New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-02-20
ASSAILS SUIT TO
PART PACIFIC ROADS
Coast Business Man Saws
All California Would
Be Handicapped.
WESTERN INTERESTS
IGNORED, HE SAYS
Robert N. Lynch, Officer of Frisco
Chamber, Predicts Freight
Rates Would Go Up.

Arguing that II the proposed suit 70
dissolve the Central Pacific and the South
ern Pacific railroads is carried through
all California will be under the dominion
of the Union Pacific and worse off than
now. Robert Newton Lynch. vice-pres
dent of the San Francisco Chamber OF
Commerce. last night at the Hotel Bel
mont attacked the action Of Attorney
General McReynolds in starting the suit.
and said # would make the Sherman law
ridiculous.
Mr.. Lynch is one of a committee Of
twenty-five from California and Oregon
that appeared in Washington a week
ago and asked that the suit he delayed.
The answer of tire Attorney General was
to begin suit the following day in Salt
Lake City.
Business intere sts will suffer If the
two roads are separated" said Mr.. Lynch.
The government is taking into account
only the technical application OF the Sher-
man law and ignoring the client. which
the law was intended TO protect-in this
instance the people who have allied them
selves and sent representatives 10 fight
the suit All newspapers on the coast
and all commercial bodies, without ex-
ception. are agreed that the dissolution
would be disastrous.
Tho Central Pacific and the Southern
Pacific roads make a unit now. There are
TO parts of them that compete. So pc
culiary are the lines built that If they
were parted a piece OF freight going from
one point to another might travel in a
ii. -.
This would be costly. because It calls
for added men TO manage two roads, and
each road is entitled to charge for the
transfer. One road owns terminals and
the other approaches. and no law can
compel the one to give either to the other
The Central Pacific would have to be
sold, and the only buyer in the market
is the Union Pacific. which offered SIPS
O000c0 for the road some time ago. With
Union Pacific could take it for almost
nothing, it being useless as unit unless
connected with some other road. Already
the Union Pacific has a road from Ogden
up TO Portland and to Los Angeles. In
buying the Central il would have a direct
entry into San Francisco. This would be
making one very powerful road and i'm
pairing one that is we'll regulated now
and gives good service.
IF the sale was made new and higher
freight rates would come. as two rival
roads would handle freight on a single
haul.
I'VE will have a chance TO appear at the
trial and hope TO convince the courts that
the commercial interests are the clients
| of the government, and should not be
harmed by a technical attempt to deliver
us from the domination Of what we re-
gard as service. When we asked the
Attorney General. What assurances can
you give us that rates will not be in
| creased under two roads?' he replied
that he could give none.
Meantime, although We hope TO de-
feat the dissolution proceedings. the Cen
trial Pacific is in a mess because OF the
| uncertainty as to how much its stock will
be worth, and development has been de-
layed until the suit is decided. This does
not apply alone to railroad development
but to agricultural development"