The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-12-13
Friday, December 1s, 1907.
l..-e--ssi--f rHg-RarIKo1 FRoBLEM.

fhe latest move in New England railroad circles possesses the interest," ing merit of novelty combined with strategy. No one on the outside at least has been looking for the abandonment by the New Haven company of its plan to extend it's control over the railroad situation in this section of the country. On the contrary, it has been taken for granted that the company was waiting the outcome of the official Investigation of the proposed merger with the Boston and Maine by the fed eral department of justice to perfect its plans. President Mellen has stated that his road had undertaken nothing fin violation of the law. He has even complained personally to President Roosevelt that he thought the inyesti- gation should be hurried in order that the disrepute which had come to his property because of the attitude of the government might be eliminated.
 Everything pointed to the ultimate success of the merger Now suddenly She public which has large interest in the future of the Boston and Maine is told that the New Haven Railroad ,,,y ., n (, caaaixyaH {, offoy from outside parties to dispose of it's holdings. The official statement made by Mir. Mellen tells practically nothing of the things the public wishes to know about, for the avowed reason that pending negotiations cannot be dis -closed. It has, however been keenly c0frrfEded that the purchasing negotia- tor is the Canadian Pacific, a foreign corporation At the same time the New York Central must be taken as pawn in the game which is being played with such consummate skill. It is known that that road acquiesced in the purchase of the Boston and Maine stock by the New Haven company, but it fig at the same time inconceivable that it should have done so without some understanding of it's moral rights in event of the failure of the New Haven railroad to complete the transaction. Tn the eyes of it's man Rgement 1t would be one thing to ac- quiesce in the passage of the control of the Boston and Maine to the New Haven company and an altogether diff ferent thing to aequiesce in it's trans fer to the Canadian Pacific We take it that this is what is meant in the reference made in the news articles to the attitude of the New York Central, which neither appears as a purchaser nor as a company which would be apt to enjoy the sympathetic support of the State of Massachusetts. The ex- perience of that commonwealth with the New York company in it's control of the Boston and Albany has not been such as to warrant an enthusiastic re- ception of 1t as the new boss of the railroad situation there
 Says the Boston Globe: "In the original movement of the New Haven road to buy a controlling interest in the Boston and Maine there was no threat to introduce an unknown and alien management of the latter road, on which so large a part of New Eng land is dependent for transportation. In the present movement, however, we are threatened with an outside con- trol of the system, which is very diff ferent proposition, as all must see. Public opinion will not and should not permit such thing to be done" To do President Mellen full justice as strategist we must say that the vigor- ous comments of the Globe are exactly the comments he has thought wise to bring effectively to the attention of the manufacturers and merchants of that large section ul New England stl,td by the Boston and Maine system. Nor is there anything sly or cunning about the move, though it is undoubtedly in- spired by lively sense of strategy. Baffied by the false apprehension of Massachusetts politicians whose sin. cerity of purpose he openly questions, pursued by the federal department of justice as possible malefactor and railroad mollycoddle, and baffied in his attempt to protect the great system of which he is the head and master mind. President Mellen has put it squarely Sip to the State of Massachusetts to determine which it wants and prefers,