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About Vernonia eagle. (Vernonia, Or.) 1922-1974 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1923)
horseshoe Counter I UNION PACIRC Next to Eadie Eagle Office Best Place to Eat Chicken Dinner Sunday Does Not Favor Grouping of Western Railroads Pro posed By Hale Holden. IUDGE LOVETT’S STATEMENT M oh I h at All Hours, Declares a Re-Merger of Harriman System to Be the Only Fair Basis of Competition With Northern Lines Get a Meal Ticket. O. C. SALE, Prop American Gentlemen CUflCC Genuine Kangaroo unULw What Does It Mean7 Kangaroo leather haw in superior degree ALL the qualities necessary for making tietter fine ahoea. A* to tensile strength, Kangaroo is 17 per cent, better leather than any shoe made, and soft as a glove. Ws hive Them in Slock. Various Other Mikes AN ALL-SHOE STORE Call in this week. Rundell & Hall Vernonia Hotel Bldg. Good Printing is the Dress of Business. That Is The Kind We Do. Let Us Show You EAGLE Stop at the VERNONIA HOTEL Hot and Cold Water Electrio Baths Free to Guests RAILS REASONABLE F. E. Malmsten, Prop: - Vernonia, Oregon • argams that will save you many a dallar w<Il <veapn you if vou fail Io rend careful- ly and régulaily the advertising of local ni'•reliant'» found PLUMBING and ELECTRICAL WORK House Wiring and Supplies, Plans and Estimates Furnished R. L. MILLS Vernonia ■ - Oregon State License iteam Bhovel» expect to be Stear 'Avithin a week, digging out f 35-acre pond for the new steel and concrete mill. All work is being rushed. San Francisco, April 2, 1923 "Consolidating all railways west of Chicago and the Mississippi River Into four systems as proposed recently to the Interstate Commerce Commission by Hale Holden, president of the Chi cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, would create many unnatural alliances and would greatly strengthen the so- called Hill group of railroads and greatly weaken the so-called Harriman group,” said Judge Robert S. Lovett, chairman of tbe Union Pacific System, st today's hearing before Interstate Commerce Commissioner Henry C. Hall. The commission's tentative plan com prising seven instead of four systems was characterized as affording tbe basis and ground work which should be departed from only with great cau tion. Tbe Holden plan grouping the Union Pacific with the Chicago, Mil waukee A St. Paul was strongly con demned, tbe witness explaining that the commission’s plan of placing the Chicago A Northwestern with the Un ion Pacific was the onky logical group ing, the Chicago, Milwaukee A St. Paul being a competitor and1 the Chicago A Northwestern a connection and natural ally. "Should the Hill lines) merger be ap proved," Judge Lovett said, "a re-mer ger of the Harriman Hues, Union Pa cific and Southern Pacific, should be authorized to meet the strong combin ation which would.: be effected by the Great Northern, .Northern .Pacific and Burlington. Therretentlon of the Cen tral Pacific by/the Southern Pacific with the sanie^condltlous -imposed by the commission\ln the recent hearing, Is satisfactory toithe Union'Pacific, as they protect with treasonable« adequacy the rights of thel Union Pacific,” he laid. Continuing The added: "'Another striking effect of the way the^ Holden plan treats the/ofc t Harrimanlsyetem appears when -after'assigning Ho the Southern Pacific tbe Rock Island, it also puta.wttb th lefSouthern Pacific the the Missouri, Missouri Pacific :]and ¡and tho Kansas A Texas systems. with twhlch the Southern Paet fie does but \ little business, and with which it wouldihave occasiou to do evon less after acquiring the Rook Island and', also ths Kansas ?ity, Mexico A Orient—which the press lispatches report is about to be aban- loned—the Missouri, Oklahoma A Gulf and a laalf interestiln the Denver A Rio Orande Western and the Denver ind Salt Latae. The latter feature is es pecially significant because it would Indeed effectually ‘bottlojup’ or as Pro- 'ossor Ripley expressed (it, 'short cir cuit’ the Uaion Pacific, Since it would give the Southern Pacific, a line of its own through from San Francisco to Chicago by way of (Ogden, and Denver paralleling the Union Pacific from Og den both to Omaha, and Kansas City ind paralleling also the lines allocated to the Union Pacific from Omaha to Chicago and elsewhere east of the Mis souri river. "The plan is more>kindtto the Santa Fe system, for it takes away from the Union Pacific (group, where the commission’s tentative plans places it. tho Chicago A Northwestern, which in connection with tholUnlon Pacific is the door and gateway for most of the competition out of ClMcago with the 3anta Fe for Pacific coast traffic, and turns it over to the Santa Fe to gether with the Chicago, St. Paul. Min neapolis A Omaha, which is the prin cipal connection and almost the sile reliance of the Union Pacific for traf fic coming to its line at Omaha from St. Paul, Minneapolis and that terri tory. it gives to the Santa Fe the Canadian Pacific oontrolled lines, the Minneapolis, St. Paul A 8ault Saint Marie and the Spokane International, thereby taking away another valuable connection of the Union Pacific at Spokane. "Thus the plan sends the Santa Fe as far into the northwest as Spokane, Washington. By going through Can ada and stopping short of Puget Sound, however, its capacity for harm to the business of other lines of the northwest would not be great, for while almost In sight of the promised