Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-01-21


| graphic columns contained the i'm
| portant and interesting news that
| plans were laid for one of the most
| gigantic railroad combines ever con-
ceived. A hint of this was given sew
eral months ago.. and the plan then
| referred to in these columns was al
| most identical with the deal just en-
tered upon. The principal roads nov
included in this gigantic combine are
| the New York Central, Pennsylvania,
| Boston & Albany. Boston & Maine,
| Fitchburg, New York, New Haven &
Hartford, Erie, Lehigh Valley, Lacka-
wanna, West Shore, New York, On
! tario & Western, Rome, Watertown &
| Ogdensburg, Lake Shore, Michigan
| Central, Nickel Plate, Baltimore &
Ohio, Wabash, Big -Four, Chesapeake
| & Ohio, Lake Erie & Western, Monon
and all auxiliary lines of these sys-
TENS.
Among the latter are. of course,
included all the railroads in West
Virginia dependent on any of the big
systems named.
West Virginia is lucky in being so
| intimately concerned in the promotion
of this gigantic railroad combine
| through one of her foremost citizens,
Hon. Henry G. Davis, at whose hos
| pitable mansion in Washington the
| great railroad kings involved, recently
met around the festive board. The
fact doubtless insures fair treat
ment for this State and it's great in
~terests. 1t also insures the early build
ing of numerous other connecting
lateral lines and links, completely
gridironing the State, and placing all
her vast and inexhaustible riches in
| close touch with the best markets.
While we believe this railroad COM
bine will have only a beneficial effect
on the interests of this State insuring
its speedier development, what it's eff
feet may be on the country at large is
a matter for conjecture and will de-
pend largely on the character of the
men in control of it. Suffice it to say
it will have the entire freight and pas
| senger traffic east of the Mississippi
absolutely at its mercy. Also, what eff
| feet the Interstate Commerce law will
have upon the combine remains to be
seen. The impotence of that statute,
however, to control railroads has been
amply demonstrated.
One thing is certain. This gigantic
combination will prove a hardship to
many thousands of the present employ
es of the individual lines in this syn
dictate. These will find themselves
crowded out of employment. Fol in
stance, all existing ticket offices of
all the roads in the syndicate in all
the principal cities of the vast terri
tory covered will be abandoned and
n joint Office will do the work form
erly done by many Offices. All city,
travelling, general and district freight
and passenger agents and solicitors
throughout the United States, Canada
and Europe will also be discharged.
This will affect nearly $4,000 men. All
forms of commission for the sale of
tickets over these roads will be abol-
ished, which will reduce the incomes
of about 10000 agents and kill the
scalpers. Joint auditing agencies in
New York and Chicago will apportion
to each road its percentage of the to-
tai competitive business. All super
f1uous assistants to heads of depart
ments of the individual roads will be
discharged and later probably the
heads will follow, leaving the work to
be done by clerks who will report to
the two joint agencies. The entire gil
gantic combine will be under the man.
| agement of a board of control repre-
senting the Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania,
Morgan and Hartman properties.
One of the retrogressive features of
this combine will be the abandonment
of a number of through fast passenger
trains put in service during the past
few years as the result of sharp COM
petition, and of all fast freight trains
and the fixing of common time for
these trains between competitive term
inals.
The American railroad man, how
ever, is naturally too progressive an
individual to permit much of retrogres-
| sion in the service even in the absence
Of competition, that prime incentive
to enterprise.
The final consumation of this gigan-
tic railroad combine will be awaited
by the general public with exceeding
interest not devoid of anxiety.
| HAIL To THE WHEELING STOGIE.
The Wheeling stogie is king. The