The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-12-04
Two Great Continental Lines
Have Sprung From the Di-
vision of the Rock Island
lust Completed.
ORIGINAL SYSTEM TO
TAKE LEHIGH VALLEY
There Will Be Grim, Relentless
War Between Two Rival
Roads, and Millions to Be
Spent in Fight.

New York. Dec. 1.-Two great CONT
mental railroads are to spring out OF
the separation of the Rock Island
Frisco system. One is to be controll-
ed by Edwin Hawley and B. F. Yoakum
and the Other by the Moores and d. G.
Reid. This conviction settled upon
Wall street when it was officially an
nounced that w. H. Moore, his son, E.
S. Moore, now assistant to the vice
president Of the Rock Island, and D. G.
Reid are to be given places on the Le-
high Valley board of directors.
The conviction that supendous deals
are pending in the railroad world was
further enhanced by the statement
that an announcement would be made
in few days to the effect that the
Moores would be given representation
on the board of the Wabash road
These two events would mean mate
rial changing of the railway map of
the country and the creation of two RI
val transcontinental systems from the
Atlantic seabord to the gulf.
The series of events which has led
up to the Lehigh Valley announce
ment has happened rapidly as to
leave all authorities in the railroad
and financial worlds agape with amaze
ment. and it is now certain that there
is to be struggle for supremacy in
territory west of Chicago covering
more than fifteen states.
The move which has grown out of
the parting of the Hoores and B. F.
Yoakum is along the line of effert pur-
sued in recent years by other western
railway owners, notably the late Ed
ward H. Hartman and James J. Hill.
who sought eastern outlets for their
western roads.
Huge Battle is Near.
Back of the Lehigh Valley announce
ment. also, lies the story of ambitions
of big men in the railroad world, am
billions which ran counter to one an
other and caused the divorce of two
great railroad systems. ambitions that
separated men who carried through
deals calling for millions, and brought
together fifteen thousand miles of
railroad under one management, ambi-
tions that almost forced the organiza-
tion of two hostile railroad camps from
which many more millions are to be
brought forth to wage battle in the
transportation Of the world.
Such is the meeting which Wall
the last week in the railroad world, for
it now seems certain that one financial
faction. backed possibly by Speyer 4
Co. and headed by w. S. Moore, is to
enter upon a determined struggle with
another faction, backed by the St. LOU
is Union Trust Company, of st. Louis.
and headed by B. F. Yoakum and Ed
win Hawley. for the supremacy in GER
tain rich tonnage fields of the middle
west and the southwest
What Big Deals Mean.
As Wall street sees the situation the
changes which have recently taken
place in the railroad map of the coun
try mean this:
L. That Edwin Hawley, aided by 3.
f. Yoakum, or Yoakum aided by Haw-
ley. is to be in the railroad world wha.
systems.
>. That the Moores and D. G. Reid
are to be rivals of Yoakum and Hawley
in buying up railroads and welding
them into harmonious systems.
;. That there is to be war, grim. re
lentless war, in which millions of dol
lars will be spent. between these two
factions in the railroad world.
4. That the Moores are striving to
get transcontinental route from the
seaboard to the gulf and possibly
across two continents by the way of
Mexico City.
B. That the Yoakum-Hawley combi-
nation has the same ambition and that
there is to be a race between the two
financial interests for the goal sought,
a co-ordinated system OF transconti-
mental lines.
Hawley Foremost Figure.
The recent coups in which Edwin
Hawley has been the main factor have
startled the railroad world, and they
make him. for the time being at least,
the foremost figure on the railroad hor-
IL. i
trolls, il linked into one system, would
make over thirteen thousand miles OF
road. The system would touch the
seaboard at Baltimore and extend
from there through Cincinnati to Chi
cago. and from Chicago to st. Louis
from Toledo to St. Louis. from ST
Louis to Kansas City, from Chicago to
the Twin Cities and Sioux City. from,
Kansas City to the most importan:
centers in Oklahoma and Texas and
from Kansas City and st. Louis to Gal
weston, New Orleans and Brownsville
Alone and Of itself the Frisco system
Is apparently made up of scattered bits
Of railroad With the Eastern Illinois
and the Evansville and Terre Haute, il
has ! line from Chicago to St Louis
and lines from Chicago. st. Louis and
Kansas City to Oklahoma and Texas
points. to Birmingham and from Hous.
ton. Texas, to Baton Rouge
The Frisco served as q connection