The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-01
THE EFFECT GENERALLY GOOD
WHAT MIR. CONFER SAYS OF THE
SoUTHERN's PURCHASE.

outlet to Florida to Take the Place
of the r. c. & P.-Cut-ThrOat COm-
petition which Has So Long Been
the Order of the Day May Now BE
Done Away with.
President II. NJ. Conner of the Central of
| Georgia Railway was seen yesterday IN
reference to the announcement of the lease
| of the South Carolina and Georgia Rail-
way, running from Augusta TO Charleston,
| by the Southern Railway and the effect
| which IL might have upon Savannah and
the railroad situation in this section.
Il have no further knowledge of the
matter than Is contained in your announce
ment this morning." said Mr.. Conner.
"Stnl l have no doubt that the announce
ment Is correct in so far as the South
Carolina and Georgia Railway is concern
ed. AS to the report that this lease carries
with il the control OF the Augusta South
ern Railway from Augusta 10 TenniHe, l
do not understand exactly how this can
be, as the Augusta Southern is now In the
hands Of receivers, and could not be leased
without the consent of the court. The
Augusta Southern had a contract with the
South Carolina and Georgia, 1T could
hardly be called lease, by which the for
mer road was TO be operated by the latter
The stockholders of the Augusta Southern
were not satisfied with the results under
this contract and had the road paced in
the hands of receivers. Hence do not thlnk
ii likely that a lease has been made of this
property though some understanding may
have been reached with the stockholders.
Mr. Conner said that he is in doubt as to
what is meant by the Ohio River ana
Charleston road and the South Caroliha
and Georgia extension, which were reIerr-
ed to as not being included In the lease
The South Carolina and Georgia has
branch TO Columbia, which was doubtless
included in the lease as this would give
the Southern a connection with its new
line In addition to its connection at Co
Iumbia the Southern will also have con-
nection with the South Carolina and Geor-
gia at Augusta.
The South Carolina and Georgia, which
was leased several years ago by the Par
sons, had traffic arrangement with the
Georgia Railroad, which is controlled by
the Louisville ard Nashville. Mr.. Conner
did not care to discuss what might be the
effect upon the latter line of the lease of
the South Carolina and Georgia by ats riv-
al in the Southern.
Mr.. Conner seemed well pleased in fact,
that the lease had been made I do not
think it will have any harmful effect
whatever upon the Central" he said, "or
upon the business of either Savannah or
Brunswick / think the effect will, il
ANYTHING, be beneficial The South Caro-
lima and Georgia has now fallen into con-
servative hands and this means greater
stability of rates and a more satisfactory
state Of affairs in the railroad situation
1.-The lease of the South Carolina and
Georgia by the Southern does not sur
prise me-" said Mr.. Conner. ut is a part
of the tendency OF the times, which is
towards the consolidation of all short
lines of railway without friendly alli-
ances and connections reaching over long
distances, by lines having such connec-
tons. / do not regard the tendency with
regret II means better service, more sta
BILE rates and better relations with the
public. / do not care to pose as a prophet,
but when the interstate commerce act
was passed l predicted that just such
state of affairs would ensue, and that the
shorter and weaker lines would be grad
ualy absorbed by the longer and more
powerful lines. This process of consoli-
dation and absorption has gone on more
rapidly even than l had expected Ii is
the natural result of the state of affairs
imposed by the interstate commerce act.
Inc FdllTOauS DtiuS pIontDllSQ from pool
ing the business are compelled to fight,
and the result is that sooner or later
the weaker lines so 20 the wall. Railroad
consultations on a large scale have been
announced In rapid succession of late. The
New York Central and Hudson River has
been consolidated with the Vanderbilt
properties, the Chicago and Alton, one of the
few Independent lines running between two
large cities without outside connections
J., -
Great Northern Railroad has announced
as issue of $l2,000000 of bonds to take in
outlying properties; connections are being
provided for the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road, even before 1t has gotten out of the
hands of the receivers. and so il goes all
over the country. In fact, we can conf
IDENTIFY look forward 10 the time when
there will not be more than half dozen
important railway corporations in the
United States
Mr.. Conner said that possibly the South
ern might have bought the South Carolina
and Georgia because it wanted a Southern
connection to take the place of the Florida
Central and Peninsular, which has recent
~ been absorbed by the Seaboard Air
Line If this be the case its control of
the Augusta Southern supposing such
control to he arranged for, might be of
some advantage. AT Tennfle the Angus
Ia Southern meets the Wrlghtsville and
Tennille and by building a short connec-
ton 60 CorGeie,or some other nearby point
on the Georgia Southern and Florida. a
through route to Florida. This. however
Mr.. Conner said. was mere supposition on
| his part. as he had no inside information
| whatever on the subject of the deal.
While Mr.. Conner alluded to the sub
| jet only in general way there is good
| ground to believe that the lease by the
| Southern of the South Carolina and Geor-
| gia removes a thorn in the side of both
| the southern and Central, both of which
! roads have had to meet serious competi-
| ton from the combination of the Georgia
| and the South Carolina and Georgia rail
| roads, aided by the Louisville and Nash
| Vile and it's allied lines. This competition
has been especially serious in the wav of
! cotton and fertilizer freights. Numerous
| complaints have been made to the Savau-
nah Freight Bureau during the last sew
eral years of the continuous cutting of
rates through this source and il Is a no
torious fact that i, has been almost i'm
| possible 10 bring cotton to Savannah from
/ Inner GEORGIA thrOugh Auorsto -,