The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-17
UNANIMOUS FOR
RAILROAD BILLS
Senate Committee Re-
ports r. f. q +.
Measures.
ALL OBJECTIONS
WERE SWEPT AWAY
Under Additional Bill Offered
With Consent and Approval
of Road Merger is Not
Possible Until Con-
tract is Passed
Upon.

BY unanimous vote, after full and
thorough investigation, the Senate Com
mittee on Finance and Banks last night
four bills that Will permit the Richmond.
Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad.
limited by certain specified conditions. to
surrender the antiduated charter under
which 1t is now being operated. secure
articles Of Incorporation bringing It
within The provisions Of the general laws
OF the state. and. should II at any time
gee iit so 10 do. merge with the Wash
ington and Southern at the nor thern end.
forming one continuous line between this
city and the national capital.
When explanation of the situation had
been made by the president of the two
roads. backed up by the entire line OF
officials appointed to guard the State 8
interests In the local company objec-
tions 10 the new plans. proposed fell away
completely, and though there was still
some shaking of heads among those who
had apparently not grasped the precise
nature of the change and Its effects. ap-
proval of the measures as ultimately
presented was assured.
Not only was II shown beyond al
question that tho state would gain and
not lose by the change, but ii was point
ed out in addition that the railway COM
pany itself Is perhaps giving up moro
than it will get back in return. that y
Is by no means clamoring for opportunity
to do this. and that the movement was
initiated In fact by the official represen-
tatives OF the Commonwealth themselves.
who have for five years, with view &c
bringing money into the public treasury,
been urging tine adyisabliity of ney
charter The bugbear OF the Pennsyl-
vania lowering over the system with fell
designs upon the Richmond connection,
;he dreaded danger OF some smooth and
diplomatic name hy which the General
Assembly would i5e trapped and inveigled
into an irrevocable enactment that the
line should never be paral1eled, both
wholly disappeared from the prospect an!
consideration. Charter change under the
bills means for the State at least 5000
Il year for which she pays a surrender of
meaningless privileges; merger is made
absolutely impossible until the contract
under which the consolidation is to be
effected has been approved by the off,
cial bodies. any one of which may halt
the negotiations though the other two
agree.
.If there Is any danger In this, gentle
men of the committee said Judge Leake,
president OF the two railways. sunmn g
UP the situation, I'VE ask you to sug-
gest some other plan and we will accept
ii. II any one of the State officials here
objects to the plan proposed don't pass
the bills"
Thoroughly Safeguarded
Consideration of the bills, in which there
was the most widespread public interest.
was begun before the committee shortly
O n NJ 49,.
about three hours. The original bills
We're drawn by Judge Lelke himself. One
of them. embodying in a separate act,
the amendments TO the general law pro-
posed in the second OF the bills, was
withdrawn as inconsequential. This is
the bill that contained the clause re-
ferring to the parallelng of the road
1t was explained that this clause is now
contained in statutes existing. and that
1t was included merely to conform the
new act 10 these statutes
No question was raised of the States
right to repeal the statute If at any time
it so desired. Besides the drag-net
through which the merger proposition will
have to pass will effectually prevent this
law as to paralletng TO be used as the
basis for n contract, after the creation
OF which 1t might not be possible to
rcsclnd the act. AT all events, however.
this bill was withdrawn, and the matter
of paralleling figured very little in the
discussion.
1t must be understood that while the
bills affect the Richmond, Fredercksburg
and Potomac particularly, they concern
general laws governing all corporations.
Amendments to this general law are
made in one Of the bills, SO as to au-
thorize any railroad corporation chartered