The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-01-22
NAY PULL TOGETHER.
New Railroad Policy Dictated
By Hard Times
NO MORE COMPETING LINES.


According 20 local railroad men. who are
closely watching the movement for toe
restoration Of overland rates. any settle
ment thar IL reached II likely % cover far
more ground than 3 mere agreement ON
rates; in fact, IL 10 likely TO Involve an
agreement not TO buiid conpetiag IiHss
and for Joint use Of existing Inca
The frat sign Of this disposition was the
agreement of tbs Great Northern 20 admit
Tire Canadian Pacific into sestsis over its
Coast lines - . condition Of the rs-estsb-
iishment Of rates. re il not certain that
fhe Canadian wsiI care 20 avail itself 81
this privilege. though ID IN good thing 70
have. The connection with THE Lake
Snore hss many advantages vhich the
Canadian can net overlook. So long SO II
IL IN the hands Of receivers IL ziil be totally
independent: Of any one line and II the
bondholders should bay It iu At foreclosure
sale IL will remain 50. This - considered
among railroad men TO constitute an sd-
vantags oFer the use Of competitors
lire sneh rs the Great Northern. Fnrth-
eru1ore, the Lake Shore is considered by
eeattle business men to be- a peculiarly
Seattle institution. and the line using IL
would have o sentimental advantage IN
Bidding for business. In order to reach
the Great Northern, the Canadian would
have TO run trains over the BeIiingham
Bay 4 British Columbia, and pay trsekage
over IL, ia addition 70 that it wonid pay
the Great Northern Though the purchase
Of the Beiiingham Bay Il British Columbia
has been the subject OF negotiation for
some time, IL has not been closed. The
fact 10 ths Cornwall Mills syndicate does
not wish 10 sell the railroad without the
lands owned by the Beliingham Bay I'm
provement Company. and the Canadian
wants the railroad without the land, and
there the deal sticks. Il was understood
that the terms offered by the Lake Shore
we're much more favorable 10 the Canadian
than the contract under which the Great
Northern would let the latter into the
city. The Canadians contract with the
Pacific Navigation Company for steamer
connection expires on April I. and by
that time the fate of the Lake SHORE will
probably be decided so definitely that a
contract can be made with it with a GER
fainty of its continuance, as the interest
due February 1 viii be defauited and fore
closure sale will almost surely follow.
But ID il expected that the entrance OF
the Canadian into Seattle will be only part
OF q general plan Of friendly cooperation
forced upon the railroads by their finan.
cial straits. The talk il that the Northern
Pacific may give MP the building Of the
Bnrrard Inlet A. Fraser Valley line and le,
the Canadian run over its track to Tacoma
and Portland in consideration of the Ca
nsdian's letting it run trains TO New West
minister aud Vancouver over the Lake
Shore and Canadian. In this way the
Canadian would get q connection al Port
land with the Southern Pacific, aud thus
have an aiI-raii line TO San Francisco. II
the continuance of the facilities thus
granted by the roads to one another were
made conditional on the maintenance of
rates IL would furnish additional security
for that desideratuu OF tho railroad bush
ness. The Northern Pacific might admit
the Great Northern to Tacoma and Fort
land on the same terms. IL the latter de-
sired IL. though President Hills policy is
10 have his own line to any par, he
desires to reach. and work independent of
other lines. Such an arrangement as is
here sketched out would put an end
n the building OF any railroads west of
the Cascade mountains except purely
local lines for the development. OF new
territory. There would then be one line
from the British 20 the Mexican boundary
under several different ownershlp.. bat
used by all lines in tie territory tanned
by their main lines under mutual traffic
agreements. Instead Of driving one an
other into reeeiverships by building new
lines 10 compete with those already exist
ing. which barely. II at oil. pay interest,
they would combine TO make these exist
ing lines as profitable as possible by all
using them Jointly. In good times rail-
road presidents are swollen with prosper
ity and dividends 10 talk Erandiy about
extensions. bu; In hard times they discus,
just snoh senernes as ihis. though il may
not get beyond the point of icing dis
eussrd.