LIFE STORY OF THE LATE EDWARD H. HARRIMAN.

Otago Witness, Volume 06, Issue 2899, 6 October 1909, Page 78

LIFE STORY OF THE LATE EDWARD H. HARRIMAN.

A SHORT GLliffSi^ AT A REMAKS ABLE CAREER. ' The gr-'SaE American railroad magnate ai>d millionaire.- Edward Harry Harrimau, ) whose death occurred recently, -vras born 1 at the Hampsteadi Rectory, Long Island, ;on 25th February, 1848. His father was • the rate Rev. Orland Harriman, an , Episcopalian clergyman. Both his parents W'i;D3 aristocrats, but poor as churen mice. ! When the boy was 12 months old the ; fatfcer lost his 'banenee, acid for 10 years , this family lived in the direst penury and destitution. la. 1859 tie Rev. Oiland Harriman obtained tbe incumbency at I West Hobok«n, and retained it until 1866. But siaice his family was larg3 3. id his income only 20Cdol a year, the Et^ugciie to exist' was barely alleviated. ] Nothing certarin is known of those dark times beyond the fact that !Mrs Harriman ■ was the mainstay of tdsa pauper liioniestead. Sht9 was a lady of tne old school, cultured, refilled, amd amiable, but uarroir ' in her views, an iron disciplinarian, and j proud as Lucifer. She taught her husband patieaio arxl her sons manliness. Th.3 family livcel in the hicughtiest exclu&iveness. tbelv circle constantiy contracting. They knew few peonle. and cared to know r.o more. Tbe" children were trained to follow social lin?-» religiously ; to d'e.-^p^e- people <■! rTAishroom anccftrv, end to regard thetr own class . Avith tke suspicious reserve of inipoveriihed • arrogance. Edward Hari'Lirans childhood must have been a most unhappy one, but for Home unknown reason he always ; carefully icncerled hi^ esrly hKcvy from the vrorld. A ciaj" cair.-a wiien t^ie tutors of many Ameiican ejcw^ papers would have . paid thousands of pounds to F£<-ru-3 a ■ truthful account of his youthful days, but Harriman kept a close mouth, and tho&e , j who could have fpoken dared not for fear "* , of iacurriag hi» enmity. : ! Harriman was educated at a State ; school, virtually as a charity pupil, since, I 'being the son ot a poor clergyman, be t paid no tee*. At school he was con- , spicuous for general dairwissi, and in no direction did ha- evince even average ability. In the year 1857 be entered a Wall street office as a stockbroker's clerk. His employers foam-d 1 hfen a slow out care- ' ful and painstaking servant. For tli« next, three yeaa's he devoted his whole time to a sedailous study of the stockbrohing bus:- ' ■n<?s&. Early in 1870 he felt that he had 1 . ler^Fned his lesson tboroagkly, and he at once b?g;tu to speculate with his small ■ • saving's. Ke was almost imrcodiately successful, and on 13t!i Augnst of tV rame year .h-e bought a seat- upon the »\r York Stock Exchange. and be;mn lo trade , «n his own account. For the ins-jen? 13 year« his history is purely financin.'. . Be maid-e no mark in Wall street. His trading was fnial), his dolr.os ob?c;ire. " Nobody notired him ; nobody thought 'iwti Ti r ort.hy of Tiotice. lint atl tho whil? \*. I i>otic-ed everybody. He developed a fatuity oi almost soperiiatura! wctchfulnes-. TFe exwlored the .-ecrets of 'Change, and c-x°- . mined fich t»ig traneattion v.it.h the e-e of n feientißC analyst. Parlicula/ly hp watched the campaigns of those terrib 1'?1 '? gaimbierf: — Gould. Jireiv. Fisk. and Vanck-r-bUt. .le ?tu>"Med th«ir methods in every , possible detail. Hfid r.l: last, when «v'"« ! that bi-; kuc-w.ed^e wrj complete, he quietly <!;•:• i^ed to fight and b^:;.: th^ui at their own scarce. In 1871 a.id 1872 (he pr^at fs:es -it Chic^o an:i 80.