San Francisco Call, Volume 97, Number 90, 28 February 1905 — RAILROAD'S CONTROL IN NEW HANDS [ARTICLE]

RAILROAD'S CONTROL IN NEW HANDS

NEW YORK, Feb. 27.— The report that E. H. Harriman had lost control of Union Pacific Railroad gained currency in Wall street to-day, and, while it could not be confirmed, the belief was expressed In conservative quarters that it was not idle gossip. It has been known for some time that H. H. Rogers and William Rockefeller each personally held as large a block of Union Pacific stock as any one individual; it is believed that Harriman and his friends retained a sufficient amount to secure to them complete administrative control of the property. On one hand it was said that James J. Hill and his friends had secured the stock, aTid on the other It was asserted that D. G. Reid and Judge Moore of the Rock Island Company had it.

Enormous transactions marked the trading on the Stock Exchange to-day, the total reaching approximately 2,000,000 shares. Of this amount about 425,000 shares represented dealings in Southern Pacific. The other Pacific stocks were exceedingly active.

The plunging tactics of powerful stock speculators apparently were concentrated on Southern Pacific, with the result that the tape recorded long "strings" of quotations running into 10,000 and 20,000 share totals without interruption. At 70, blocks of thousands of shares, aggregating 17,000, were transferred before the price crossed that figure and advanced fractionally. During the closing days of last week Union Pacific and New York Central were the leaders in activity and strength. Though there were large dealings in those two stocks to-day, it was apparent that speculative interest had switched over Sunday and that the operations of the big dealers were being directed to Southern Pacific. Less was heard to-day of alleged deals between the Union Pacific and Vanderbilt interests, concerning which scores of plausible and fantastic stories alike were circulated late last week. The subsidence of reports was not due, however, to disbelief by the trading element, but rather to a change of front in the field ofc activity. The cause of extraordinary liveliness in Southern Pacific shares, which led the market, was generally ascribed to the belief that dividends on the stock will be declared shortly.