The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-12-01

up the affairs of the association after
it was declared to be Illegal by the
United States Supreme Court has just
taken the last steps to extinguish the
remains of that organization.
Notices were sent out two days ago
that all of the furniture in the rooms Of
the Joint Traffic Association would be
sold, and the lease of the rooms, which
runs until May 1st, will be disposed of.
After December 31st all of the employees
of the association will have been dis
missed. AS for the Trunk Line Asso-
citation, the President Of one of the
railroads said last night that it had
ceased to act as an association and
handle any traffic matter, and it is now
nothing more than a bureau. 1t keeps
its rooms, but it does not 1egislate in
regard to rate matters concerning the
various railroads. In a word, it does
nothing. Henceforth the traffic officials
will not take any united action, unless
some law shall be passed permitting the
railroads to transact business as an
association.
The work of deciding what commodity
tariffs should be abolished was done by
committees of the interested railways,
purely as committees of the railroads
and not of any association, and all the
business that is now transacted goes
on under the guise of a "gentleman's
agreement" without any apparently
binding character so far as outward
rules are concerned.
And yet the agreements that are now
made by the heads of the different rail-
roads are more strictly maintained than
they have been for several years, The
orders are given out, not from the
headquarters of an association, but
from the Presidents offices of the sew
eral railroads. The bureau" which is
maintained at the trunk line office col
lects the data of what competitive bus
mess is done by each company, just as
has always been done, and there it's
work ends
The Presidents of all the railroads get
reports, and they can tell at q glance
how far ahead or behind they are, COM
pared with the percentages to which
they are entitled. There is no more
wrangling, however. The three or four
financial men who control all of these
companies are easily able to straighten
out the differences, since they have in
terests at stake in all of them, and a
short conference in the office of any of
them takes the place of formal confer
ences that have been held at trunk
line headquarters.
There have been reports that this
"gentlemen's agreement" had really
been in operation for several weeks,
and that the changes to be made on
January LIST are simply perfecting of
the scheme. 1t was intimated that the
percentages between the roads would
be settled on a money basis, where one
road gets more than it's share, and in
the absence of an association this could
be done by the "gentlemen's agree
ment," without detection by Govern
ment officials.
Mr.. Morgan, for example as the chief
factor in the RE, makes no objection
to the Lehigh Valley or Reading secur-
ing it's share, since Mr.. Morgan con-
trolls the latter companies In the
same manner Mr.. Morgan gives his
word to Mr.. Vanderbilt and Mr.. Cas-
sat that the Central and Pennsylvania
shall secure their fair share of the bus
mess That is all there is to it.
The new arrangement applies chiefly
to westbound business. Eastbound
traffic cannot be controlled so easily,
since the initial lines are in the West,
and they sometimes make concessions
to shippers. 1t is said, however, that
the scheme contemplates bringing all
kinds of business, both eastbound and
westbound passenger as well as freight,
under the same strict control