Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-10-05
NEW YORK TO SEATTLE
Single System to Connect the
East and Northwest.
LATEST BIG RAILROAD SCHEME.

Great Combination which Is Enthu-
sinsticnIIy Advocated by James J.
Hill and Is Said to Have the Sup
port of J. Pierpont AIOrgan-Com-
munity of Interest on n Vast scale.
Under the control of ]. 2. Morgan
and ]. J. Hill there will soon be estab-
lished a new railroad system from
New York to the Pacific coast which
will be under one name and one man.
agement says the Brooklyn Daily Ea-
gle.
For many years railroad men have
cherished the hope that such a plan as
this would be carried out, but there
have always been grave difficulties in
the way. The advantages of a railroad
under one management traversing the
country from New York to the Pacific
have always been sufficiently apparent,
and more than one man has attempted
TO realize this ideal. The main diff
Guilty has always been in securing the
controlling rights 1t has been easy
enough usually to secure the first few
sections OF the proposed system, but 1t
has been exceedingly difficult to obtain
any more mainly because the owners
of the desired property have been IN
able to resist the temptation of de-
manding impossible prices. More than
one attempt has been made TO obtain
control of enough railroads TO allow of
the consolidation of several into one
transcontinental system. but that plan,
too, has been checkmated by observ-
ing officials of other railroads who OBJ
jected to competition.
Because of these reasons it has long
been evident that the only chance for
the development OF a transcontinental
railroad lay in the possibility of COM
bination between some of the existing
railroads, but even the most sanguine
saw little hope of this being accom-
plished. 1t was realized that very few
railroad managers would be willing to
allow the identity of their systems to
be lost by Being merged into any such
comprehensive scheme, and this objec-
ton would arise from business rather
than from sentimental reasons.
Only one man was bold enough to
prophesy a year ago that many great
railroad consultations would soon be
accomplished and that among them a
transcontinental railroad would be
not because any one then credited his
predictions, but because the seer-was
George J. Gould. Time has shown that
Mr.. Gould was right. however, for al
ready there are significant indications
that the methods which James J. Hill
found so effective in building up the
Great Northern railroad system will be
applied to the Erie railroad. Many in:-
portant changes in the Fries manage
Inent have already been made on lines
suggested by Mr.. Hill. and il no suffi-
cient obstacle is interposed the Erie is
likely to be the first link in the system
of railroads which, under one head and
management, will become the long ex-
pected transeontinental railroad.
Many causes have led to the selection
of the Erie for this important position,
not the least being the fact that it pos
sesses the only really direct line be-
tween New York and Chicago. Aside
from this there is the fact that the
people who are most interested in the
creation of an efficient transcontinen-
tai line have practically secured control
of the Erie and can use it in any way
they desire for the furtherance OF their
plans. The Lehigh Valley railroad,
which was at one time considerable
rival of the Erie. has also been brought
under the control of the Hill interests,
so that all opposition from that quar-
ter has been ehectually prevented. The
exact power OF the combination which
intends to create a transcontinental
system can perhaps be shown best by
a consideration OF the railroads which
are already under the domination of
Mr.. Morgan and Mr.. Hill. Among these
railroads are:
Miles
The Northern Pacific. 5.4S7