Morning journal and courier., 1889-04-19
DEAD AGAINST PARALLEL.

1 HARTFORD, Apr1l 1S.-Ine cOrIlQOrs oL tn
 capitol were convulsed with excitement thi
 morning by the long awaited report of ths railroad committee. The report is in tht
 nature of @ darkened optic for the Housaton : ic railroad and it's lobby. It is signed b! ) five of the nine members of the committee Senator Graham and Representatives Bacon Beardsley, Ambler and Msrriman. As re
 port was sent in later purporting to be mi nority report, the former will be referred t for convenience as the report and the latte
 as the minority report. The report is pluml
 against @ parallel railroad between Nev
 York and New Haven, against the petition
 of the Housatonic, and recommends thu
 passage of the following bill as public act:
 Section l. Any railroad company in the Stat
 of it's leased lines provided the board of railroad | commissioners shall adjudge that the construction
 of such branch is required by public convenience
 gse: For the purpose of paying the cost oi
 issue bonds g secured os+ by m porsgs t1 th.
 of 1aiirosd for forth the purpose Of 5 issuing bonds H.,
 construction of branches by railroad companies il
 hereby repealed.
 Sec. 4. This act shall be deemed to be an addi
 panies, and shall repeal all Limitations in any char \ ter as to the length Of branches which it may
 build.
 l The above substitute if passed would be a1
 addition to the general railroad law, the es. | sential portion being to make all who desire
 to build railroads show the necessity for suct
 undertakings to the satisfaction of the rail
 road commissioners.
 The report, which is made up of the req.
 sons that impel the committee to it's decision
 does not go into the question of the validity
 of the Housatonic's bond issue.
 It first cites the petition of the Housatonie ' and that the belief of the committee is that
 the general law was intended to affect the ! railroad companies and remove all restriction upon their rights to build branches. Whether | well founded or not, the general law does not permit any railroad company to issue stock for the purpose of constructing branches and the committee sees no reason to grant the Housatonic special authority to increase it's ! capital for this purpose.
 | The committee believes that the act of 1871 and section 2 of the bill recommended are ! safe and prudent both for stockholders and bondholders on the one hand and for the public on the other. The president of the Housatonic railroad company testified before your committee that ample funds are ready
 for any or all legitimate purposes of the com pany.
 As the petitioners laid no stress upon the part of the petition asking for stock and
 bond increase for improvement of existing \ | concentrations on the subject.
 | NO PARALLEL TO BE TOLERATED..
 The committee reports that the granting the Housatonic power to purchase the stock | of the New York and Connecticut Air Line would be radical departure in policy from
 the existing general railroad law of the State Section 3, ,422 of the statutes provides that
 'no other railroad company shall subscribe EAw knlyn 1@1I rA- ol- l. zH | railroad company established under the pro- visions of this chaptereither directly or indi- rectly, unless specially authorized by the General Assembly," The companies estab-
 lished under the provisions of this chapter ! are the companies established under the gen.
 eral law, so-called. This provision by your ! committee Is believed to be wholesome one, and any legislative act enabling com- pany organized under the general railroad law to sell out to an existing company it's franchises and stock would be an insult to the dignity of the State and would tend to put up its mos. sacred delegations of power at auction to the highest bidder
 Moreover the New York and Connecticut Air Line route parallells the Consolidated in many places less than 8 mile away, which brings the committee to the discussion of the real purpose of the petitioners, as avowed by President Starbuck, which is, in effect, to parallel the Consolidated road. The committee are of the opinion that parallel road is not desirable, nor is it 8 branch of the Housatonic.
 Petititions for parallel roads have been presented to ths.leRislature for twenty years, but the established policy of the State has been to always refuse them; and experience of the country has shown everywhere that two roads between the same termini run ming through the same territory, is an injury to the public by compelling it to support two roads where only one is needed, and it is morally certain that combination will sooner or later occur after years of disaster The State policy is supported by the voice of experience. Every new railroad tramples on the rights of citizens, and no such invasion should be sanctioned by the State unless it is clearly shown that public convenience and necessity require the sacrifice.
 NO EXISTING NECESSITY.
 The proof offered before your committee of any public necessity was unsatisfactory and trivial. There was some testimony that fric- ton had existed between the Housatonic and Consolidated roads about accommodations, but the complainants have slight foundation and whether important or not the statutes provide ample remedy for any failure on the | part of any connecting road to do its full duty to the public or any other railroad in reference to it's connections.
 The report closes as follows:
 It did not appear that the Housatonic company had ever been compelled to make any complaint to under these statutes There was no other criticism offered in evidence before ySur connittee concern and Hartford railroad. On the contrary, 1t is ad- and cheapness of Transportation it was second to no road in the country, which is matter of just pride o San e offensive sense of that term, by road which is Ione island soand apd Wh '4 the ene faees for building under the present railroad law. the State do require us to authorize the pet toners to construct @ railroad from New Haven to | New York, which is what the petitioners undoubt In tho opinion of your committee no branches sre required by public convenience and necessity If they are constructed for any other purpose, public would in the end suffer.
 For the foregoing reasons your committee believe ioners should first be required to adjudge that the of any branch of any railroad is re. committee also recommend the passage or the ac- bill for public act.
 THE MINORITY REPORT.
 Just before the House adjourned Colonel Brown, the house chairman, sent up the mi lority report, which was ordered to be printed in the journal with the report. It igned by James T. Brown, Anthony Ames, W. F. Hewitt and Ephraim Mower. The minority report is very peculiar document, \ ority of the committee, was never submit ed to them, neither was it signed in the room. The document reports \ hat Simeon E. Baldwin's bill submitted to | he committee asking power to buy the Olm- tead parallel and for an extension of time to ! 'uild it should pass. The minority give no k. easons who they think their bill should $ ass, but devote the entire report to consid- : ring the bond and stock issue of the Housa- onic. The substance of the minority report E as follows: I The report opens with the statement that '. he Housatonic railroad has increased it's apital stock from $2,000, 900 to &, ,155, ,OOO, nd the additional shares are now outstand- E. ] Such an increase was authorized by that z ct in order to settle certain claims of pre- erred stockholders for guaranteed dividends I at the time of increase to 8, TIT, f % for it was claimed before your commis- P on that this special act of 1870 was repealed 7 y later general law passed in 1878 requir- E applications for authority to be submit d in the first case to the rail- '