-ton toj'.c pla. p. v n< '1 CTir.-ed .1 Wall sdvefc ]):mic. IT;- •man. culck rs- li.'ht, sei/.i J 'he opp' rt T.'ty to l:e.iT tlio h;s crarnb'°i -•' 'ntavrst-«. <h\ each cci_y-:c:! h.-? nvew one «irh a iaiv? :oitL'rip, yt-ty t -t so cauiicu!.-!' c!i-*I he r.ork that liiv CT'ntU' p- luirpi-cc'vecl. Tn. 1373 tiif t .-ai. h :,i of .):i_\ Ccok ?.;id Co. v.r-v.t bir.lc-vupt, a: -3 57 <.{'■><■} tli-,v.k (\u'\Wy j c o -cd th'ir cl; : . '! \-.p Tai-o-rbilt? -w'si ( the (!cu!'j- n*!e f-i-j 'i •!•.>'. y s'iahc.l, acd for ' t-'jv.c v. c:-k c I'vvn I >.n ', !,? '>iinl: of d:."j c< ki 1 . Han/rtia'i l-oiiclit t'i«- >• -(■j'k.-- it panic prir c«, aw! 1 :i th'-Ti in '■>!.-> . c t - o'".cj ; lx>x. Wli»n Liie Xcw Yr >: da\\-"j'd l.c whs a uiillioraire. In !876 he cru-^j)li j d , lip th? '"Ar.i.iirat.'trt C'-rr.er" tird ihe ' YTlt'l? Corn,"-"' by bald U^-<-',^j, nn/J h a f. 'lov.vd r.p tfie-T n t .■ -e> ov .'■m.-.^hir.^ t!:? "Jer-cv r'e:i::«i"' L«i:ihi"". iiikin:'. !n'p ;. o-J l^ y.he:i the ccl'a":j t=" fioai HCdol ', Tn 133" he grew tireil of Leing merely ' stockbroker, a"-l dr!tennine:i to make hi n* - eif \dv.\z in iK 1 i-.;,U\ay c-.-lfl. He '■tn-i-tod in !•!, rsi»al" un j'ntir.-fve fashion' ■, IV f"v.v',vj a fT'i^v :<•:.-!;. p in i.\ 0 IJli'.o;-; J Coj'/in' It.iiiJ-.-vd CLn:n.v. Ti;i.> <!ok. he j lay h.vl: '•Ui°'.!\ fr-r fire veri.-. ar.J mado ' j a fc:i:T v.v.j =tuJy ci rai!\v;tv cj>c"-3:ion-. in j th-o .'a.->' '•'.•.-; .-.-3 nr.d aat'eut fa? : iio-i ->\iih j whi<.h he 1 a_d mu-iere-d the t rierKe of [ brok ; ng fip.;,F.-e. There woe at tha* lime ' . «ix jj-r&at railway n^awnu'2-. «■ ''f> ■■!.• ;.i r ,l 1 botwror. thems-.?lve.- . the control of Arr-e rkr.n raH'-o?d inta:-?>U. Their jisme? r.'.ul 1-b.o ort'n 1 of th«lr imuortaa-^e a: fol_'a v« • J. Uitrpo.it ifo^.-!-,. \V K. Vsa-<lii-bilt. Alex. .J. Cas.-att. Meovse Jay Gould, Jams J HilJ. «md William H. Mo-cie. Hairiman watched there men ' with the untiring eire and cunning of a ivnx until ho bad learned the ot : their methods. Then be entered th: held against them. His firct acpearance a-; a ; rival opewvtoi' '.v-as dm ma tic and sens a- '' , tiona!. J. Pisrpont Morgan, early in * • 3877, formed- H plan to rendjrst the nffairs ' ■ of the creat Krie- raifroad, \rbic;» Gould's mad opera tiorti toad* nluapred in a Snanci.->! ' .--mocass. .•Kvei'vthiag. h«d been arranged. ' aßd'ther* xccs-«tnly needed the consent' c-f •• •:the- stock-bokkra-'for- ther -work of reor- 1 fcani#.-«ti©a to .bstpai. .-.Soddenly tame an ' trnJooked-fec .<?Ke<&« All fch* siock-iwldßra ' ; hwt, oj2£ -h&& coDtsssted, .-That «wwaa Haniman. Morgan sent for hun. "'What 1 do you want" demanded Moi-jaa. "Het- *

I ter terms," said Harriman. "Whom dc • you represent?" asked Morgan. "Myself," said Harriman. Morgan decided to fight-. j The struggle lasted a week, and Morgan j was defeated* For the next nine years j Harriman remained comparatively inacj tivs, waiting and watching. Then came •' his chance. Goul'd had wrecked the Union Pacific Company. It was in the market, , and no buyers offered. Harriman bought it, and formed a company among his friends and believers to work it on new . lines. Three years later be did the same thing with the South Pacific Company, also one of Gould's wrecks" Harriman rebuilt these lines from end to< end, spending millions with tbe prodigality of a prince. " His co-directors objected, but he overbore all opposition, crushing rutHlessly anyone who withstood him long. In 1899 be said to a reporter, "My work is to harmonise ths different opinions of my co^directons." Whea this statement was published one of the defeated directors rejoined. "Xot to harmonise, bivt to Harrimanire.' Ha.rriman wss the first to laugh at the witticism, and h? did not rest until its utte^er was ruin-cd. At firei* tho other "railway magnates smiled at bis reorgani.