The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-07-25
WILL SUE RAILROAD.
WREYNOLDS WILL FILE CIVIL
CASE FOR NEW HAVEN
DISSOLUTION.
Expected That Indictments Against
Some of Directors Will he Sequel to
Suit to Break up Monopoly of New
England Transportation.

England transportation.
Washington, July 2O.-Civil suit to
separate the New York, New Haven
e Hartford Railroad company from
its subsidiary rail, trolley and steam
ship lines will be brought by Attor-
ney General McReynolds in the Unit
ed States district court at New York
In the next few days. A final effort
today to settle the problem without
litigation ended in failure although
the attorney general. r. w. Gregory,
special assistant in charge Of the case,
HId u committee Of New Haven di-
rNetors\ were in conference many
ho%s. The committee came to Gis-
cussIhe sale Of the Boston e. Maine
stock owned by the New Haven. 1t
desired this sale to be made free OF
conditions imposed by the State of
Massachusetts,. and Is said to have de-
clared that any unconditional sale of
the Boston & Maine stock would in
sure n price of $4,000, 900 above what
the New Haven might otherwise hope
to get.
There is little doubt here that on
the heels OF the suit will como an
effort to have a federal grand jury in
New York return indictments against
many directors Of the New Haven
who served in the days when it was
building up the present system. Both
the civil and criminal actions will be
taken under the Sherman law. The
outcome Of these proceedings may
determine the value Of the Sherman
law as n criminal statute. To the civil
suit the New Haven is not expected to
make any strong resistance.
In the governments bill the New
Haven will be charged with being a
monopoly in control Of New England's S
transpo portation. WITH 3eing combina-
ton In restraint Of trade and in viO-
lation Of tho Sherman law. The de-
partment is expected to ask that the
court separate the New Haven from
the old New England acquired many
years ago. The court also will be
asked to divorce the New Haven from
its socalled Sound steamship lines
which ply Long Island sound and run
from New York to most of the ports
along the lower New England coast
Features Of the agreement made last
March with Chairman Elliott and
New Haven attorneys which the bill
Is expected to follow are:
That tho New Haven be required to
divest itself Of control of the Boston
& Maine railroad; that it give up
holdings in the Connecticut e. Rhode
Island trolley lines and the Berkshire
trolley lines and it's minority interest
in the Eastern Steamship corporation.
There will be the customary plea for
an order requiring the New Haven to
dissolve and for a mandate to prevent
future combination Of similar char
acter.
President Hustis. A. T. Hadley, T.
Dewitt Cuyler and Moorefleld Storey.
counsel for the road were the COM
mittee that made the final effort to
settle the case without litigation but
their suggestions were not acccped.
In q statement issued at the close of
the day President Hustis plainly in
dicated that filing of the government
suit was expected.
The stumbling block in the nego-
tiations has been over the disposition
OF the Boston & Maine stock con-
trOllcd by the New Haven 1t was
agreed last March that it should he
sold.
Massachusetts, recently enacted leg
islation permitting its sale but with
the condition that each share sold
should bear q statement showing the
right OF the state tn purchase It, The
New Haven directors said they were
unable to accept this condition. indi-
eating that the stock would bring
SlO.OOO,OO0 less under n restricted
sale than one unrestricted. They sug-
gestcd that the department take the
matter into court and ask for n de-
cree To which thcv youII ocscnt li.
posing OF every issue but that of the
Boston & Maine. In the meantime
they proposed that this stock he
turned over to trustees who should
sell IL without the condition imposed
by Massac husetts. Attorney General
Nc cIteynolds did not like tho plan.
it W. said at the depart
ment that the March agreement pro-