lend Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Portland, It is given no entrance therein, but is hold safe ly on the east side of tho Cascade mountains at Spokane. The Santa Fe is also given the St. Louis Southwest ern, the Chicago A Eastern Illinois, the Now Orleans, Texas A Mexico, tho Western Pacific and a half Interest 1« tbe Denver A Rio Grande West had ths Denver and Salt Lake. takes away from the Santa Fe, how ever, the Colorado and Southern and the Ft. Worth and Denver City, which the tentative plan of the commission put with the Santa Fe consolidation,( and transfers them to the group em-, bracing the Burlington and other strong Hill lines.” Judge Lovett made it plain that he had no objection to the commission's^ authorising a consolidation of the Hill, lines, but that if that were done the commission should also authorize the reconstitution of ths Harriman group,' the Union and Southern Pacific, to meet the strong combination that would be effected by the consolidation of the Hill lines. The Holden plan, however, does not contemplate a consolidation of the Union and Southern Pacific, but in stead weakens both by loading them down with lines with which they have no natural affiliations and makes them competitive with their natural allies, notable in the case of ths Union Pa cific by placing the Chicago A North western in a rival group. The Holden plan also would run counter to the legislation under which the Union Pa cific and Central Pacific were con structed as one continuous line by as signing to the Southern Pacific a half Interest in the Denver & Rio Grande Western and Denver and Sajt Lake, which with the lines of the Rock Is land from Colorado Springs and Den » ver to the Missouri river and Chicago would make it to the interest of the proposed Southern Pacific group to tear down instead of build up the Ogden route of the Union and Central Pacific. "In addition” he said, "both the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific are sent far afield into territories where they have never been, where they have no business or connections and where apparently there is no shadow of reason for them to go. The Union Pacific is sent down into Ten nessee, Alabama, Louisans, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma with lines to New Orleans. Laredo on the Mex ican border and to El Paso, and again into northern Michigan. Tbe Hill linea, however, ’are treated very conserva tively in this respect and the only new territory in which they venture Is from Fort Worth to Houston, Texas, and over the Kansas City Southern and an other short line to New Orleans.” With reference to Mr. Holden’s sub stitution of the Chicago, Milwaukee A St. Paul for the Chicago A Northwest- ern for consolidation with the Union Pacific, Judge Lovett pointed out that the former is a competitor'll the Un ion Pacific for traffic to and from the Puget Sound country, while the Chica go A Northwestern is a connection. The substitution would not only disrupt existing routes and channels of trade but would run counter to another re quirement of the law that competition be preserved as fully as possible. Again, the consolidation of the Union Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee A St. Paul would be a linking of the two weakeat Puget Sound lines, while the Northern Pacific and Great Northern, which are the oldeat and strongest lines In that territory, would be con solidated under the Holden plan. Such aa alignment would certainly not be In the interest of giving the Puget Sound country the best competitive service. Concluding this portion of his testi mony Judge Lovett said, "The consoli dation of the Hill lines with their sub sidiaries into a single system would so far overshadow Its competitors and any other railroad system proposed In | the United States in else and financial strength and possibilities that one might infer that a desire to meet this objection had something to do with the jumbling of the International-Great Northern. Texas and Pacific and 8t. Louie-Francisco systems with the Union Paoiflc, and of the Missouri Pa cific, Toledo, Peoria A Western and the Missouri Kansas A Texas, and var ious other lines with the Southern Pa cific, in order that there should be other systems equal in mileage and Investment to the Hill combination, however unequal In solidarity, finan cial strength and prospects and In traffic and operating relationships." Judge Lovett complimented highly the manner in which Professor Ripley and tho commission had worked out for the direction of congress a plan far tho consolidation of the railway properties of the United States. He said that while there were defects and mistakes here and there, which must be corrected it great injury to public as well as private interests is to be avoided, that yet the tentative plan of the commission affords the basis and ground work which should be followed and from which departures should be made only with grent caution. Ha said he doubted whether railroad men themselves could have formulated a plan so fair and workable, because they could not have divealed them selves of their environment and their affection for lines with which they had spent many years. Judge Lovett opposed the suggestion that ail lines In western territory should be consolidated into four sys tems. saylnr, "Four systems, compris ing from thirty thousand to upw thirty-five thousand mil each extending from Puget* Sound or the Pacific ocean to the 'Ghent lakes, to the mouth of tbe MlasriaHlpiif river and tho Gulf of Mexico, and traversing most of the Intermediate states, make the combinations entirely too large for efficient management and service for the welfare of the corporations themselves, their creditors and stock holders and for the public good, and present a situation which probably would be a source of much undesirable friction and in many ways a constant menace, especially in case of failure.’