^ing-efioris, noi> fearing his enterprise vi the kast. But before long the UnicH Pacific line had doub^>ed its traffic and had bsgun to produce enormous profits. The rival magnates csnsnlted, and resolved to declare • war. .Morgan began the fight- with a campaign of raJe reduction. HaiTima.n ! instantly Kesponded by creating a Wall I st.reet jmnic in Morgrn. stocks. Morgan hsid to sxie for mercy. James J. Hill promptly took up tbe running, and gave , Jorth thrft Harriman mas* ho destroyed. Hariiman was equal to the occasion. In , crder "to fight his enemy he invented 1 a bran-new system of finance — ilia "blind pool." Tho blind pool is a collection of money and credit placed under the control of ona man with discretion to us? it <.g he pleases without consulting its owners. Harridan called upon tha stock-holders of the -Union Pacific and its. allied companies to" place. 100 million dollars e*sh in a "blind pool," and to g.iv.3 him unlimited powers to- us? this pi-odigious sura as he . chose. The demand proposed to convert his co-directors into raere dummies, and tc make the stocK-holders inert particijL'iints of a blind and monstrous gamble.* But. incredible as it may appear, Harri- ; man got his way. He had taught the stock-hofdsrs to believe that his judgment was infallible by saxning for th-sm constant, and colossal profits, and when the . call was made they handed him the cash, be wanted, n-nct put themselves reservelessh- into his hand?. Harriman was , thns enabled to VTithstand A.IL tbe forces that Hill marshalled against" him, and ; to con-tinae paying dividends despite the war of rate?. 15a t he was n&i satisfied. Hili's railroad intends wpre so enormous thrt Harrrrcian c-x'.'A v<,i l>rape to win the k>ng battle by ordinary H>eans. He thersfoi - e planned • {■. cMuipaij!!? unprec-edenfed fo-r astuteness in the whole- history of finano*. 'The Hill • stocks, atfectod by th-e Ptrngg'-e. were at a low ebb. ilarriroan bought them up to the tvne of 78 million dollars, registered tlr-2 i-'.:ip ii> -fictitiou:; names, put it into his strong box, and Ipfb America to lead n scier-t.ific. expedition into Alaska. When he retuvnerJ the freight wa>? was still raging. Ho i-aid low for a time, and then ■.I ent fc- a trip to Japan. On his retura the long expected had tal&an place. His own Ktocks were low, the Hill stocks had moL-n-tod to tremendous figures. Harriman quietly opened hi« strong box and be.'an to sell I fill scrip. By August, V^a. he had made a r.et profit of 120 miliicn dollars for hi? ov/n Srtock-hoidars by inavlcat oiieration^ with his enemy's stock. _*& sr»on "as he- had collected tlse cash, he 011 let lv announced his reso-ve to buikl a r<3W iranscontinental railway alon<? a rout" that lay within » rifle shot of the Northern Pacific Road (the mainstay of the Kill party's railway interest.;) for. more tha,! 1000 mi'.es, .",nd -ha ccclly rdded t!iat I>3 intended to pay fo' % the new line. with j Iha ir.onev that ha bad made out of Hill. ! 