The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-25
RAILROAD NEWS.
Two Men Masters of Half the
Roads of Nation.
Rockefeller and Morgan Control
All Lines in West.
INCLUDE LOCAL LINES.
GouId's REIMBURSEMENT Com
pIetes Their New System.
other Items of General Inter-
est in Traffic World.

san Francisco. Feb. 25.-By forcing
George Gould to relinouish control of
the Missouri Pacific, J. Pierpont Nor
gan and John D. Rockefeller have made
themselves the absolute masters of the
railroad transportation system of the
vast empire of territory between the
Pacific coast and the Mississippi river.
These two men control absolutely
four great groups of allied railroads,
with an aggregate stock and bond cap
italization of $3,S06, 457 900, and an ag-
gregate mileage of 80, 1913 miles.
This stupendous massing of railroad
capital and mileage is the accomplish
ment of two men-the task OF less than
g quarter of a century.
These two men are backed by billions
and commercial allies in more tnan
half the states IF the Union
They have behind them the unliln-
tied resources of the great federation
of banks, trust companies, life III sur
ance societies and savings institutions
of Wall street. Today they not only
control the commercial destinies of half
the nation, but are ready tc 1naugu-
rate a struggle to seize and control the
commerce between the Pacific and At
lantic through the Panama canal, and
to share between themselves alone the
benefits of a waterway which when
completed. will have cost the United
States $400,000,OOO.
List of Systems Under Control.
The extent to which Morgan and
Rockefeller are in the railroad saddle
in the west can readily be pointed out.
Jointly they have either absolute or
partial directory power in the follow
ing systems of roads, aggregating 3d.
system. Miles.
Morgan-Hill Observation-Disclosures. "a 1856
Hartman system ............-- 1873
Gould system ......-..--...---- 1z'5o1
Chicago & Northwestern. 1858
Santa Fe system. 1851
Rock Island system. Observation-Disclosures. 9'199
st. Paul & Minneapolis system, 9.199
Morgan and Hill direct the policies
of the Great Northern, Northern Pa
cific, Burlington. and Colorado & South
ern. having 1856 miles of roads and
a. stock and bond capitalization Of 81
321,000,000, which corresponds very
closely to the capitalization of the
Steel Trust, which Morgan created by
buying out Carnegie.
Capture Hartman Lines.
The Rockefeller interests dominate
the Hartman system with its 1873
miles of road and a capitalization of
81, 316, 974 900. They have long controll-
ed the Chicago Milwau kee & St Paul.
Its extension. under the name of the
Chicago. Milwaukee & Puget Sound,
has recently been completed to Pacific
tideWater' at Tacoma and Seattle.
These two roads have 9,199 miles of
road and a total capitalization of $432,-
$4,000 The Gould system. which the
Rockefeller interests are now entering
as directors in control, has 1881 miles
of road and stock and bond capital
ization of S735, S61 ,000 Rockefeller is,
therefore, the guiding spirit in three
systems, which have an aggregate of
30519 miles of road and a stock and
bond capitalization of $2,4S5,457 900.
Here at hand are 54,855 miles of west
ern railroads, representing four great
systems and eleven railroads, which
are under the direct domination of
Morgan and Rockefeller, and which
have the stupendous stock and bond
capitalization of IS, S06, AS, OO0 Notice is
not taken in this connection of their
thousands of miles of steamer line ser
vice on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans,
together with their river and lake
steamer lines. Their present building
activity in oregon and Washington is
also not taken into account.
The bankers are not advancing mill
lions without seeing their money is
properly protected. This is why they
are to have the say in the Missouri
Pacific. So it was Gould himself who
has brought about the bankers con-
troll of his property, which no doubt
will increase the value of his interests
In the Gould system eventually