The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1911-08-04
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CHAPTER XII.

But against their publlc1t.
i Breed had put an enormou
practical benefit; against their appeal
he had put an enormous practical ben
eft; against their attacks he had pu
an enormous practical benefit. and tn,
tide Of public favor. springing no
from the printed pages of the morn
Ing and afternoon papers. but from lii
to lip, set in so strongly In his direc
ton that 1t reached every investor
Bread at 4 cents-later at cost!
To the victor belongs the spells. ani
the spoils of this war were the prox
les. Breed succeeded through Kelvin
In that apparently impossible dream OF
every railroad man since Stephenson
invented the steam engine-the concen
tration of every railroad in the United
States under one management Then
he sent for Rollins.
"Well, l kept my word" said Breed
81 told you l meant to have control
Of every mile of railroad in the Unit.
ed States. and now have it. have
sent for you to take over their man,
agement"
Rollins was pale. and there were
dark rings under his eyes. II don't
know If want 1t. There is only one
condition under which could accept,
and it would be folly in me to. expect
you to grant me that"
"You might mention it." observed
Breed dryly.
'"The condition is that I may do as
see fit. may work absolutely unham-
pered. Man." he suddenly burst forth.
you don't know how many years l
have dreamed Of this! 1t has been the
ambition Of my life to put this great
public utility upon the plane of it's
proper relation to the public"
"That is my own dream" Breed de-
clared.
81 find belief difficult" replied Rol-
Inns. Moreover. l had imagined that
Mr.. Kelvin here was to have some say
In the matter of management"
Breed smiled and looked at Phillip.
81 have larger work for him." he said.
"Larger!" exclaimed Rollins. "Can
there be anything bigger than to COM
bine quarter Of million miles Of
railroad. every foot of transportation
highway in the United States. under
one economic head. eliminating graft
and waste and putting them all upon
a working basis Of legitimate profit
and public safety"
Breed waved his hand. much
larger" said he This is only an in
cident l wish you would tell me Just
what reforms you propose instituting.
Mr.. Rollins"
"First Of ALL" said Rollins earnestly.
treasured, IT would secure for every
through line 12O pound open hearth
steel rails. made in new mills from
larger ingots, with the cones of i'm
purity cast entirely aside and the COM
pact residue kneaded into proper con-
sistency by an entirely new system
OF rolls. There are other things that
need to be done-the establishment Of
perfect block systems, of automatic
brakes and other accident preventing
devices and the abolition of grade
crossings-but the main matter Of
public safety rests In perfect rails
Ten years ago tried to fight this
proposition, and I nearly succeeded.
The Tallahassee Iron and Coal COM
pany offered to make open hearth rails
to my specifications. The Unified
Steel corporation found that to control
the stock of the Tallahassee Iron and
Coal company was much cheaper and
more profitable than to spend the
needed millions In re-eQuipping their
plant"
"Your first step, then. suppose.
would be to begin a fight on the Uni
fed Steel corporation" observed Breed.
THAT, in nutshell, is our problem"
declared Rollins.
your problem Is already solved, Mr..
Rollins" said Kelvin. with smile.
''Mr. Breeds control of the railroads
has left the Unified Steel corporation
high and dry. Moreover. we have Sc
cured entire control of the Iroquois
Iron range. and. no matter what the
Unified Steel corporation does. we shall
set up our own rolling mills and make
rails by our own process from our
own ORE"
But the program will be left entire
~ to your own discretion" interrupted
Breed. "You shall have contract
FOR one year. renewable for ten years
II your preliminary steps meet with
my approval"
. 20 ...-..-.
ALLOW me to understand" said Rol-
Inns. I'm that year I am to be abso-
lutely without interference in any
wayT
with two exceptions" replied |
Breed. II want a private rebate on
all shipments of bread or cereal stuffs.
Next. here is list Of names These |
men are not to be employed in any
capacity nor benefited in any way"
Rollins looked over the list and
smiled. There isn't nan here
whom I would lift finger to save.
There is not man in that list but has
had, an interest In car company, a
COUPLER company. brake company, |