, 1877-02-11
4 CUT-THR0AT GAME.

and prosperity of the whole country.
i @=~--
A CUT-THR0AT GAME.
One Of the variations of the insuFerabl,
stupid game of euchrc, we believe, is ca1let
'cut-throat game," because two Of tht
players combine to beat the third. It il
some such game as this which N1r. WANDER
D1LT, the son of his father, has been plnyine
with Messrs. ScoTr and GAHrE1r. The re.
suit is that he is being very disastrously
beaten, and the throat of the corporation
which he represents will be cut if he persists
in it. There are two against ono, and A[r.
VANDERBILT has absurdly abandoned all his
advantages. The public will not be disposed
to waste much sympathy upon party that
needless1y submits to this unequal struggle +;
| but the misfortune is that VASDERBnrs folly
is visited upon other interests which cannot
help themselves. Chicago to some extent,
and New York to much larger extent, have
to pay part Of the penalty for VASDEEnnr's
stupidity in agreeing to an arrangement
that amounts virtually to the old pool on q
mileage basis which existed 4 year ago. The
elder VANDERBILT, then alive, broke this pool,
because it was unfair in principle and fatal
to the interests Of the New York Central
Railroad and New York City. Then follow
ed q long railroad war, in which the WANDER
pnrs conte1ded for q recognition of fixed
through rate, without regard to the relative
number Of miles taversed- After fighting for
months with losses on a1l sides, the younger
VANDERBILT surrendered, on the "com-
promise thnt all foreign shipments should
be on the basis Of 8 common through rate to
tie seaboard, but giving the advantage to
the Pennsylvania and Baltimore roads on all
shipments not directly consigned to foreign
port. As a consequence, the Philadelphia
and Baltimore lines simply contrnct for their
freight at those points, and the PENN
;sylvania and Baltimore railroads exer-
else the privilege Of making lower
rates than the New York Central, because the
freight is. nominally consigned to Philade-
phia or Baltimore even when destined for
Liverpool. In other words, the arrangement
gives these two roads the privilege Of cutting
under the New York Central rates, but denies
the latter the same advantage
1t is only question of time when the New
York Central will have to begin the fight all
over again which it abandoned at iuncture
when it might have carried the point for
which it had contended. The only basis
upon which the rates Of the Eastern trunk |
lines can be regulated fairly and equitably is |
IN agreed and equal rate from any given line
of longitude in the West to the seaboard, |
pvifh111t T..
The advantages Of the New York Central,
natural and acquired, entitle it to this exac-
ton, although it is longer than either of the
other roads. It's great advantage is in the
grade. The Central route follows tho lakes,
and has smooth, level grade from the West
to New York City, avoiding the mountains,
and the plane inclining little to the
eastward. The other two roads traverse the
mountains, and it. is necessary to haul their
freight up total elevation of nearly mile
above the level Of the seq, and then down
again, with many short curves, and constant
strain on the rolling-stock It is O mere
question Of power and cost of hauling, and
the difference in the character of the roads
enables the Central to haul the same amount
Of freight with 100 tons Of coal over its
greater length that either OF the other roads
can transport over their shorter Distance
with the same amount of coal The same
difference enables the Central to traverse the
greater distance in quicker time than either
of the other roads with their shorter dis
@ance. The same difference makes the wear
and tear Of locomotives and rolling-stock On
he Central materially less than on the other
'oads. But the Central has other advantages,
t has double tracks in the West and four !
racks in the East, while the other roads have i
'niy single tracks in the West and t
Eouble tracks in the East /; as q conse-
luence, the Central can transact O yery :,
much larger proportion Of the business at '
he same rates and make the most money. t
he Central, then, can afford to exact TINT c
elther OF the roads shall charge less for =
reight to the seaboard from Chicago, or any
ther point on the line of longitude s7l on l.
7hch chicago is located, than it charges &
nd, II it fail to exact this, it must necessari +
lose business that properly belongs to it, $
nd its loss is the loss of New York. y
The interest of Chicago in this matter iN n
nat oil the seaports shall be open to it On ! + y
quai terms. It desires to trade with New =
ofk as faForably as with Baltimore, Philn- h
elphla, Boston, and Montreal in the matter a
shipping breadstuHs and produce. More -
yer, experience has taught that the Penn f
7lSanla and Baltimore roads are disposed to c
aeourage the shipments from the vest and q