The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-11-19
Enormous Plan Being Perfect
ed in Salt Lake by Which
Many Railroads May Agree
to a Division of Systems.
RUIN0US WARFARE TO BE
MADE AN IMP0SSIBlLITY
Offices of the National Rail-
ways of Mexico in This City
Are Used Because Laws of
State Are Favorable to Plan.
BENEFITS WOULD BE MANY

A tremendous railroad scheme is being
incubated and the Salt Lake office of
the National Railways Of Mexico is the
nest which contains the egg. The plan
is nothing less than the peaceful division
of the railroad systems of the United
States, Mexico and at least one Canadian
trunk line. If it is successfully Matched
out the scheme will give the railroads
of the North American continent into the
control of the Following:
Hill interests, controlling the Canadian
Pacific, Great Northern, Northern Pacific
and allied lines.
Hartman interests. controlling Union
Pacific and affiliated lines
Vanderbilt interests, controlling New
York Central. Big -Four and affiliated
Pennsylvania company
Gould interests, controlling coast-to-
coast lines.
Hawley interests, controlling various in
termediate roads which Will either be
extended or sold to trunk systems
Government of Mexico, controlling 81
per cent of the stock of all the railroads
of that country.
These holdings are to divide their stock
holdings in such way that Tuinous war
fare will be impossible. Enemies of rail-
roads might put the matter in another
way by saying that competition will be
stifled. At any rate there will be no more
rate wars.
Occasionally someone passing through
the Oregon Short Lines general offices
sees the sign, National Railways of Mex
icO," and wonders why the National Rail-
ways of Mexico should have an office
in Utah. In the last few months that
office has been the scene of divers meet
ings, but the only result of those meet
ings. so far as the public knows. has
been the election of board of directors.
which was published at the time of the
election.
The reason the National Railways OF
Mexico have al. office in Utah is bscause
the laws of Utah are exceedingly favor
able to big railroad system that wants
to include in its holdings lines which
might be called parallel. These laws are
not SO liberal when II comes to Operating
railroads within the state, but for organ
ization. railroad lawyers say, they ara as
broad and wise as those of any state in
the Union. The National Railways OF
Mexico own, or will soon own. 49 per
cent of the stock of Mexican railroads.
President Porfirio Dfas will not sell any
more, for he wants to retain the control
without having to exercise arbitrary pow
er which might cause unpleasantness
with Uncle Sam.
When the plans of the great combine
are completed the criticism which has
been directed at speculation on the New
York stock exchange will not affect rail
roads to any appreeiable extent for their
shares VIII be about as steady as govern
ment bonds. There will be no scenes on
the stock exchange like that when Hill
and Hartman fought for Northern Pa
cific, making a few men rich and many
poor in a single day. Railroad owners
have come to the conclusion they have
enough public hostility to face without
shoudering the additional onus OF being
a vehicle for gambling, as Governor
Hughes of New York and some of his
followers have called them
Another advantage Of the combine will
be the creation of a property whose val
ues will not fluctuate and which can be
passed from father to son with all the
security which attaches 10 the entsiled
landed estates in England 1t will be a
modern feudal system. with the owners
of stock as the barons and the railroad
employees as the subjects. Also il will
afford means of stopping the talk about
government ownership of railways be-
cause the stock will be distributed among
influential investors in states where such
agitation becomes dangerous. ANY man
who can get a steady income producing
stock at an advantageous figure can be
made to see why the government should
not own that stock.
VIII Be Cheaper
| The allied interests will be in a position
| to get equipment on time and at the
cheapest possible figure. Railroad men
/ generally believe that great improvements
are TO be made in the near future II
may be the monoraii, for which the Penn
1 sylvania has just bought American rights
/ or it may be some other device which
! if it got into hands not interested in rail
roads. might do great injury to railroad
property. The monoral has just been
given a trial with toy train in Eng
Continued on page 7.