The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-08-17
RAILROAD MERGING.

Charles B. Whiting, representa-
tive citizen of the city of Hartford
who is a prolific and entertaining vol
unteer contributor to the press of that
city, writes as follows in part to the
Hartford Times: Talk about the rail-
roads obeying the laws, here in our
own State the Consolidated has annex
ed and merged everything In sight, en-
tirely ignoring the Sherman antitrust
law, and the results have been bene-
fetal to all New England IF the gov
eminent should start in to break up
this combine, there would be such
howl its ears would Jingle and I vent
ure to say it would change the politics
of Connecticut"
This is a home Interpretation Of the
Federal Administrations determina-
ton to break, bride and drive the
railroads of the country and it Is an
exceedingly interesting comment. It
brings home to the people of the State
as nothing else has the two kinds Of
railroad consolidation which exist,
with the good of one and the evil of
the other emphasized. If the Sherman
antitrust law had been enforced as
Mr.. Whiting suggests, the New Haven
Railroad company would not be the
Immense aggregation of capital u is
to-day. All sorts of things would have
been said about the movement In re-
lstraint Of competition and Of trade,
and If the proposed law forbidding
one corporation doing an interstate
business to invest In the stock of an
lotfer had been on the statute books
the state of Connecticut would have
been continuously served by number
of railroads instead of one, This is
what we take it Mr.. Whiting means
and in addition he tells us that under
that condition of things we would not
be as we'll off as we are.
On the other hand we have the Har-
Irimanesque view of the right Of rail-
roads to combine and live, which II
Icarried to Its logical end would in
1.-THE end give one man or one set Of
men dominated by one man the con-
troll of all the railroads Of the country.
1T is to make this impossible that
president Roosevelt urged the enact
lment of new railroad legislation and is
tstill in favor of additional legislation
of an additionally restrictive charac-
tier. 1t Is his determination that the
hubble carriers shall not come under
1.-THE domination Of a few men, on the
lone hand, and that, on the other hand
1.-The government shall extend its meas
lure of control 1t Is no exaggeration
Ito say that the average man favors
this idea Of the President and wish
es him we'll in his campaign, even
Though he recognizes the impossibility
Eof his being factor ever in railroad
Ownership except so far as his savings
lin the bank might make him so.
The difficulty plainly is one Of franz
ling a law which will permit the kind
of merging which Mr.. Whiting declares
lis so popular In the State Of Connect
cut that an attempt to undo it woult
cost the political party in power Its
life and forbid the kind of merging
which would make Mr.. Hartman ar
uncrowned king. The producers of Con
necticut would certainly oppose re
turn to the broken system at home
which suggests that after all the possi
BILE key to the problem which is vexinG
the country so much Is not to be founC
lin additional legislation but in thu
man behind the merged corporations
If he keeps in mind the terms Of tn,
contract negotiated between the create
of the corporation and the corporation
Itself the outcome is good; If he under
takes to use the power given by tn
consolidation to Issue watered stool
and do other things known to higl
fiji ance the outcome is bad. Perhaps /
is well that the Connecticut companie
merged before the reform set in, Tha
is certainly true, if Mr.. Whiting Is
Sound exponent of serious thought.