The evening times., 1895-11-22
SCOPE OF THE GREAT POOL
Gigantic Octopus That Will Have
the Whole Country in Its Grip.
BIG AND LITTLE LINES IN IT
Nine Great Companies, With Nearly
Twenty Thousand Miles OF Road
and Hundreds of Millions of Money,
VIII Absolutely Control the Country
II Some Power Does Not Interfere.

New York, Nov. 21.-The great pooling
agreement between the presidents of thu
nine big trunk lines, which is TO go Int
effect January 1, will work revolution in
transportation interests. The step is thu
most important one that has ever beer
taken by the transportation companies.
All previous pooling agreements are
dwarfed by this one. The new Joint
Traffic Association represents interests
with an aggregate Of more than fifteen
hundred millions of capital. Adding to
that the capital of the smaller roads which
will be directly Interested over two
thousand millions of capital is concerned.
The pool is formed for the purpose of
making the stocks and bonds which repre-
sent this fabulous capital pay bet ter
dividends and higher rates of interest
WILL MAINTAIN" RATES.
The promoters of the pool declare
that this will be done by maintaining
rates. They deny that it will be done
by raising rates. When maintaining
rates means compelling railroads which
are selling tickets cheap and shipping
freight cheap to put their passengers and
freight rates UP as high as railroads
that are not selling tickets cheap and
shipping freight cheap, the distinction
between maintaining rates and raising
rates bctbuits Spii.t liutStiihN.
The promoters of the pooling arrange
ment express every con fidcnce that it
will not be interfered with 10y the Inter
state Commerce Commissioners. They
declare that il does not violate tue IN
terstate Commerce law, but in fact
says i'll terms that it is formed for the
purpose of aiding In the enforcement
of that law.
WALL STREETS VIEW,
H. bat
the new pool will be a success Usually
the formation of "A pool is followed by
strong bull market i'll the railroad stocks
involved The brokers and SPECTATORS are
quick TO discount the rise in prices winch
resultsfrom he promise Observation-Disclosures of
But the market is not affect ell in the slightest
by the formation of this vast combination.
No other reason for this can be as
sigued than that the operators do not
believe that the pool can be a success. They
have three reasons Tor so thinning, One is
that the Interstate Commerce Commission
will be obliged To test its legality just
assoou AS some Western Congressman whose
constituents are affected by the pools
operations shall introduce a resolution c.l-
ing for such test.
Another reason is that, although the pro-
moters of the pool have tried to avoid the
position of having made the directors of
the lines entering the pool turn over to the
pool the powers vested in them as directors
to fix rates for their several roads, 1t is
doubtful if they have been successful in
avoiding Just that. 1t is contrary 10 the
laws of most States for railroad directors
to turn over the powers vested in them by
the stockholders to anybody. Therefore an
action brought by stockholder of any road
on this basis might break the pool.
WILL THEY LIVE UP TO 1T?
The third, and, perhaps, the weghtiest
reason why Wall street believes that the
pool cannot be a success, is because the very
roads that have entered into the agreement
will not live up 10 il. They never have
done so.
The scope of the new pooling arrange
meDt is as great as the country itself.
The association will have jurisdiction
over all traffic, passenger and freight
to, from. or through the Western tcrinini
of the trunk lines. Traffic TO or from
Florida, Georgia, North and South Caro-
lima. Virginia and West Virginia is eX
cluded, as is also cu3i. coke, iron ore,
mil cider, limest one, and petroleum,
crude and refined. But the fact Is that
the arrangement can be said 10 embrace
every transportation route Of consequence,
for all will feel its influence and be more
or less dependent upon 1t. Easibound
traffic and Wcstbound traffic will be
dominated by it.
These figures show the giant strength
of this Drw creation of the railroad pow