The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-15
CALIFORNIA RAILROAD COMMiS.
SION INSISTS ON COMPLETE
UNMERGING OF ROADS.
BOARD VERY SKEPT|CAl
Dissolve Union Pacific and Southern
Pacific Is Regarded With Suspicion
and Permission Is Withheld Until
Further Word Comes.

San Francisco, March 14.~~Lacking
information upon which to base a final
opinion. the California railroad com
mission Is skeptical of the good faith
In which the Union Pacific submits
its modified plan for dissolution of the
Hartman merger of the Union Pacific
and the Southern Pacific properties,
In obedience to the decree Of the
United States supreme court. In
telegram to Attorney General McRey-
nolds, the commission said today:
The supreme court wants these
lines to be unmerged. and we will pre-
vent, If we can, combinations in such
unm ergng.
For want of fuller data the com
mission withholds its approval"
Continuing, 1t said in part:
I'VE cannot understand why, in
fairness to this commission, the new
traffic agreements were not disclosed
to us when this matter was presented
We assume, OF course, that these
roads, acting in good faith, expect to
comply with the provisions of the
constitution and statutes of California,
so far as applicable to their affairs.
and it may be that our fear with ref
ercnce to this matter Is unfounded. If
as matter of fact the design of the
proposed new traffic agreements, the
terms of which we do not know, Is not
to circumVent the previous decision of
this commission, then, of course, what
we have to say herein win not at all
amended.
''1f, on the other hand, the design
Is to evade the effect of our former
conditions. then we think we should
prevent the new plan from being con-
summated If it Is within our power so
to do.
I'VE cannot understand why an open
and free dealing cannot be had with
reference to these matters. We cannot
conceive any reason why the Southern
Pacific and the Union Pacific, in keep
ing with the mandate of the supreme
court, cannot actually unmcrge and
why there should be any attempt to
reserve to the Union Pacific an ad-
vantage or preference which it would
not be given If it were dealing, so to
speak, at arms length with the South
ern Pacific"
The matter on which the commits
sion does not feel itself fully Informed
Is still the use to be made of the
Benicia short line owned by the
Southern Pacific between Oakland and
Sacramento, at which point the Cen
trail Pacific system terminates. In
this connection, the modified applica-
tion telegraphed by Robert S. Lovett.
chairman Of the executive board of the
Union Pacific, said;
"A lease Is desired by the Central
Pacific company to the Union Pacific
company in the form proposed in the
application filed with the commission
on February 10. which covers all the
property of the Central Pacific except
the lines north of Tehama.
The modified agreement will elimi-
nate all provisions as to joint use of
nails and the trackago and running
rights from Newark to Redwood and
from Redwood to san Francisco The
lease OF the Central Pacific to the
Union Pacific does not supersedc the
sale Of the Central Pacific stock, but
is required in addition thereto in or
der to secure the necessary consent of
the French banks"
The original agreement was for
trackage rights between traciagc and
traffic agreements. However, the
commission secs difference which it