The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-07
Story That the General Offices Will
Be Merged
IS NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY
BY THE SHORT LINE OFFICIALS
IN THIS CITY.
Clay and Choate In omaha-Union
Pacific to Improve Its Train Serv-
ice - An Important One - The
Phonoplex System-Short Line
Earnings For october-Notes.
lsnecia1 to The Heraldl


Omaha, Neb., Dec. General
Freight and Passenger Agents Choate
and Clay of Union Pacific in Salt Lake,
are in the city attending meetings of
general agents from terminal points on
the Union Pacific Effort is being made
to brace up tariffs and get better ter
minal and transfer facilities.
The World-HeraId this evening says
this of Union Pacific and Oregon Short
Line affairs: Now comes the assur-
ance, no longer a rumor, that the gen.
eral offices of the Oregon Short Line at
Salt Lake City will within few
months, be merged into the Union Pa
Cific headquarters in this city. Plans
are already made to that end at Union
Pacific headquarters, according to an
official; so that the big piece of the
old Union Pacific system, broken off
during the segregation of nearly all the
branches three years ago, will again
be directed from this city
1T was with bitterness and regret at
the headquarters that the Short Line
pulled off by itself, picking out such
men as Auditor Hills and Purchasing
Agent RhoadeS and over fifty suboTdi-
mates from the headquarters for the
more desirable positions in the Salt
Lake Offices Unfriendliness kept break
ing out from time to time between the
two roads, as between members of a
quarrelsome family. The truce finally
patched up is being made more perma-
nent every day. The Oregon Short Line
at it's last annual meeting gave the
Union Pacific control of its directory.
Vice President Cornish of the Union
Pacific was made president of the Short
Line and his office moved from Boston
to New York, alongside that of the
president of the Union Pacific. The
Union Pacific directors last week au-
thorized the trading off of sufficient
amount of Union Pacific stock for Short
Line stock in order that it may own
two-thirdS of the stock of that line.
'As once the Oregon Short Line was
but a division of the Union Pacific,
with the more economical direction Of
affairs from Union Pacific headquar-
tiers this now with its own general Of
fees, so, officials at headquarters say,
it will soon be again.
Purchasing Agent Rhoades of the
Oregon Short Line, who was in the
city this morning, secuted the sugges-
ton that a consolidation of the general
offices will be effected. However, he
has been in the east for ten days.
The above dispatch from Omaha rela-
tive to the consolidation of the Short
Line and Union Pacific headquarters is
not taken seriously by officials of the
Short Line here. 1t is considered as
natural that the Omaha papers should
want the Short Line offices removed to
that city, which is a Union Pacific
town. Furthermore the assurance given
by President Cornish that Short Line
affairs would continue to move along as
in the past is regarded with a good
deal of confidence and no changes in
this respect is looked for.
The departure of Passenger Agent
Clay and Freight Agent Choate for
Omaha gave rise to some speculation
locally as to the nature of their mis-
sion. In some quarters it was quietly
ventured that the ticket offices would
be consolidated, but as to which office
would be maintained no set opinions
are given. If a consolidation should
take place the chances are certainly in
favor of a retention of the Short Line
office at least as long as the road con-
tinues to be managed separately from
! the parent system.