Wichita eagle., 1888-03-25
THE ROCK ISLANDS ANSWER.
Some of the Reasons Why it Would Not
Handle Burlington Freight.

Island q Paclflc railway nled It's answer
in Judge Gresham's court today, to the
petition of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy railway that the Rock Island
company be compelled to receive and han
die the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
cars.
Only an inkling was given in court that
the answer of the Rock Island was SEN
Sation of the first magnitude telling OF a
plan boldly carried into execution to form
a gigantic railway trust having for a
field nearly half the American repub-
lie. Comparatively few people were pres
ent in court and before either the
Burlington complainant or the extraor-
binary reply of the Rock Island could be
read. Judge Gresham inquired of the law
yers on either side how much time they
expected to require. Writ Dexter, for the
Burlington, answered grimly that if the
Rock Island was in the same box with the
Wabash, no time at all was asked by him.
The matter could be settled in a jiffy.
Robert T. Lincoln spoke up for the Rock
Island. He said emphatically the Rock
Islands reply was not like that of the Wa
bash. "Our answer" he added, means
fight-a fight with all our strength. !"
Judge Gresham announced that he
would set the hearing for Mon
day. and by consent of all
parties either Chicago or Milwaukee
in which Judge Gresham said that day
would be the time of trial. The Rock Isl
and company in its answer states that the
relations existing between the various
railway systems in Illinois, Wisconsin,
NficC,,r; "a
braska and Colorado, and goes on to say
that among the systems of railways ira
versing the states enumerated are the
Chicago e. Northwestern, The Chicago,
Milwaukee & st. Paul, the Wisconsin
Central, the Illinois Central, the Chicago,
Alton g. St. Louis and the Missouri Pa
cific; that these systems are competitors
with the complainant, the defendant and
with each other, at many points for the
traffic which originates at or is
destined TO the same territory, and
this competition between the systems of
complainant, the defendant, the Chicago
81 Northwestern and the Milwaukee e. ST.
Paul companies extends through the
greater portion of the territory embraced
in the several states above named. that for
several months the several railway COM
panies comprising those systems and
Others have been organized into several
voluntary associations in which they were
severally represented by their own officers,
for the lawful purpose of making and
maintaining reasonable rates which should
be charged for the transportation of per-
sons and property over their several lines:
that while these associations were in full
operations and in the month of January last
past, the complainant the Chicago, Bur
lington & Quincy railroad company, com
menced n systematic reduction of rates for
transportation into and through the sew
eral states and territories mentioned
which affected not only it's own revenue
but the revenues of the several railways
referred to as well; that such reduction
was continued from day to day and from
time to time during the period between the
30th day of January and the 18th day of
March, until the average rates charged
We're but about one-third of the rates
charged for like service before the
complainant inaugurated the war of rates;
that for several weeks after the commence
ment of the war, the complainant per
sistently refused to assign any reason for
IL
treasury as well as the treasury of other
railway company's which was operating a
line in the states and territories above
named; that late in February and early in
the month of March il communicated to
the managing officers of one of the systems
mentioned its purpose to prosecute the
rate war until the officers of all the roads
involved in the disastrous route of its pol
icy should consent to abdicate its powers
placed in their hands by the stockholders
they represented. not stockholders, but
what is generally denominated trust
which should be managed by three men
who should be vested with the exclusive
and absolute power TO make and altar the
rates which should be charged for trans
portatlon OF persons and property over the
several railways above referred to IN the
several states and territories mentioned:
also to make compensation to railway
companies for moneys to be provided by
all the companies which should assent to
such trust for loss of traffic which might
be sustained because of the rates which
the trust might establish, each COMPANY
TO guarantee faithful obedience to the trust
by depositing large sums of money
which should be subject TO the control of
the trust in paying fines assessed for dis
obedience. and in paying the compensation
to submit TO this demand because they re-
garded such action as inconsistent with
the duties switch they owed to the stock
holders of the several companies which
they represented, and as involving a viola
ton of the laws of the United States and
of the several states in which their sew
eral railways Were situated. And
the defendant further answering
shows that on or about Feb
ruary Is, the engineers and firemen
employed on the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy who were united in brotherhood
which embraced nearly all of the engineers
and firemen in active service in the United
States, demanded of the Burlington COM
pany that it should compensate them for
their services at the same rates at which
certain other railroad companies operat-
ing in the same territory compensated en-
glneers and firemen for like service: that
they also insisted that the system of class
lhcatlon of engineers with regard to the
terms OF services should be abrogated or
radically modified; that united with these
were requests for regulations which. in the
general Judgment of officers engaged in the
operation OF railways We're unreasonable
ana ought not TO have been granted: that
ike demands and requests had been made
upon The managers of other railways and
were conceded In part and withdrawn in
part; that like result could have been
and would have resulted in this instance
had the executive and managing officers