon and California Rnilroad Company. Central Parlfic Railway Rail-way Company, Louisiana Western Railroad Rail-road Company. Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company, Pacific Mall Steamship Company. Railroad Rail-road Securities Company, Southern Pacific Pa-cific Terminal Company; director of Jl'l!30l8 ,CcntraI Rn"rond Company since IS83 (vice president. 1S87 to 1890). Baltimore Balti-more and Ohio Railroad Company. EH Railroad Company. Colorado Fuel and Iron Company Western Union Telegraph Company. National City Bank. Chicago and Alton Railroad Company, Pcrc Mar-riuetto Mar-riuetto Railroad Company, S'an Pedro Los Angeles and Salt Lak Railroad. Pacific Coast Company. New York, Susquehanna and U estem Railrood Companv; trustee Eo.ulta.bIe Trust Company; and director In many other corporations. |