Gates never forgot J. P. Morgan's snub at the U. S. Steel merger. One month after the deal was completed, he became involved in a struggle between E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad and James J. Hill of the Northern Pacific Railway. Both men sought control of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Hill, who was financed by J. P. Morgan, needed access to Chicago; Harriman was interested in stopping Hill from obtaining it. Gates saw this as an opportunity to get back at Morgan for his refusal to seat him on the board of U. S. Steel. Along with Harriman, he began buying shares of Northern Pacific stock. When James Hill noted a sudden rise in Northern Pacific stock prices, he traveled to New York to consult with Morgan. Morgan and Hill stopped the sales of the Northern Pacific stock, which remained high while other stocks took steep drops. Those who had been selling short could not obtain enough stock to cover themselves and were faced with large financial losses. It was rumored that Gates was short 60,000 shares of Northern Pacific stock. Gates did not confirm or deny any of the rumors about the railroad stock and would only say that he was doing well.