Norwich bulletin., 1913-07-10
Should Abandon
 Trolley Lines
NEW HAVEN ROADS METHODS
 CONDEMNED.
HAS BEEN WASTEFUL
Passenger Service and Rates Highly Commended, However, by the Inter state Commerce Commission.

Washington, July 9-Financial ope- rations of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad it's ownership Of trolley lines and control of allied New England railways, are condemned in unmeasured terms by the Interstate Commerce Commission in the report of it's investigation made public here today. The Commissions conclusions are:
 That the outside" financial manage ment has been "wasteful in the ex- treme," and that had the New Haven confined itself to actual railroad &C., tivities under the same conditions that prevailed in other respects "it could the fiscal year 1912 and carried to sur plus account $1,7e4,00o instead of showing deficit of $930, ,000."
 Should Dispose of Trolley Lines.
 That the New Haven's agreement with the Boston & Albany is "violat- i've of the spirit of the statute against the restraint of competition and should be cancelled" "In our opinion,' says the Commission, this line should be kept entirely free from New Haven control"
 That the New Haven should divest itself of its trolley lines, not because the present ownership is in violation of law but because such ownership might be used to prevent the building of competing lines in the future.
 That the Boston & Maine's merger with tke New Haven, if permitted to stand will result in "an almost excIus- i've monopoly of transportation facili- ties by railroad in the greater part of New England"
 That passenger train service, without considering safety of operation, on the N0u ic lI afI any other line entering New York, and that of the Boston & Maine equally as good. Both roads, however, are criti- cised adversely for lack of steel cars
 That the freight service of the Bos- ton & Maine "is much less reliable than that of either the Pennsylvania or the Baltimore & Ohio while that of the New Haven is slightly inferior to the Pennsylvania but almost on a par wit the Baltimore & Ohio.'
 Most Favorable Passenger Fares ln
 That passenger fares in New Eng land, have been more favorable to the local travelling public than in any other portion of the United States.
 That amy betterment of railroad conditions in New England must begin with the assurance that the New Hav- en management will act not only pru- dently, but, above all, within the let ter and the spirit of the law
 No order was made by the Commis- sion, but in it's opinion, the following propositions which have national ap- plication to all railroads, lie at the foundation of adequate railroad regu- lation:
 Should Not Lease or Buy Other Roads.
 Every interstate railroad should be rrnhjhitoa mourning liabilities or acquiring prop erty not in the operation of its rail- road or In the legitimate improvement, extension or development of that rail- road.
 No interstate railroad should be permitted to lease or purchase any other railroad, nor to acquire tho stocks or securities of any other rail- roads, nor to guarantee the same, di- rectly or indirectly, without the ap- proval of the Federal Government
 No stocks or bonds should be is- sued by an interstate railroad except for the purposes sanctioned in the two preceding paragraphs, and none should be issued without the ap- proval of the Federal Government.
 Gave $1s,50o, ,ooo for Nothing.
 In it's acquisition of the Rhode 1s- land trolley lines, the methods pur- sued, Commissioner Prouty suggests, afford an instructive object lesson in the realm of what is sometimes term ed high finance,." After passing through the hands of two or three corporations, the trolley lines were acquired by the New Haven at ''in- Hated" prices.
 Representative of the New Haven Co.," the report says, insisted that this company had not watered ths stock of the Rhode Island Go, and this, strictly speaking, Is true. The Improvement Go. turned in the water and the New Haven Co.. converted that water into wine. In whatever aspect the transaction Is viewed, the New Haven gave s1S,500,000 for ncth- ing" It was shown that the trolleys cost the New Haven to date about SPA, 600, 900 and have been valued at something more than quarter of that amount.
 We are not concerned" says the report, with the amount lost, but rather with the character of the tran saction. The inevitable query is: What was the motive behind this transaction and who made the pro- fit? That question, in the very nature of such transactions, never can be satisfactorily answered"
 Outside Ventures of New Haven Co.
 The acquisition by the New Haven of trolley lines in Massachusetts IS reviewed at length. Particular refer ence is made to the operations of J. l.. Billiard in connection with the ptlr- chase by the New Haven of Boston 6 Maine stock. The conclusion of the report is that the New Haven Co.,. gave away to Billiard and his associ- ates about $3,e0O.0O of the property of the New Haven.
 These transactions" says the re- port, "are probably extreme, but by no means solitary The other outside ventures of the New Haven Co.,. have been almost uniformlyprosecuted at a loss. This is true of its trolley ac- QuisitiOns in Connecticut and Massa- chusetts, as well as Rhode Island and New York: it is true of its purchase of railroad stocks and steamship lines. Mir. Mellen entered into an elaborate defense of his management of this property. and he was able to point to but a single instance in which up to the present time, the venture had been profitable. He had pur- chased the Central Railroad of New England. and the profit upon that transaction had been a handsome one"
 Outside Operations Wssteful in Ex-
 trenne.