Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-01-04
RAIL CHIEFS IN
CONFERENCE
WITH TAFT
PRESIDENT CHANGES
HIS PLANS FOR MESSAGE
Recommendations Concerning
Trust Law to Go in Thurs
day; Railroad Section De-
ferred Until Later in Week.


by Morning journal Special Leased Wirel
Washington, Jan. 3.-Following a
forenoon conference with presidents
of six of the great railroad systems,
President Taft late this afternoon an
nounced a change Of program in the
sending Of his message dealing with
Interstate commerce an antitrust laws
amendments to congress
The message Will be split in two
parts. The section dealing with trusts
win be sent to congress Thursday
noon. The section dealing with the
Interstate commerce law in which
railroads are directly Interested will
be deferred until Friday. The presi-
dents special message on the con-
servation of natural resources is ex-
pected to be dv for congress on
Monday
a short time after ,le railroad pres
idents had left the M hite House, it
was announced that the president still
hoped to have his message ready for
congress on Wednesday. 1t had been
his original intentian to treat togeth-
er the two subjects of interstate COM
merce and antitrust amendments It
was said late this afternoon that the
message would probably receive great
er attention If divided in two parts,
neither of more than 1000 words.
As result OF the call of the rail-
road presidents. ii was said that only
few verbal changes would be made
in the message dealing with the inter-
state commerce laws and that these
would make the presidents position
more clear.
President Tart found the railroad
men most considerate in presenting
their views. While depreciating ths
idea OF any legislation az All at thls
time, when, they declared. conditions
in the railroad and Industrial worlds
are righting themselves after two
years Of depression they did not seek
TO deter the president from sending
his message They devoted them
selves to more or less specific objec-
tions to the bin prepared by Attorney
General Wickersham which forms the
text of the message
The president, it is declared. will
not attempt to force the Wickersham
or any other bill upon congress. He
viii say in his message fhat such
bill has been drafted and is at the dis
posal Of congress The railroad pres
idents admitted that their objections
TO proposed amendments to the inter-
state commerce act were general in
their application to all The amend
ments. The president, however. had
made his position clear TO J. Pierpont
in of fr,f. -.
day morning. Mr. Morgan in turn ar
ranged for todays conference and adj
visei the railroad mon to confine
themselves to suggestions Of changes
IN amendments rather than to an at
tempt 10 influence the president as to
his general course
NJ. Taft has let it be known he not
only will make recommendations for
changes in the law but that he expects
congress to adopt the suggestions at
this session and thus carry out the
promises OF the Republican platform |
Those who attended the conference
today were President McCrea Of the I
Pennsylvania, Lovctt of the Hartman
lines; Brown Of the New York Central
Mellen OF the New York, New Haven /
and Hartford: Baer Of the Phlladelph- /
ia & Reading and Finley OF the South !
crn.
The presidents brought Lewis Cass /
Ledyard of New York with them as
general counsel Attorney General
Wickersham represented the legal de- /
partment Of the government
one of the changes which President 7
Taft agreed to make in his recon-
mendations has to DO with the lam /
guage of the proposed amendment !
prohibiting a railroad company from
acquiring stock in any competing rail- .
road in the future or from holding
stock in a competing railroad after .
a given date. 1t was claimed that /
the wording Of this proposed amend /
ment was such that it might be held 1
to apply 70 lines like the New York .
Central and the West shore The lat /
ter is, and Tor many years has been 4
a New York Central lire. serving vir- (
tually as an overflow trackage sys- I
TEN on the western shore of the Hud- /
son river.
The law. as President Taft will sug- /
gest, win provide that where rail- /
road owns fifty per cent or more of .
the stock of another, it may acquire I
the remainder This. it is said, would .
afford a measure Of protection to mi 4
nority stockholders for. If the rail- /
road owning the majority of the stock .
should be prohibited from acquiring
any more. the minority would lose 4
their only probable purchaser.
Where a railroad holds less than the .
majority Of the stock i'm another line,
however. il will be provided that it
can acquire no more.
Nothing in the interstate commerce
amendments viii be so drawn as 10
legalize the holding Of stock in O COM
peting line where the hoidii of the
stock results III violation of the anti
Trust law.
President Taft listened 70 the rail-
road officials for more than two
hours He has been informed In adj