Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-31

designated time. The road, great as it is,
was forced to secure the service Of an
underwriting syndicate.
Truce I'm wall street.
This is the situation up to date in one of
the greatest railroad wars ever conducted
by the mere power of money. There has
been no rate cutting, but the loss of mil
lions upon millions in the value of securi-
ties, and this loss was still going on until
yesterday afternoon. An agreement has
been reached, however, that there shall be
no more fighting on the stock market.
The Rockefellers are, in fact, interested
in the new Pennsylvania loan to some ex-
tent, and as Gould has secured his entrance
into Pittsburg and Baltimore there is Moth
ing much left for the Pennsylvania road
to do but to spend its money on improve
ments and seek to get as much Pittsburg
business and general transcontinental
traffic as it's facilities will permit it to
handle. The clash of the financial groups
has been averted to a large extent, but the
fight has been transferred into the open,
and George Gould and A. j. Cassatt ara
now engaged in a battle to secure control
Of the freight traffic from Chicago, st.
Louis, Kansas City and Cincinnati to the
Atlantic seaboard. 1t is a clash of power
ful railroad interests, such as this country
has not seen for many a long day.
90 far as the Western Union Telegraph
company is concerned, its fight has largely
been transferred to the courts. If the
Pennsylvania Railroad company was not
justified in destroying the telegraph COM
pany's property 1t will have to pay for 1t,
Thai is a mere matter If money and
readily can be adjusted when the courts
make a final decision. The Pennsylvania
action was dictated by a desire to retaliate
upon Gould, and TO that extent 1t was a
success, because in spite of the disclaimers
of the telegraph officials it is evident their
service was seriously crippled by the sum-
mary ejectment from the Pennsylvania
right of way. The telegraph company has
a. hfty-year contract with the Baltimore &
Ohio and that contract is renewable for
another period Of fifty years, so there is
not likely to be any repetition of the attack
of the railroad company on the Western
Union.
Greater Battle to Come.
The next development will come when
Mr.. Gould's new line goes into actual OPP
Grafton. He will not be inclined to treat
the Pennsylvania any too tenderly. He
starts out with a tremendous advantage
anyway, because he built into Pittsburg al
the urgent request of Andrew Carnegie,
and the Gould line to the seaboard. as
we'll as to the west. is to be given every
pound Of freight Carnegie's steel companies
can control.
In this way 1t will be seen all sorts oil
gigantic interests have become involved lr
this spectacular fight. George Gould, the
largest individual railroad owner today
John d. Rockefeller. the Standard o II
magnate, who once hung the Pennsyl.
%vania's scalp to his belt, years ago; Andrew
Carnegie, the great ironmaster and library
builder, and II 200 stockholders Of the West.
ern Union company, are combined together
to resist the claims OF the Pennsylvania
railroad. backed up by the Vanderbilt
that the territory from Ohio TO the At
lantic Is sacred and not to be entered a
any cost by competing railroads.
The public gets out of all this a new lint
OF railroad. and If in the fullness of time
great rate war breaks out between the tw,
c~ontending parties, as is entirely probable
Z It will be the public who will be the gamer