Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-12-24
COMMISSIONER OF CORPORA.
TIoNS ACCUSE COMBINES OF
KILLING COMPETITION.
NAMES MANY ROADS
New Haven System Is Chief Offender
While Others Are Also Named
BY Conant In His annual
Report.

have destroyed competition on many
Of the water highways of commerce
} declares Luther Conant, Jr., commits
sioner of corporations, in a report to
! President Taft today. g.
The revelations of the report, based
upon an extensive investigation, force
upon the federal government, says the
commissioner, the consideration OF
further regulation Of joint rail and wa
ter traffic.
In practically all the coast waters OF
the country, it is declared, railroad or
steamship consultations dominate wa
ter transportation. Their control OF
both through passenger and package
freight trade is especially striking,
says Commissioner Conant, on the At
lantic and gulf coasts and on the great
lakes.
Water lines along the eastern sea-
board, he adds, have become to a
large extent auxiliaries OF subsidiaries
Of railroads. While competition ex-
lists In greater cas- on the Pacific
coast, the commissioner points out i'm
portant instances of railroad control
there.
Competition is Suppressed.
The New Haven system, 1t is charg.
ed, has pursued a determined policy
of suppressing any effective competi-
ton on Long Island sound, and sever
al, at least, Of it's recent acquisitions
must be charged as due to this policy
Elimination Of competition also was
an important factor, said Commission
or Conant, in the New Haven's pur-
lchase of q majority interest In the
Merchants and Miners Transportation
company.
The Southern Pacific likewise is de-
clared to have shown ga disposition
to restrict competition on the Pacific
coast, although it's steamship lines
ARE really a water extension of that
company's rail lines
I'm addition, the report says. the
control of the Southern Pacific by the
Union Pacific (rectnly dissolved by
the United States supreme court) OBJ
viously tended to limit the import
ance of competition by the Southern
Pacifc's rail and water route"
The railroads controlling the great
est tonnage of steamship lines, accord
ing to Mr.. Conant, are the New Haven
system, Union Pacifc-Southern Pacific,
the Pennsylvania, New York Central
and Central Of Georgia.
Many Canals Abandoned.
A number of the principal canals Of
the country have been abandoned or
fallen into disuse, the report declares,
because of railroad influence.
"The conditions here set forth"
says Mr.. Conant, cannot fail to com
mand attention. So far as the eastern
part of the country is concerned, wa
ter lines have to a large extent be-
come au%xiliaries or subsidiaries of
railroads.
these conditions force considera-
ton of the policy to be adopted to-
ward such water carriers. Since wa
ter competition has in considerable
measure been restricted by railroad
control of water lines, this fact must
be taken account of.
"The Interstate commerce commits
sion has by recent legislation secured
a considerable increase in jurisdiction
over joint rail and water traffic, par
ticularly with respect to the estab-
lishment Of joint rail and water rates
and the equitable division Of such
rates between the co-carriers."
The report says that twenty rail-
roads Of the country control steam
vessels and sbarges of $4,000 gross
tonnage engaged in domestic trade.
New Haven is Factor.
"The tonnage of the New Haven
system is the largest, aggregating a
little over 100000 gross, TONS" said
the report. Next in Importance is the
grand total Excluding tonnage en-
ro GOD II, fNroirr froI>N 1f oya~ I E0 nm
gross tons. The Pennsylvania rail-
road company's water lines have g.
500 gross tons in steamers and $500
tons In barges; the New York Central
has yer $4,000 gross tons: the Central
of Georgia railway over 10000 gross
tons.
"The total capitalization of water
lines controlled by these railroads ag-
gregates $50, 1889, 1915 in stock and $751;
263, 1897 in bonded debt. Of the stock
$40, 223, 800 and of the bonds S19,211,-
1877 are owned by eighteen railroads
or their subsidiaries"
On the great lakes all the important
through passenger and package
freight lines, it is declared, are owned
by railroads. In the local package
freight traffic there are a large number
of Independent water carriers. Sever
al Of the principal lake fleets handling
ore and lumber, it is said, are under
the control of important industrial
concerns, the largest being the Pitts
burgh Steamship company. controlled
by the United States steel corpora
ton.
Independent Lines in West.
On the Pacific coast the commission
er found independent. steamship lines
forming an important factor in the
coastwise trade. but said several water
lines were under railroad control, in
stancing the interest of the Union
Pacifc-Southern Pacific in the Pacific
Mail and the San Francisco & Port
land Steamship company.
Steamboat lines on the Mississippi
river, Mr.. Conant says, have largely
succumbed to railroad competition or
natural difficulties. The great bulk of
the bituminous coal, the principal
item Of traffic today on the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers. is handled, he adds,