The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-12
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 1866.
The Great Railroad Suit Pennsylvania
VS.. Reading.

YESTERDAY the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
paDy brought suit against the Reading Rail-
road Company and others, for the purpose of
restraining the defendants from forming a
connection, whereby, it is alleged, the plain
tifIs would suffer. The case is one in which
the most powerful corporations of our State,
if not Of the country, are engaged; ard the
argument opened before Justice READ is one
in which all Of the greatest legal talent in our
Commonwealth will take part. The issues in
volved are ofthe most vital Importance to Phi
ladelphia. 1t requires, however, a vast amount
of sitting to separate the wheat Of facts from
the technical chaff with which it is surrounded
We will state, as concisely and clearly as Is
possible, the main points involved, as it is
probable, before the suit is concluded, the
eyes of the whole country will be turned upon
the tournament in which the twin Hercules
of the Keystone State are wrestling for the
mastery.
The British capitalists, headed by Sir NOR
TON PETo, during their recent visit perfected
arrangements whereby the Catawissa, the
Morris and Essex, the Western Central, and
the Atlantic and Great Western Railroads
should be made to connect, so that there
should be continuous route from the At
lantic to the Lakes, passing through the States
of Pennsylvania and New York. There still,
however, remained a missing link in this
chain of roads, which was secured by con-
tract with the Reading Railroad Company,
whereby, in the words Of the agreement, "the
said several railroads are so worked, managed,
and directed, by the respective corporations
owning or controlling the same, as to form
one great through route from the cities of
Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton, and all
other points to, or with which the said the
Atlantic and Great Western Railway Com
pany may have access or connection, to the
city of Philadelphia via the Philadelphia and
Reading Railroad and its tributaries, and
line to New York via the said Philadelphia
and Reading Railroad, the East Pennsylvania
Railroad, and the Morris and Essex Railroad"
There would thus exist a through line with
two great branches, one extending from Phi
ladelphia direct to the West, the other from
New York city, and both joining in the
western portion of the State at the Catawissa
junction. The connection thus secured would
place Philadelphia one hundred miles nearer
the grain-growing States than New York, and
with equal facilities for communication, it
being one of the special provisions of the con-
tract that the rate for freight should be the
same both from the Quaker and the Empire
City. We would thus be placed in position
to acquire such trade as would naturally flow
to US, and no inducement of economy would
drive the Western merchants to the metro
polls. In addition to this, the Reading Rail-
road Company and the Atlantic and Great
Western Railroad Company would pay half
the expense OF starting line of steamships
between our city and England; or, as the con-
tract sums up the reasons for the connection,
'the true intent of this agreement is to give to
Philadelphia and the line of the Reading Rail
road every advantage given to the most
favored parties" in the trade with the West
In order to effect this line of continuous
travel, the Atlantic and Great Western Rail
road Company have leased, for Various terms
of years, a large number of minor roads, and
all these are brought under one grand con-
trolling power. The whole work of gauging
and connecting is to be done within four
years. Such is the contract between the
defendants.
By this arrangement, however, while it is
conducive to the interests of the Reading
Road, it is highly detrimental to the Pennsyl-
Vania Company, who have heretofore had the
major portion Of the carrying between Phila-
delphia, New York, and the West. They,
therefore, file an application for an Injunction
to restrain the defendants from entering upon
this agreement, and assign sixteen reasons,
which we published yesterday in our legal
intelligence, as causes why this contract, in
violation of equity, shall not be allowed to go
into force, for it is evident that whatever NAV
be its effects on our city, it will injure the
trade of the Pennsylvania Road.
The principal allegation on which is rested
the claim for the injunction is the tenth.
which sets forth that "The Atlantic and
Great Western Railway, being constructed OF
six feet gauge, does not and cannot connect
with the railroad of the Philadelphia and Erie
Railroad Company, or with any railroad con-
Meeting with the said Catawissa Railroad
which are of a four feet eight and one-hal
inches gauge"
In answer to this, the Reading Road will
produce the authorized advertisement of the
Pennsylvania, in which they state that theil
road connects with certain others, although
the gauge is different. They maintain tha
the merely coming in contact of the two
roads is sufficient to form a connection, anC