The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-22
RAILROADS.
ATOMS new POWER
Road Becomes Greater Artery
Than Ever Thru a Quadruple
Alliance.
Affects MI. Hill Largely; the M. &
St. L and the Great Western
Incidentally. st.
sneoial to The Journal,

New York, Oct. 22.-Tho official
confirmation is lacking it Is we'll I'M
derstood that a working agreement
has been arrived at between the Erle,
the Union Pacific, the ROCK lsland,
and possibly the Santa Fe, which Will
constitute one Of the strongest anu
most sweeping traffic agreements on
the continent. It will provide for the
joint use of the tracks of Chicago &
Alton by all these trunk lines. Incl
dentally it will bring closer together
three Of the most powerful railroad
influences west of the Mississippi and
Chicago, namely the Moores, E. II.
Hartman and J. J. Hill. ..
Facts bearing on this matter are be-
Ing disclosed slowly. The funda-
mental one is that Mr.. Hartman has
recognized for some time that some
thing had to lie done for Chicago &
Alton. The record of the past two
years shows this fact clearly. Ihe
road has not advanced in its earning
capacity as have the other roads OF
that territory and the territory to the
south. 1t appears, indeed. to have
reached the8 limit of it's earning
capacity without having reached
such a stite of prosperity that
it is able ID show dividends on the
common stuck. Last year after pay
ing per 2cent on its preferred it
showed a surplus Of only $57,147 on
the common stock. This in spite OF
the fact hat it's gross earnings per
mile are he heaviest west of the Mis-
sissippi An immense amount Of
money HIS been spent out Of earnings
to put tie property in shape to han
die muol heavier traffic than it has
received this year, and railroad men
have ben asking all year where Mr..
Hartman expected to find the traffic
to justly these expenditures. The
annou cement outlined above will be
Mr.. Ehrriman's reply to these criti-
CiSms..
Terms Very Simple.
1t is understood that the terms
upon which an agreement will be
reachsd are very simple and imply no
finantial operation whatever. The
railroads will simply obtain the right
to run their trains over Chicago &
Alton, paying to that railroad a per-
centage Of gross receipts. 1t is be-
Heved that a proposition on the part
OF Rock Island to pay a yearly rental
for running rights over Alton on con-
dition that an unlimited amount Of
traffic could be moved, was turned
down by the Hartman interests owing
to the objection of the Erie people
who argued that such an arrangement
might In years Of heavy traffic inter-
fere considerably with the rights Of
other roads who had a right of way
over these lines.
The Erie railroad has become a
party to this arrangement for the rea-
son that such a connection will allow
It's thru trains to run into st. Louis
and Kansas City, and to get additional
mileage on traffic received at the lat
ter point from the Union Pacific as
compared with the mileage that can
be collected on freight received at
Chicago. Erie has always been more
or less hamDered in the past by the
fact that 1t hastno connections what
ever, west Of Chicago. The new ar
rangement will also give the Erie a
fairly direct connection from the Gin
cinnati branch to ST. Louis and the
west, over the Cincinnati, Hamilton &
Dayton, where the Erie has a traffic.
agreement.
Value to Mr.. Hill.
The great value Of the connection
to Mr.. Hills trunk line, however, Is
the connection at Chicago with line