* He answered Mr. Holden’s argument, based on the fact that the traffic handled by the New York Central and Pennsylvania respectively Is substan tially as great as that which would be handled by any of the four systems, by pointing out that the problems of management In a territory extending only from New York to Chicago and St. Louis are very different from the problems of management in new and rapiQly developing territory, extending al! the way from the Canadian border, Puget Sound and the Pacific ocean to the Great lakes, the mouth of the Mis sissippi river, the gulf and the Mex ican border. Judge Lovett also disagreed with Mr. Holden’s view that each of the Pacific coast lines should have a line ex tending to tbe gulf, stating that the east and west traffic was the im portant and controlling traffic with the transcontinental lines. After point ing out various reasons for this he said: "But more Important still and almost startling is the inevitable tendency and effect of the Holden plan to divert grain from the trunk lines and Atlantic seaboard to tho gulf. Hither to the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, the Burlington, the Chicago, Milwaukee A St Paul, the Chicago & Northwestern, the Union Pacific and the Chicago Great Western have been impartial as between Atlantic and gulf ports, as their carriage did not extend beyond Chicago, Kansas City or St. Louis, and they Interchanged without preference with the trunk lines and the gulf lines alike at the u*-ual gate ways. But the Holden plan ties each one of the great ‘Granger’ roads up with a gulf line of its own, but with out any line east of Chicago or St. Louis, thus forcing all of them in their own interest thereafter, through con trol of car supply and otherwise, to exert their influence in favor of move ment of all export grain over their own rails to tbe gulf instead of being impartial as heretofore. If such con solidate ns are accomplished where will the trunk lines and Atlantic ports get t i -lr grain for export? I am not their advocate, but only wish to point out this as another revolutionary and disaitrous effect to some Interests of the t c tion the commission is asked to take." Ei 'n if the four-system plan were adopii d, It is Judge Lovett's view- that the systems should be constituted in a much different way than proposed In the Holden plan. He said that if the Hill lines were to be consolidated, the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific shnu'd also be consolidated, as their coml i:ied strength would be needed to plae them on a fair, competitive basis with the northern lines. Again he said thot under a four-system plan the Chi cago Milwaukee A St. Paul instead of the Chicago A Northwestern should be coml i ted with the Santa Fe. Such a con»' iidation would put the Santa Fe system Into the North Pacific coast terri cry In competition with the Hill liner and the Union Pacific-Southern Pact.Jo group Instead of stopping the Santa Fe group east of the Cascade mountains as proposed by Mr. Holden. He abo stated that the Chicago, Mil waukee A St. Paul and Santa Fe con nect at both Chicago and Kansas City, while the Chicago A Northwestern has to line to the latter point. Judie Lovett dealt at some length with the history of the Central Pacific and Its relationship to the Union Pa cific and the mutual dependence of these lines on each other. He referred to the decision of the supreme court, ordering the dissolution of the control of the Central by the Southern Pacific beer use violative of the Sherman act, and to the recent hearing before the comm lesion of the application of the Southern Pacific tor authority to ac- quire control, and the decision of the conditions Imposed by the commission to the granting of the Southern Pacific application, protected with reasonable adequacy the rights of the Union Pa- ciflc. and that with these conditions Imposed the Union Pacific would not object to a permanent consolidation or the Southern Pacific-Central Pacific. He said that the Holden plan provid ing for a half interest by the Southern Pacific In the Denver & Rio Grande Wer tern and the Denver and Salt Lake lines would be Inconsistent with these conditions and would be highly pre judicial to the Union Pacific. He also referred to the testimony already of fered in behalf of the Union and Southern Pacific asking that the Col orado linea of tho Rock Island be elim inated from the proposed Southern Pa cific group, aa the ownership of these lines would be likewise inconsistent with the conditions Imposed by the (Continued on Page 4.) We are in Better Shape Than Ever to Make Window and Door Frames or any O her Cabinet Work General and all Kinds of High Class WOOD WORK STANKEY < SON Vernonia, Read the Eagle Every Week, and Keep Informed as to Vernonia’s Wonderful Growth VERNONIA RAKERY PATRONIZE HOME Our Bread, Cakes, Cookies, Pies, etc As Good as t he Best Made F J 1 We’re for Vernonia. Are You With U? 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