The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-28
THREE TESTIFY
IN MERGER CASE
Government Officials Begin In
veStigatiOn of Charges
Against Railroads.
TECHNICALITIES PROBED
s. n. BABcOcK, w. S. MCCARTHY
AND DAVID ECCLEs ON STAND.

Three witnesses were examined yes
terday in the hearing at which deposit
tons are being taken in the railroad
merger case. The testimony was most
ly technical, dealing largely with tariffs
on all railroads involved before and
after the alleged merger was consum-
mated. Those examined yesterday were
". S. Mccarthy, traffic manager of the
salt Lake Hardware company, who was
formerly connected with the traffic de-
uartment of the Union Pacific; :. II.
BabC0ck. manager Of the Salt Lake
commercial club traffic bureau. and
David Eccles Of Ogden, president of the
sumpter Valley railroad in Oregon.
The case has been in the federal court
for some time, and a final settlement
mag not be had for two years to come.
The action was commenced in Utah
nearly two years ago by Hiram Z.
Booth. United States district attorney,
acting under instructions from the de-
7artment of justice in Washington, d.
4 The UuiOn Pacific Railroad cOmDa-
MS. one of the principal defendants lii
the case, IS incorporated under the laws
of Utah which is probably one of the
principal reasons why the suit was
brought in this district of the federal
court.
I'm the complaint the Union Pacific,
the Oregon Short Line, the Oregon
Railroad & Navigation company, the
Salt Lake Route, the Southern Pacific,
the Northern Pacific. the Great North
ern. the Santa Fe, the Farmers Loan &
Trust company. o. II. Kuhn, r. II
Hartman. ". A Clark. Jacob Schiff,
n II. Rogers. H. Q. Frick and others
ara charged with violations of the SheT-
man antitrust law.
The depCsitiOns in the case are being
taken by Sylvester William of Wash
iugton. d. c.. who was appointed by
the department of justice to PRESIDE q
-Ha hearings. G. \. Severance OF st
Paul. who mas been appointed special
prosecutor. is conducting the examina-
lion of witnesses for the government
He is being assisted by Assistant Dis
trict Attorney W. NJ. MCCIea OF salt
Lake and Glenn Z. Hustled and Charles
?. Page. special agents of the depart
rnsnt of Justice. For the railroads Judge
p. $. Lovett of New York, general
counsel for the Union Pacific. is thl
leading attorney. Assisting him are
Judge W. r. Kelly. general counsel Tor
the Salt Lake Route, and ParleE l.
Williams. general counsel for the Ore
Eou Short Line
When the testimony i'm the case Is all
taken it will be submitted TO three
Judges OF the United States circuit
court Of appeals sitting as a district
court. and the case tried on the written
testimony taken at the various hear
ings An appeal from this court would
be made direct 20 the United States sU-
preme court.
Mccarthy First Witness.
w. :. Mccarthy was the first witness
called by the government. Mr.. Nc
earthly said that he was formerly con-
tracing freight agent for the Union
Pacific Before the alleged merger, he
said the time on freight between Chi
caso and salt Lake was ffty-twC
hours. now il was leo hours and forty
five minutes. He admitted. however
that he shipped his freight via the
Denver & Rio Grande. a railroad not in
the alleged merger. and that the time
on that line and its connections was
forty-fOur hours longer than the pres
eut schedule via the Union Pacific.
: Il. BabcOck occupied the witness
stand nearly all day. He went Into de-
tails with reference to tariff schedules
on various railroads and connections or
land and water. and compared past
schedules with present ones He sug-
geSted that a feasible competing route
ru san Francisco would be over the Salt
Lake Route 10 Daggett, Cal, and from
there to san Francisco over the Santa
te- Letters were shown for the pur-
pose of proving that no through rate
over such q route was maintained. II
freight was transported over this route
the rate would be the sum of the Local
rates. which would be greater than the
present rate to San Francisco over the
Southern Pacific The distance over
mis- route is 1OS3 miles. and the dis
lance via the Union Pacific is SIS miles
The time he said. on crOss-examina-
zion, he had not taken into cOnsidera-
fon- Under the present plan. he said
these was no competition in either
freight or passenger business
Another Possible Route.
Another possible route 10 San Fran
E>. was via the Oregon Short Line
and o. r. & y. to Portland and from
Portland TO San Francisco via the O.
r. 81 y. boat line. This route. he said
was used by the Union Pacific at a
L'na when there was an acute dis
NX