'J hp.t .ndsd tli? war. Hill was boaten to his kr.ef?, nnd he quickly suei for peace at any tc-r.nn HTriman mig'r.-t cure to imporS Hairiman was- no philanthropist tc forego rhe j-.poils of victory. He. demanded conditions that were calculated ton^iko him absolute sovereign of American v?ilrcad nrance, aiid hs got them. Ueforc ih9 \«ar c'o^oi his empire had extended Dver*s- l.o€ol .o€o n-iles of railroads, in which mots th-n 4000 millicn dollars ot capital had oei-n invested and which earned more than 700 million dollars a .year. Tlv?n-_-s onwards until bis "death hi? railway intei-p.--t>s piled up at a rate 5-0 rapid that Ho ended by coatr'olling 64.000 miles of rail-way. It Ls no exaggefa<t ion to say that r.o 'man living or dead has ever ■cx^rti-ei as great a nieasr.c-e of political ar.l fir uncial power as this extr.iordir^ry character. And he built- up his power aln>o.-h single-handed by the mere fores of Fupertor financial acuKen. Starting vritj T^tliLug. ' le died the greatest magnate in America, 3 ' having nrirly four tinres as many r^.pn upon hi? pay roll* a-s there are toL-'icTs in ilv> army c-f th 3 U&iterl States. The cbi^f s=2cret of Harriman's unparalleled success lay m the sim-pikity of his "-^thon-s. He alwa-vs ulayed a lone hand vrfcen a nure tad on t&3 Tsevr York Stock Fxehange fee made ?. discovery that was of infinite value to his later operations. He < v -overed that nearly ail the great ar * briil-antTy planned coups that went v,Tor..,' failed for or.c unvarying reason— somebody had blabbed', Harriman therefore determined at the very outset of !>is career to trust nobody, and to have no tonfida&t but his own inner consciousness. And this, rii-e, lie observed 1 ' unJvnervingK'througfi&ut his life. He "treated hr.V co-director*.^^puppets. He eoccaaled'all his ideasr jtod^aoigf^s. from them, and only," toltf them Jy^L-iKuf^be "dtoired tbe world to_ kiWw.^H«T f wajß^iu)t their colle&jga6, hyit their .lojrJ(, .g^d "Ihey were. Ins ..'siryan'ts. Jfot „caia N ".of . them knew ukm a dividend woulcf be declilred or the rate. Not one of them ever knew

0 the exact financial condition of the ccm- " pace's afiFairs. He prepared his balance ■• sheets hianself. and worked always in the ii deep dark like a n>ole, gambling unseen j s I with millions as a -lesser man niight play, - with cents. Bat always he wes absolutely c ! honest to his stock-holders. He made iov- i 1 ] tunss for - them, -and distributed tho > ; lomvaiss fairly. He rained thousands of ; k j men wdth heartless cruelty, pod crushed 3 i many of bis own best friends, notahly 7 1 Stuyv&saat Fish. Bet it was ail to serve 3 1 the pockets of the men who trusted him. > To them ba wat; lavish past belief. "Eo preyed on the comenunsty for- their gain " ajii his own^ and no investor ever -paid 1 i him tbe coßiplinaent of confidence whom j ho failed to exxich beyond the dreams ox ' avarice. I Edward .Harry Harriman was a small ' E man, slight of " build, with strong, clea*> f cut features and cool, wa-tcbful eyes His i manner was cold, reserved, and autocratic. " - He cild rot culiivatie the graces, and wr.s - j completely ■d-estatute of tact. His parsonic [ ?Hty was ren?.arka\>le for a rote of magnetic I ■c'.iOnilHaEr^?. He &i*l not win his way by , I persuasion. . lie first <jszaled by the ] J luminary perspicacity of hi.