The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-29

that the law officers ,f the government
and the chief executives of the New
Haven system have found that their
minds already meet. The only question
that remains, apparently, is one involving
ar answer which Will show how the New
Faven can get rid of those allies which
the Attorney General believes to be illegal
allies
The inference is strong that the At
| torney General intimated to- Mr.. Elliott
| that the department of justice wanted to
dc nothing which would at this time add
TO the embarrassment of the New Haven
company. 1t was anxious to help rather
tran to do anything to hinder.
This was precisely the attitude of the
department of justice when the Attor-
ney General was in conference with
President Vail of the telegraph and tele-
phone company. and II as difficult a
proposition as that involving the separa-
tiol, from this company of the telegraph
corporation could be handled without an
appeal to the courts, there seems to be no
reason, so far as the department of JUS
tice Is concerned why the New Haven
situation may not equally well resolve
itself into an attitude which will receive
the approval of the department of JUS
tice.
The Economic Question
In each of these cases an economic
question of the kind which greatly en-
bGrrassed Mr.. Wickersham when he was
Attorney General is indirectly, at least.
| involved. Mr.. Wickersham doubted
whether the union of the telephone and
telegraph companies vas Illegal but he
apparently had no doubt about the eco
EoInic value M such union, apparently
believing that competition in the field oc-
oupied by those who sell instant in
telligeDce over wires is of no value to
the American people. The economic ef-
feet of the dissolution os President Vail $
company is yet to be disclosed. President
Vail does not hesitate to say that the
dissolution would make 1t necessary
either to postpone or 10 abandon COM
pletely various plans for enlargement
expansion, improvement, having in view
ultimately practically the exclusive use
| of the wires for all communications ex-
| cepting certain kinds of business docu-
ments and friendly family or neighborly
messages.
| IN the case of the New Haven, it can
be reported that there is not competent
railroad man in the United States who
is not convinced that the far-reachins
policies of the New Haven road now
! identified by the name Morgan Meller
were absolutely sound in principle, the
trouble being that they were far ahead of
| the time. Certainly while these policies
wero being first worked out New England
was forging ahead in prosperity and in
| dustrial and commercial activity.
| But with economies of this kind the
| Attorney General of course, had nothing
to do. In railroad circles in this city ii
| is the understanding that the Attorney
| General made it clear to Mr.. Elliott that
as law officer of the government he
| was persuaded that some features of the
plan by which the New Haven company
unified into a single control transporta-
| tion in, as well as to and from, New
England were in violation of the Sherman
| law
The telephone and telegraph company
will probably have no great difficulty in
selling the stock of the Western Union
Telegraph company, which it now owns,
but the great problem for Mr. Elliott
| still to solve is this: Where can pur-
chasers be found for the stock of the
steamboat companies, for the stock of the
trolley companies, and for the stock OF
the Boston and Maine Railroad company,
which the New Haven company now
ov ms. purchasers who will pay to the
New Haven company ANYTHING like, the
sums which the New Haven itself paid
for these properties?"