The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-13

stock and barrel.
 MeIIen Opposed Monopoly. There is a certain significance about the fact that in 1907 it was announced that Mellen was to withdraw from all connection with the trolley properties owned by the New Haven road. One newspaper stated at that time that Mellen had never been in sympathy with the plan to grab all the New England trolleys, and that the con tinual interference of these monopo- listic projects with his work as rail roader had disgusted him.
 Throughout the history of the past ten years the evidence seems fairly plain that MelIen's connection with the New Ravens progress was that of good railroad man-in 1903 peo- pie were enthusiastic about him, and called him the greatest railroad man in the countrywide had been caught in the machine of J. P. Morgan. Nor gan always loved the work of combi- nation. In 1897 he made Me1len pres ident of the Northern Pacific and sent him north to rebuild that wreck. Meanwhile Morgan was throwing to- gether squirning mess of little nasty roads in New England. More than 25o separate roads went to make up the New Haven system as 1t is today Of course, many years be- fore Morgan began.
 The first managers under Morgan were mostly lawyers, because the problems were mostly legal. When he had lashed the bundle of little sticks together he needed a railroad man to manage them. Then the New Haven was everything a road should not be. The rails were too light, the engines too small, the bridges too weak. MeIlen was called from the north and put to work. He sent his work-gangs out at night, because he did not want to arouse public com ment
 The development of the New Haven for the next ten years may be sharo- the expansion of the system to an alright monopoly, which included every boat and dock and trolley line available in five state. That was the plan which J. P. Morgan built.
 The other phase of the New FIaven's ten year growth was on the physical side That was Me1Ien's. He tore out old bridges and laid new rails and electrified fit and built new stations. The Interstate Commerce Commission comments on the amount of money he spent upon it. but adds that it was all wisely spent.
 He fought the purchase of boat lines and he opposed buying trolley lines. They not only interfered with him as a railroader, but their cost hampered his plans for the proper extension of the New Haven system. But he was overru1ed. He was in the hands of the roads bankers.
 There was the purchase of Rhode Island tro1Ieys, for example Prouty's g report declares:
 .'The New Haven in getting these troIleys turned over SIS. 800, 900. for which nothing was received.''
 An agent of the Interstate Com merce Commission reported that the cost of these properties to the New Haven was about SPA, 900. GOO and that their value was about $6, 900, 900. SE1ow- ever that may be, 1t is known that the Rhode Island troIIeys were bought from the Widener-Eakins company, which was known as the United Gas Improvement company Of Philadel- paia Widener-E1kins and Morgan and company were not unfriendly.
 MeIlen Opposed Water Grab.
 Seven-tenths of the haI1aballoo kick ed up a tthe New Havens very effec- tive and satisfying monopoly of transportation facilities in New Rng- land was occasfoned by it's possession of the boat lines that touched New England's ports, and all the dock -practica1ly-in those ports. Whether that was a part of the or iginal Morgan plan or not, there can be no doubt that MeIIen opposed the boat seizure. Not only did he make that statement on the stand. but he showed that i've years ago. he tried to get the New Haven's directors to di- vest the road of it's floating proper ty.
 T foresaw the legislation approach ing,'' he said, .sthat would compel us to segregate this property
 As a railroad man he did not want to handle floating property. But he was overruled. Mellen secured an of fer of $20, 900, GOO for the boat lines an offer which paid a handsome profit. He wanted to sell. He could not, be- cause the boats made Morgan's mon opoIy .possible-and that monopoly was even then being threatened from the north by Charles N. Hays, president of the Grand Trunk system
 Hays was as forceful a man as J. F. Morgan himself. He determined that sooner or later he would get into that fat field of New England-per- haps the richest traffic field in the world, according to railroad men. His rickety Central Vermont reached down | into the heart of the New England ter ritory. An attack engineered from New York and developing in London on the Grand Trunk stock did not frighten him. He planned an exten- | sion from a point on the Central Yer mont to both Boston and Providence, 1 where boat 1ines-even if he had to take WhaEVeS lroh the 1NeW Ii6LVSH DI force-wouId connect him with New York. This extension-the New Eng l land Southern-was in actual course of building. Fully g, 900, GOO had been spent on it, and as much more con tracted for, when Hays went down with the Titanic.
 Hays could not be frightened off or coaxed off. But B. J. Chamberlin, his | successor, was a. man of different sort. Morgan caused financial trouble | both in London and in Montreal. i Chamberlin's teeth began to chatter. Then, according to the story which l long ago reached Montreal from Lon don, Chamberlin sued for peace. He | timid. He came. to New York, accom- panied by Alfred w. SInithers of Lon