The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-21
Final Effort to Settle Prob lem Without Litigation
 Ends in Failure
CRIMINAL ACTION
 TO FOLLOW LATER
Proceedings May Determine Value of Sherman Law-Road Not Expect ed Strongly to Resist the
 First Suit

Washington. July 2O.-Civil suit to serarate the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad company from it's sub salary rail, trolley and steamship lines will be brought by Attorney General Me- Reynolds in the United States district court in New York within the next few days
 A final effort today to settle the prob lem without litigation ended in failure, although the Attorney General. T. W. Gregory, special assistant in charge of the case and a committee of New Haven directors were in conference many hours. The committee came to discuss the sale of the Boston and Maine stock owned by the New Haven. It desired this sale to be made free of conditions i'm posed by the state of Massachusetts, and is said to have declared that an uncon- ditional sale of the Boston and Maine stock would insure price Sl0,00e, GOO above what the New Haven might oth- erwise hope to get.
 Will Approve Course
 The New Haven case will be laid be- fore President Wilson and the cabinet tomorrow There IS little doubt that on the heels of the suit will come an effort to have a federal grand jury in New York return indictments against many di- rectors of the New Haven who served in the days wien it was building up a system which the Attorney General holds is combination in restraint of trade. Beth the civil and criminal actions will be taken under the sherman law. The ot tcome of these proceedings may deter mine of the value of the sherman law as criminal statute.
 To thc civil suit the New Haven is not expected to make any strong resist anee
 In the governments bill the New Haven will be charged with being q II onopoly in control of New England S tiarsl ortation. with being a combination in restraint of trade, and in violation of the sherman law. The department is expected to ask that the court separate the New Haven from the cid New Eng land railway acquired many years ago. The court also will be asked also to di- vorce the New Haven from it's so-called 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 Agreement
 Features of the agreement made last March with Charman Elliott and New Haven attorneys which the bill is ex- pected to follow are.
 That the New Haven be required to Givest itself of control of the Boston and Maine railroad; that ii give up.its hold gs in the Connecticut Rhode Island trolley lines, and the Berkshire trolley lines, and its minority interest in the caste m steamship corporation. There will be the customary plea for an order re- quring the New Haven to dissolve and for a mandate to prevent future com blnation of similar character.
 President Hustis,- A. T. Hadley T. Dewitt Cuyer and Moorfield 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 accepted In statement issued at the close of the day President Hustis plainly in dicated that filing of the government suit as expected.
 Stumbling Block
 The stumbling block in the negotia ticns has been over the disposition of the Boston and Maine stock controlled by the New Haven. 1t was agreed by both parties months ago that 1t should be sold. Massachusetts. always pos seSsed or the right 10 buy IL, recently I'll ctej lVgislation permitting its sale but on the condition that on each share sold this right be plainly set forth. The New Haven directors said they were unable to accept this condition They suggested that the department take the matter into court and ask for decree, to which they would as- sent, Gisposing of every issue but that of the Boston and Maine. In the mean time they proposed that this stock be turned over to trustees who should sell 1t without the condition imposed by Massachusetts. They indicated that it's unrestricted sale would mean s10,000,- 900 to the New Haven. Attorney Gen eral McReynolds did not like the plan Moreover it was said at the depart ment that the March agreement pro- yided for the sale of the Boston and Maine stock. but made no mention of conditions imposed by Massachusetts Department officials take the position
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