Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-04-15
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RAILROAD NEWS.
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no merger of the Frisco and Rock
Island properties-for the present at
least This information was learned
at late hour last night from an alb
solutely authentic source and was
semi-officially admitted in both Rock
Island and Frisco quarters.
President Benjamin F.. Yoakum, OF
the Frisco declined to confirm or
deny the rumored abandonment of
the deal, yet when he was told that
stories were afloat to the effect that
it had been abandoned and that the
Northern Securities decision had
brought about a suspension of nego-
tiations, he said:
'The Northern Securities decision
could in no manner affect us. The
cases are not at all parallel, nor is
there any similarity between them"
Heretofore President Yoakum has
been free to confess that matters are
just as they have been for several
weeks past" and his refusal to deny
the reported abandonment of the plan
to merge the two properties is practi-
cally a confirmation that the deal is
off
One person closely associated with
the leading interests in Frisco said
that a consummation of the deal be
fore the final adjudication of the
Northern Securities case would be
like "dashing ones head against a
stone wall.
An attitude Indicative of extreme de
sire to shift the responsibility to other
shoulders was assumed by the officials
of both roads today. Rock Island offi~
ciaIs referred all inquiries to George
w. Perkins, the member of j. P. Nor
gan and company who was conduct
ing the negotiations to bring together
Rock Island and Frisco.
Mr. Perkins said that he did not
care to either affirm or deny the re-
port. James Campbell, the largest
single holder of Frisco stock, was
equally noncommittal, and said that
Mr. Yoakum was "the man who
talks
Mr.. Campbell left for ST Louis early
last evening. He had intended to leave
New York last Thursday and his sud-
den change of plans to remain over un-
til today created a suspicion that the
negotiations for the merger had
struck a snag Early last week Mr..
Campbell said that he expected the
deal would go through and he would
leave for home on Thursday. When
he remained beyond that dslN and
was asked if anything had happened to
detain him here. he admitted rather
reluctantly that matters were not sail
ing along as smoothly as could be de.
sired, and practically said that he eX-
pected a rupture when he remarked:
"Whether Frisco is absorbed or not
makes but little difference to those
most interested in the property. We
have faith in it. and it is no orphan"
According to another official of the
Frisco. this explanation of the rela-
tions Of each party to the deal was
given:
Tho proposal of purchase came
from the Rock Island party first. At
no time was Nh. Yoakum particularly
eager to sell. He has absolute faith in
tie property, and, although the price
offered tempted him to sell, he would
feel no disappointment if the sale
were not Completed
That the abandonment of the deal
is not because the Northern Securi-
ties decision is borne ont Ivy the state
ment of Judge w. H. Moore, Who at
the time said:
The Northern Securities case will
in no wise inerfere with the sale of
the Frisco to Rock Island"
President George j. Could. of the
Missouri Pacific-Iron Mountain, has
issued circulars from The New York
office reading as follows:
The Missouri Pacific Railway com
pany, st. Louis. Iron Mountain and
Southern Railway company and leased,