- ideas ar.d h:s ij j cosnpreheEfivs grasj> of the wbject in [ J hand, and then he caniaianided ike aocept- . | anee of his .proposals by a swiftly ensuing . assumption of almost bcuto.l mastership. , In that mood no -maai dared oppope him, i and resistance became impossible. ThroughI out the whole of his worderiul career he [ never encountered a real failure ; he t I hardly met with a reverse, [t was be- | I cauf.s he never embarked on any' course . { without a thorouoh understanding of its [ con^eq^itencw ; beeaup? hs nsver attempted t I to secure the aliiarhoe of any man w;hom, 1, 1 he did not 'instinctively feel he could^'n:II pre^s ; an.i because his Ttnind .. inya.Tiabiy [ I traveled in a straight line to tba^j'rc- ■ { jected goal. His few frlnds de4?rii?e ;a»m ! as kindhearted. and. .fim-loving, and, these I ;f!:-cd him voil. To tJbo multitude % he. w.-vs '. t ever a psycholoj»icßl'fjJ,j*£tery. His haughty i 1 exclusivenesi and. bi* chill aristocratic - pride kept him aloof from the sympaihy '■ t of the ~ masses, ard- made hdm a detested 1 ! figure in the popular democratic esteem. I In bis last years, he was a national i Sgure and a national menace. His pet j financial- system — the "blind pool" — was * : copied by all the trueis,. and is now one j of the most vicious i-&atupes oi American < industrial and financial life. That is his [ worst legacy to the cation. For tho wst Jin was not without k human feedings. Secretly he spent millocns of dollars in • charity, and none bat his enemies appealed to him for help in vain. He married, when qvite a young man, Mary, j the daughter of a minor railway capitalist, ! named Averdl, and his married life was j singularly peaceful and happy. He has j j left beihiiMJ him four children — two j ; daughters, Mary at^d Cordelia, young ] • T^omen of fashion, the former of whom f is noicd &* one of the finest hoi«sewomen lin America ; and two boys, Avea-ell ahd Roland, still^ in their teens. His fevgtxly will inherit a stupendous fortune in money, stocks, and shares ; a great New Yorlf mansion in. Twenty-second street, a palatial country residence, planted in a , "30.000-acre park in the Ramopo Mountains, and on« of the most magnificent* 1 * scaam pleas-ure yachts that has ever boon constructed. j This sketch o| Harriman's earner may • ba most anpropriately terminated by rolating an incident which glitteringly po.*j trays the cynical nature of the man and .j the unconscionable unscrupuJousness of bi.s f business methods. About eight yea-rs Ago he made up his mind to obtain control of a certain railroad. He laid his plans accordingly, and when tbe hour was ripe to strike he s&ni for the chairman of tl-a company whiah '*c desired to absorb. 111 1 a few words Harriman showed hi* victim that he would bast con -suit the company's* ! interests by prompt -.capitulation, for tho j company teemed to be hopelessly at the I magnate's mercy. But ons faint hope of P3parate existence remained. It was that the Legislature of the State through which the railroad ran micht help the company to fight Havriman. The chairman, anxious to dU-cov-sv hii exact position, put the <33£?tion to H«rriman thus: — "You cannot force us to surrender unless you have bought tbe Lagi-ala-ture. Have you dono ; thatT' Earriman replied, "Not yet." That laconic answer was echoed next day in in-iections of wordec. anger, and awe in every household in America. It has since become «t familiar Amer.'can idiom, f.'.-A to this day whenever an American citizen desires to utter a threat, or to express himself in terms of superlative contempt, he disdainfully ra>aats Harriman's iaTamous phrase,. "Not yet." — The Age. I