The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-03-28
OFFICES May GO
TO- PORTLAND
Talk Of Short Line and Navigation
Consolidation Revived.
Mr.. BURLEY ATTENDED LOUAH
ATE DEVIL FISH, POI AND
OTHER NATIVE DISHES.

Ogden. March 21.-Bauroad officials
Today stated that the. oregon Short
Tine and the Oregon Railway & Nav
.satlou company are 90 De eonsoll-
dated. with W.. TT. Bancroft Of the Ore
con Short Line as president and =. s.
Calvin Of the short Line as vice pres
dent and general manager. II Is stated
INIT the headquarters OF the combined
roads WII be- removed to Portland and
.he present headquarters of the Short
Line al salt Lake win De turned over
10 the Clark road which company has
purchased the line South of salt Lake
Portland ore. March 27.-When
President A. L.. M0hler Of the oregon
Railway d. Navigation company was
shown the dispatch from ogden slALluE
lhat the oregon Short Line ana lhe
Oregon Railway a. Navigation eoll-
asuv would be consolidated under one
management with headquarters aI
Portland, De said;
N d0 not know anything about IT,
There never has been any truth In
similar rumors.'
Omaha. March when shown AS
ISOLATED Press reports announcing the
.oDs1Iidafi1n of the Oregon Short Line
and Inc Oregon Railroad e. Navigation
lines. and the removal of the head
aulrfers from Salt Lake City % Port
land. ore. and the further report lha-
abe consolidation of the roaas VIII pc
followed by active construction or lhe
Clark road across lower Nevada 20 con-
meet with the portion of the road al
d. "a
President Burt of the Union Paclhc
said.
'You can say there is nothing in that
H. ls only a very sensational report and
there is absolutely nothing at all In lt.
one of the striking features of the
foregoing rum0r is the persistent man
uer u which 10 comes to the surface
in spite of the denials Of railroad OF
dCldls that lJ is true. The attention
Of Mr.. Calvin was called TO the dis
patch yesterday but he said that he
knew nothing of such change. Mr..
Bancroft is still on the coast
Talk of Consolidation
While there is much TO discourage
the truthuluess of the report. it is
ALSO true that there are circumstances
which invite the suspicion that the
story IS something more than an idle
tale. Long before the meeting OF the
shareholders here last winter there
were rumOrs of the proposed eonsoli-
datiOn of the Oregon short Line and
the Oregon Railway & Navigation COM
ranv That story was undoubtedly
based up0n the amendment 20 the
charter which gives the short Line
NAVIGATION privileges. Tt was warmly
denied by the officials AZ the time or
the adoption of that amendment that
there was any Intention of a consoh-
dalton of the two roads, but the need
of navigation privileges for a road
which cannot use them has never been
satisfactorily explained
There was a reason for the amend
ment. but if "a consolidation Is in
tended. 60 is highly improbable that
the officials would De willing to have
the truth known until me very eve
Of the transfer While the officials
have manifested the utmost retcence
in regard 90 the matter and have de-
nied the rum0rs, they have also made
mo- ordinations This fact has deep
eued the mystery,
Cause Of the Sentence.
The change would have sucn a tre-
mandous bearing upon Salt Lake that
tits easy 20 understand the reasons OF
the officials for maintaining absolute
secrecy and silence. The consolidation
would destroy the need of two sets of
general officials. There could not be
Two sets of presidents, su3erntendents
aud duplicates of the other officers to
manage tlc same road. TO Is natural ll
presume then that the osi-ial body OF
The road would De sheltered under one
r8or. either .n this city or lu Portland
ore. There are reasons ior lne pre-
sumption that The offices VIII be- moved
90 Port and If % consolidation occurs
ID Is fJ secret IhaL the Navigation
comp8uF is planning TO strengthen lbs
influence uT0u the high seas, and es'
UeCaly with regard 90 It's commercial
prestige IU rhe Orient. The business Is
already o. considerable magnitude and
increasing This fact led 90 the pro-
uh-sy months ago that the segregation
OF the rail and water systems OF the
Oregon Navigation & Railway company
was am event OF the near future.
Heads Of the Companies.
T taa change were made. it is natura
to- presume that She men most familiar
with the uavlaalIe end of the business
would Doe placed iu immediate control o.
thar department This means that Pres
il-ut a. j. Mohlar and his force would
be- placed an the head of the navigation
department and the authority OF me