Birmingham age-herald., 1895-07-24
PRESIDENT SPENCER SPEAKS
HIS ANSWER TO MAC0N'S COMMERCE
 CHAMBER.
The Policy of the Southern Is to Foster Local Interests Consolidation Is Inevitable
 in the South.

. New York, July 23.=There is made pub
 lie today a letter dated New York, July 10, from Samuel Spencer, president of the Southern Railway company, to the
 chamber of commerce of Macon, Ga,
 being a reply to letter from that body
 dated June F.
 In their letter the chamber of com
 merce expresses apprehension at the con
 solidation of the Southern Railway com pany and seek an intimation of the com~
 pany's policy, especially regarding their
 city.
 MT. Spencer's reply includes the fol- lowing:
 "I see no reasonable ground for appre- hension upon the part of the people of Macon on account of what you term consolidation of our company ana US | control of the traffic of the principal | lines entering Macon. 1 assure you that | you are entirely right is assuming that | the Southern railway recognizes the im- | portance of Macon as a distributing cen | ter.
 "Whatever may be the result of the re- | organization of ,the Central Railroad | company there is no intention that the 1 property shall be operated as portion | of the Southern railway system. As re- | gards the Georgia Southern and Florida, | the Southern railway company and its | friends control not all but only major 1 ity of the securities. Under these condi- | tions the property should be managed as a separate corporation in order that
 the minority interests shall have fair and | equitable treatment and accounting, and | there Is no purpose on our part, even If | we had the power, to depart from this, l the only proper policy.
 Tt is not intended to make or even
 to endeavor to make either of these
 roads an exclusive connection for the | Southern. Railroad system. It is the poli- cy of the Southern Railroad company to 1 strengthen all it's line and in every req sonable way to foster the growth of local | interest within the time It serves rather | than to try to force all traffic into partic- 1 rlar channels.
 "rhls does not mean that it proposes | to assume the burden and responsibility
 or guarantee the success of i'll conceived or badly managed enterprises We are fully mindful of the impor- l tance of the location of offices and shops | in your city. On the other hand, you l know the necessity in all classes of busi-
 ness of the strictest economy in operation | and how hazardous it is with those | charged with the responsibility to make l definite promises for the future as to the l details of corporate management. I as- | sure you, however, that if, in the course | of business, the necessity for any change
 arises. there shall be as little disturbance | as possible In Macon as to the organlza- 1 ton you refer to.
 ''As to the consolidation, permit me to l say a word. Consolidation Is in part the | legitimate and inevitable result of reck- | less and speculative construction or need | less railways throughout the south and l the hopeless struggle to maintain them | when built You and your fellow citizens are well aware of the widespread ruin l and bankruptcy which came upon the 1 railroad interests of Georgia In respect | to the consolidation which followed it | might be well to ask what else, if any | thing, was possible under the circum- | stances. Experience shows, not only in | Georgia, but elsewhere that as a rule | there are but two alternatives for rail- | road properties under disastrous condi- | tions. They must be either be consoli- | dated to be operated more cheaply or they must be left to starVe separately "As regards the policy of the Southern | Railroad company I call your attention l to the fact that it has not resulted in the l debt increase of salary at any point, but l has resulted in better roadbed and equip | ment, improved service and greater safe | ty to the public. There is no reasonable ground for apprehension on your part | that with the knowledge and intent of it's | owners it will result in oppression or in justice to any one. The purpose is to Se- | cure if possible by a building-up process an aggregate volume of traffic necessary
 to enable it to meet it's obligations to it's security holders who have suffered enor-
 nous losses, and to the public, which is l constantly demanding better service at | constantly diminishing price. To do 1 this it must keep it's road in a constantly improved condition and all 1t asks as a | means to this end is uniform and reason- | able rates and the discontinuance of I what much legislation seeks, but fails 10 l prevent, namely, secret rate cutting and diScrimina tion."