Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-18

pared TO the mileage OF WnaC VIII soon
be known as "the Gould combination"
which will embrace the Seney, L Ian
ger, Wabash and Missouri Pacific sys.
TENS. The Wabash is alre ,dy sub.
stantially a part Of tho Missouri Pacific
system, and the Seney roads are as
good az secured. Eflar gsr's system lie
still under the control of the London
board, but If rumor has 1t right the
control will In the near future pass to
Mr.. Gould either by lease or through
q traffic agreement which viii be
equivalent to o lease. The Etlarger
lines proper and what are called the
Etlanger system are widely different
but not conflctir interests. Mr..
| Gould has found the weak spot Of the
"Erlanger system" Baron Eslsn
ger has a right to sell the
Alabama Great S)utherp, ard being
a daring Spectator MI. Gould will
ind HMM fact has found him the
right man In the right place. Now
with the Alabam' Great Southern and
East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia
systems under his control, Mr.. Guild
would bs MISTER of the situation. TIE
fact Is, the Vicksburg, Shreveport &
Pacific, the V,cksburg & Meridian,
and the Alabama Great Southern are
necessary to Mr.. Gould, because they
are the connecting Inks between the
Texas Pacifi,a d East Tennessee, Vir-
ginia and Georgia systems, and he has
but to secure the Alabama Great
Southern when the other lines of the
Etlsnger system will speedily wheel
into line, and quietly crawl into his
capscious pocket.
fen days ago the old Wsbash direo-
tory retired and gave place to the
officers who are the oontrollir g execu.
tive spirits of the vast "MissOori Pa
cifc SYSTEM" with Its seven thousand
miles Of track. The "MIssouri Pacific
system" itself Is an aggregation Of
many roads. It's nucleus was a great
railway that paid well, and around
that have been grouped other and
weaker enterprises In a more or less
unhealthy condition. Enormous costs
we're saved by combination. Ths
"system" was made to pay where the
individual roads had not. r ley re-
sembled the bundle of txiQs which re
sisted the strain that would have snap.
ped Ia twain any one of It's m em
bers. Likeunto the Missouri PAcif,
system was the wabash system.'
II had absorbed many little roads, had
built lines upon Its own account and
WAS . Br areds graspipg the trade OF
many great cities, widely separated
sections OF country. But It did moi
pay. The fault may have been Of
management or 1t may have bean IRE.
diAbis; whatever 1t was the fact oil
operation ct q less di,comfted stock
holders and threatened q receivershlp
There seemed only M possible 90.
cape. Consolidation. And 30 there
was another union; the "Mi.souri Pa.
cific system" swallowed the wabash
SYSTEM" which had In turn devoured
its smaller fry, It wal . survival oil
the strongest. Should anyone object
Now comes this latter intimation oil
another consolidation. The anaconda
10 about to msks another meal. II
stretches to the lakes and lies colled
along the great river, It reaches down
toward the southern border land, and
Il would grasp the seaboArd. What 1,
appears to desire ID . practical monop
oily In the south vest. Onoe In posses
sion Of that which 1t seems about te
obtain, no weak rival can evsr live II
opposition. Millions would 6eht
against It In vain, for II would possess
millions too, and beyond that be ir
possession OF the field. The msguatel
Of auoh . corporation, spreading it,
vast and arrogant dimensions over ter
states, can defy the laws, can laugh
at competitions, can bleed the people t.
that nicely calculated point where thu
leach would 60 no further lest he &C
too far. The corruption Of the legis-
l%atiop, the imposition Of every burder
.he public can bear without revolt, ar,
then to BE- expeotsd rather than the
surpris ng $50 fences of such q cor
por stion's existence.
Yet to these things 1t does sppes'
that We are coming. The Wsbasl
system could not hold its own becaus,
Il had the hostility and competition o
the greater and more wealthy system
around It.. A single railroad line 10
nothing to-day. Ten million dollar
IL . bsga,elle which does not inspir,
respect to him who invests 1t In tie
and steel rails. The boundaries of
state are too narrow for the common
carrier hat would not go to the wall
@ ,nsoiidstiop, combination, conspir
aoy almost. In the struggle to pos,
sess the carrying trade OF a continent
these seem to be the only steps upol
which success may set It's foot,
What are you going to do about u
A few months ago Mr.. William II
Vanderbilt uttered q sentiment tina
has b, come fsmou'; that was doubles
ne Ar TO his hesrt-"The public b
damned" Mr.. Vanderbilt IL q mono
polist of vast power, both because o
hi, enormous wealth and because o
his controlling interest In many grea
railroads. He o,n fl ,rd to say 18th
public be Damned" perhaps, but tn
public 10 not completely subject to hir
because he has not been able to pur
chase all Of the p srallel and competin
lines of railway In his sec,i,n Of oouu
try, and although his railroard form
9 part of q spool" greed does not pei
NIT the members Of the pool I
rob either continuously or har
m~oniously. But In the caae Q
such combination of raj
lines as that Indicated rs about to fsI
into the hands Of Mr.. Gould and hi
immediate associates, there would b
neither a ''pool" nor any periodlcs
qusrreliog amorg its members. TIL
system" would control the tianspor