Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-12
THE RAILROAD POOL.
WILL THE BIG COMBINE EVER BE
MADE q?
Reasons Why Such an Adjustment Of In
terests Is Difficult of AccQmplishment.
A Game of Grab.

!. A reporter OF the HERALD yesterday
met gentleman who, from his close
connection with railroad matters west
of Chicago, is excellent authority on
any matter cognate to this great subject.
The reporter mentioned the great COM
bine now on the tapis, but not going
into activity so smoothly as was ex-
pected. The newspaper man made one
OF those random shots that often lead
to news. The remark was one skeptical
as to the success of the big combine !;
and twinkle significant of much shot
out of the grey eyes OF the man Of
freight and traffic rates. He let out a
few facts that go far to confirm the
newgatherer's guess as correct.
When all the big rate men met, each
representing some gigantic interest, and
each the natural competitor OF the
other, they all looked over each other and
query ran through each brain-well, I,
which of us are to be the victims As
soon as the ball opened J. G.. Stubbs, OF
the Southern Pacific, took the initiative,
and said his roads were not suffering
from any lack of business, and that he
was there to represent the road that
now has the biggest end OF the club,
and, furthermore, his people proposed
to assert and defend their advantage, by
demanding the greatest share of the
business, Hereupon the Santa Fe man
rose up and said, 1t is my turn, boys. Let
me before the footlights. He thereupon
gave the assembly a song and dance, to
the tune Of not quite, but very near
it. He insisted that his road did
not propose to enter the pool for
the purpose of losing any of the
business that they now enjoy. He
claimed the largest percentage in the
pool. Some remarks of Mr.. Stubbs
called Mr.. Santa Fe man to his feet
again to the tune. Ifyou're Don Casarde
Bazan, then Pm the king of Spain.
Here was the conflict of opinions that
ran as key note through all the discus
sions.
When the curtain rose again Mr..
Gould's man was at his little tune. He
was singing away to a lively air to the
effect that he was not there for his
health, and that unless he was to get
more in the combine, then he was al
ready out of it; he was mot in it,"
This remark developed the true inward
ness of the business. 1t was a
game of grab into which all
were going in the hope of getting more
than he has. Here arose the puzzle
which paralyzed all the mathematical
heads in the crowd. How to divide up
the assets of the crowd so that each should
get more than he put in, was poser.
The arrangers of ratios coming in with
their difficulty, the Gould people point
ed out the significant fact that the fur
thcr the road run west the more busi-
ness they come to the river with, and
that the roads that reach the coast get
more through business than those which
stop in snow bank on the top of the
Rockies; some of the men whose roads
stop in said snow banks began to clamor
for what they called fair deal. This
meant that the coast roads should relin-
quish part of their business for the ben
eft of their less enterprising or less for
tunate competitors. Then some
Pacific coaster said that ii this were
to be game of "hogging it,"
inasmuch as his people had all four feet
in the trough, he proposed they hold
that coign of vantage, and not get out to
make scramble to see who would get
there first.
1t then began to dawn on these phi
losophers that their business was war;
that the only way to get business was to
get it. Not one Of the philosophers was
willing to give up any part of the busi-
ness he had to help out those who are
not satisfied with what they already
have. Indeed it was "a convention Of
horse leeches' daughters, all crying,
Give! Give!
not stay com3ined' ana tne owners OF
roads that end in snowbank are begin
ming to think they had better build to
the coast if they want to get coast busi-
ness. It is never too late to learn, as
we'll as to mend.