July 8, 1905
E.H. Harriman
Imperial Hotel
Tokio, Japan
Ned,
I am pleased that my letter of May 1st found you in Tokio, and that you took the time to write me a prompt reply. I sent a similar letters to most of our competitors at the same time, and their replies have been, on the whole, similar to yours. It is my opinion that men like ourselves are intensely competitive by nature, always seeking to best our colleges whenever opportunity arises. In this way we are little different than the boxers slugging it out in a ring, though we use our railroads instead of our fists and scores are kept in thousands of dollars instead of blows. Thus, when a situation arises that compels us to work together, in cooperative effort, there is always some degree of mistrust between parties. Your skepticism is noted, and shared by many of our colleagues. And while I needed multiple correspondences and meetings to win some over, I was pleased that you recognized the threat that these new machines pose to our business.
In the span since that first letter, Senator Penrose has had some success crafting the legislation to be presented to the Congress in December. We railroad men have been assisting the Senator’s work by providing examples from our own history to reference, from the adoption of standardized signage to gated road crossings to the necessity of speed limits in congested areas or poor trackage. The Senator has also had some intriguing ideas of his own – stolen from others, of course. The most beneficial, from our point of view, came about from a chance meeting in Washington in May. At a social function, Senator Penrose happened into conversation with the Ambassador from Germany. The subject of motor cars arose, and Herr von Sternberg mentioned that the German government was also toying with a regulatory structure for the machines. Their plan is levy an annual fee on motor cars based on the power of the engine, rather than have a fixed tax rate applied to all machines equally. The German Parliament is expected to adopt the tax sometime next year. Senator Penrose is very enthused about the idea, and is making it a keystone of the legislation.
In addition, I have had some chance to discuss the subject with some other industrialists and financiers outside the railroads. There is a great deal of convincing left to do here, but I have made some headway. One difficulty is that while our interests are self-serving, the oil men, the steel men, and even the lumber men have much less of a stake in the matter. Motor cars do not yet use their wares in huge numbers, though the potential is obvious. So we must bear in mind that we may have to sweeten the pot to get full cooperation. I can tell you that the leadership of US Steel is practically salivating at the prospect of selling hundreds of more miles of rail and spikes. Rockefeller is a bit of a tougher nut right now. While he agrees that safety would benefit all, the old man is suspicious about the government getting involved. In passing, I did mention some of the experiments your railroad has been doing with oil-fired locomotives, and that there would be many benefits in our cities if the coal ash and soot of our trains could somehow be eliminated. His curiosity was piqued, and inquiries were made as to the consumption rate of a Union Pacific oil-burner. I assured him that it is prodigious, but if the supply and price of oil was consistent and predictable it could be the future of American Railroads. I apologize if this was presumptuous on my part.
At any rate, I look forward to seeing you upon your return, and to see some demonstrations of this Nipponese “Ju Jitsu” you described in your letter. God’s speed, and wishes for a safe journey.
Sincerely,
AJ Cassatt
E.H. Harriman
Imperial Hotel
Tokio, Japan
Ned,
I am pleased that my letter of May 1st found you in Tokio, and that you took the time to write me a prompt reply. I sent a similar letters to most of our competitors at the same time, and their replies have been, on the whole, similar to yours. It is my opinion that men like ourselves are intensely competitive by nature, always seeking to best our colleges whenever opportunity arises. In this way we are little different than the boxers slugging it out in a ring, though we use our railroads instead of our fists and scores are kept in thousands of dollars instead of blows. Thus, when a situation arises that compels us to work together, in cooperative effort, there is always some degree of mistrust between parties. Your skepticism is noted, and shared by many of our colleagues. And while I needed multiple correspondences and meetings to win some over, I was pleased that you recognized the threat that these new machines pose to our business.
In the span since that first letter, Senator Penrose has had some success crafting the legislation to be presented to the Congress in December. We railroad men have been assisting the Senator’s work by providing examples from our own history to reference, from the adoption of standardized signage to gated road crossings to the necessity of speed limits in congested areas or poor trackage. The Senator has also had some intriguing ideas of his own – stolen from others, of course. The most beneficial, from our point of view, came about from a chance meeting in Washington in May. At a social function, Senator Penrose happened into conversation with the Ambassador from Germany. The subject of motor cars arose, and Herr von Sternberg mentioned that the German government was also toying with a regulatory structure for the machines. Their plan is levy an annual fee on motor cars based on the power of the engine, rather than have a fixed tax rate applied to all machines equally. The German Parliament is expected to adopt the tax sometime next year. Senator Penrose is very enthused about the idea, and is making it a keystone of the legislation.
In addition, I have had some chance to discuss the subject with some other industrialists and financiers outside the railroads. There is a great deal of convincing left to do here, but I have made some headway. One difficulty is that while our interests are self-serving, the oil men, the steel men, and even the lumber men have much less of a stake in the matter. Motor cars do not yet use their wares in huge numbers, though the potential is obvious. So we must bear in mind that we may have to sweeten the pot to get full cooperation. I can tell you that the leadership of US Steel is practically salivating at the prospect of selling hundreds of more miles of rail and spikes. Rockefeller is a bit of a tougher nut right now. While he agrees that safety would benefit all, the old man is suspicious about the government getting involved. In passing, I did mention some of the experiments your railroad has been doing with oil-fired locomotives, and that there would be many benefits in our cities if the coal ash and soot of our trains could somehow be eliminated. His curiosity was piqued, and inquiries were made as to the consumption rate of a Union Pacific oil-burner. I assured him that it is prodigious, but if the supply and price of oil was consistent and predictable it could be the future of American Railroads. I apologize if this was presumptuous on my part.
At any rate, I look forward to seeing you upon your return, and to see some demonstrations of this Nipponese “Ju Jitsu” you described in your letter. God’s speed, and wishes for a safe journey.
Sincerely,
AJ Cassatt