Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1895-08-09
sINDIFFERE /, NCE ~ N ii DANGER.

Northern Pacltlc " Dy VI g $ dreaJ
Nprthern. no guaranteeing Of the
\ fixed charges 81. the former com.
p ,aln1y Nv the latter il return for
stock control ID . word. no sort
We consolidation otthe two systems.
The able financiers who have been
working for some months past on
plans to bring these two great
systems under one executive head
Have run upon 4 big obstacle IN
the shape Of a Minnesota statute.
which declars that mo railroad
corporation shall consolidate with,
lease or purchase, or in any way
become owner of, or control, any
other railroad corporation, or any
stock, franchises, rights or prop
erty thereof, which owns or con.
trolls a parallel competing line.
It would not BE possible to pro-
cure a repeal Of this law, to enable
the proposed lease or consolidation
to take place. The people Of Min
nesota want competition in rail
way service and have made great
efforts to secure it. They would
never consent to the union OF
their two greatest railway systems
for the sake of carrying out the
plans of Eastern bondholders and
bankers. The people Of the other
states through which the Northern
Pacific and Great Northern run
North Dakota, Montana, Idaho
and Westinghouse they have
now no laws restricting railway
consolidation, would find meth dds
to hinder the contamination oftbe
proposed project We may there:
fore dismiss at once as futile, all
schemes for bringing the two
systems under one head.
The above is an extract from an
editorial in the Northwest Mag
azine of Aug. 1. E. V. Smalley,
who is editor Of that publication,
is close friend Of the element in
the Northern Pacific that is OPP
posing the Hill. Adams plan to
have the Great Northern acquire
control of the Northern Pacific,
and he is now in the East, and
has good facilities for learning the
conditions of the deal. Notwith-
standing the above expressions, the
St. Paul Dispatch of Aug. l.,
which quotes the Northwest Mag
azine article, says that it is the
firm opinion Of Mr.. Hills st.
Paul associates that the deal will
soon be consummated, and that the
credit of the Great Northern will
stand back Of the new man.
agement. 49, ~. .'
Opinions as to the prospect of
the success Of. the efforts Of Hill
and some Of the Northern Pacific
security holders are interesting,
but the parts Of the quotation re.
ferring to legal and other objec'
tons to the enterprise are decided
ly pertinent.
In view of what is being at
tempted in the railroad manage
ment of the Northwest it is sur
prising that public men, news.
papers and tl"' ::cat, business
interests accept Vac si,uatl IN with
SO little apparent apprehension
as to it's damaging results to the
great territory affected. The claim
that the consolidation of the North
ern Pacific and Great Northern will
be anything but an injury to the
districts the roads traversed is
opposed by the business judg'
ment of every business man, by
the former position taken by the
railroads themselves, by the public
policy practiced by every city,
county and state, and by the very
laws and constitution of the states.
The above claims are shown by
the following indisputable facts:
First-Business men and manu-.
facturers will always prefer a loca-
tion that has transportation facili.
ties supplied by more than one
railroad, that is, by railroad lines
under different arrangements. 1t
those same business men are To-
Gated in a community that has out
let's only over railroads under one
managem ent, they will go to great
expense and effort to get Compel
ing railroads.
s'# Second-The railroads them
selves will demonstrate to any com,
.munlty which they propose enter
ing as an additional line to any