The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-08
IN RAILWAY CIRCLES
The Case Of Mr.. Leeds, of the
Union Pacific.
Jay Gould Said to be Considerably Chagrined
Because He Had to Knuckle
Down.

NEW YORK, May 7.-Considerable dis
satisfaction was expressed by the members
of the advisory board of the Western
Traffic ASSOCIATION when they met this
mo rning for their second days session
about the way matters were dragging
along. Many of them want to leave the
city to attend important business and they
say nothing is being accomplished at the
meeting. They characterize affairs so far
as mere game, each waiting to see the
other make the first move. Mr.. Leeds,
statement at yesterday mornings meeting,
so far as he was allowed to proceed, was
not what the members of the advisory
board wanted. 1t did not touch upon the
vital point of cutting the sugar rate. At
O'Clock Cable came out of the meeting say
Ing Leeds had been stopped in his state
ment as he practically admitted his guilt.
Cable further said there would be no
trouble in the organization provided each
road carried out its agreement, that is to
discharge every man found guilty of vio-
lating the rules. When asked if Leeds had
been found guilty, Cable replied no, be-
cause he admitted his guilt This meant
Leeds would go.
The board took recess at l o'clock for
lunch. After recess Chairman Hughitt
said the board had considered the Leeds
matter, and their finding was that the Mis-
souri, Pacific railroad through the action OF
its freight traffic manager had violated the
agreement substantially as presented by
the commissioners.
In the afternoon it was learned that
Traffic Manager Leeds, of the Missouri Pa
clf1c, was discharged and that he leaves for
the west to night Gould when asked about
the matter would say nothing more than
that he had discharged Leeds.
After an interview with Gould, Leeds
cn1H hnN ~
turn his office over to General Manager
Clark. He knew of no other provision
made for him. and specially denied any
arrangement by which he should become
general traffic manager of the Union Pa
citic. He did not admit the justice of the
sentence. He said he issued the sugar
tariff on his own responsibility, for reasons
that seemed to him to Justify his course.
He did not make the tariff to get the sugar
and in fact did not get it, The tariff is
still in effect and yet more than half the
sugar tonnage goes over lines supposed to
have lived up to the agreement Leeds
said his objectEn cutting rates was to bring
out something else, leaving the inference
to be drawn that he wanted to stir UP an
investigation of methods of other roads.
Having thus steered clear of a bad rock.
the board turned its attention to other
matters and adopted resolutions of great
Importance. They are in substance:
That the life of the association be eX-
tended for fixed term, say January l,
1898; that the commissioners prepare plans
for the establishment of joint agencies; that
the commissioners report on the advisable
ity of a division of percentages of competi-
tive tonnage.
AS soon as the reports are prepared they
will be submitted without delay to the re-
spective boards of directors, with the OBJ
| ject of ascertaining if it be advisable to en-
ter into such plans ana agreements.
| The general impression at the close of
the meeting regarding Leeds was that he
would be offered some position by Gould
equally as good as that of freight traffic
manager of the Missouri Pacific. 1t was
quite evident Gould did not anticipate the
boards decision in regard to Leeds. and
! those familiar with his ways say he was
annoyed at being compelled to knuckle to
the dictation of the board. However that
may be, he certainly succeeded in getting his
joint agency plan in motion. The resolutions
adopted by the board is virtually the FIVE
year plan drawn up by Gould and Colonel
| McCook when the association was origi-
nally organized. After the meeting finally
adjourned to-day, all the members express
sed the opinion that the resolutions would
be accepted by various roads and the plan
successfully carried out. Gould said he
considered the adoption of the plan of five
year existence and joint agencies the most
important Things the board had done since
| itS formation