The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-03
-FOUR TRANsCoxrINENTAL SYSTEMS

| ANNNh RAO$~NN4NS
-FOUR R.ANsCoNTINENTAL SYSTEMS
If the Wall street report of Friday
traffic arrangement between transporta-
ton managers is correct, the United
States will suddenly come into the pos
session of four great Atlantic-Pac:fic
| transcontinentaI systems.
Beginning with the most S -uthern sys-
TEN, known as the Rockefeller, we
have the Missouri Pacific line running
from Kansas City to Pittsburg as the
central nucleus, with the Southern Pa
cific as the Western extension to the
| Pacific coast and the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western as the Eastern extern
sion to the Atlantic
| Closely paralleling the above system is
that in which the Rock Island is the
| Mississippi valley center, with the Penn
sylvania system as the Eastern seabcard
extension and the Atchison, Topeka Il
Santa Fe as the Pacific outlet
Then comes the Harriman-Vandsrb.It
system, consisting of tie Unicn Pacific
Central Pacific, the Chicago & North
Western, and the New York Central. as
the railway chain between OCEANS.
Finally, there is the Hnl-Mo gan in
terest, which aims to unite the Oceans
via Puget sound, the Northwest ard the
Great Lakes, with the Geat Ncrtae-n
the Northern Pacific, the Burlington AMI
the ErieY and the Northern Steam ship
lake and ocean lines as WATERWAY SUP
| plement
1t goes without saying taat such a
gigantic remapping Of American trans
portation forces cam { he carried OUT
by session of few big men, however
influential they may he in transEo~tai n
and finance. 1t will take time. hard work,
and Industrial and commercial events er
large influence to perfect such t-afiic re-
organization. There may be many most
fications OF the plans as above blocked
out. But in a general way the Wal
street report, as above Indicated, may
probably be accepted as approx mately
correct. 1t denotes the traffic trend
which events will more or less modify.
The next question is: VIII such traffic
reorganization work out for the good of
the country, and what will be the effect
upon traffic, industrial development, and
the country's commercial future?
The first and most patent effect will
be to change the course of trade be-
tween America and the Orient, and open
up a commercial channel directly with
Asia across the Pacific and across the
United States, instead of the present
route via the Suez canal Cape Horn and
the Atlantic. So far, the result would
undoubtedly be for the good of the
United States. and especially of the
West
This transfer of the traffic channel via
the Pacific and the West would lead to
at least five good results as regards the
interests of the West.
First. the increased volume of traffic
over western roads, which would result
from the handling Of the Oriental COM
merce, would result in lower and more
uniform rates for all traffic internal
ana local as Well as through and for
eign.
Second, the transfer of the traffic chan
mel to the Orient via the West would
make the West the natural source of the
products for export. Instead of the car
go for export being made up at the At
!ant1G seaboard. it would be made up at
the Pacific Seaboard, or from the West
ern half of the country.
Third, it would make Western cities
the commercial centers for the distribu-
ton Of goods imported from the Orient.
instead of New York being the exclusive
distribution center for all foreign COM
merce.
Fourth, it would be a vast incentive to
Pacific shipping and shipbuilding, leading
to reduction of ocean rates and in
crease in traffic volume, and thereby
largely assisting Western industrial and
commercial development.
Fifth 1t VIII bring about development
ana extension Of Western and transcon-
tlnental railways, which means greater
transportation facilities and undoubtedly
lower rates. and all of this means indus
trial growth, commercial growth, popu-
lation growth, the opening of wilder
nesses, extension of farming communities
and building of cities.
The danger which will be pointed out
is that of arbitrary control of trauspor-
tation rates with a view to maintenance
of prices. Traffic combinations with that
in view, however, already exist. Tne pro-
posed reorganization of traffic routes does
not touch the rate question as between
parallel competing lines, but deals rather
with the extension of local nd sectional
lines into transcontinental systems. For
example, to join the Central Pacific to the
Union Pacific, and that again to the
North Western, and the latter to the New
York Central, so as to make a continuous
route from the Atlantic to the Pacific is
traffic arrangement between competing
parallel lines by which rate competition
would be avoided Undoubtedly. traffic
reorganization will work to reduce fric-
ton and rate wars, but the special phase
OF it involved in the proposed reorganiza-
ton plans does not appear to be specially
significant as regards the competitive
rate question.
On the other hand, there are several
results that may flow from such re-or-
ganization in the direction of lower rates,
and especially to the West
In the first place, the joining of Eastern
systems to Western to make continuous
transportation lines from Atlantic to Pa
cific will lead irresistibly to greater uni
forrnity of rates as between East and