New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-10
HAD TO EXPAND,
MELLEN EXPLAINS
New Haven Compelled to
Provide Expensive Ter
minals, He Testifies.
MORE BUSINESS
BECAME NECESSARY
Railroad Therefore Reached Out
for More Mileage-Many Com
plants from Government.

Q
~ was trying TO build up for New
England an efficient system Of trans
portation. never conspired In any
way, shape or manner"
Charles 8. Mellen, who has been a
government witness for more than
month In the trial Of eleven former d.
rectors Of the New Haven, repeated
yesterday, under cross-examination, his
motives in absorbing thousands Of miles
Of Independent railroads. Guided by an
occasioned question from Charles f..
Choate ne said:
at was my endeavor 10 secure sum
Gent mileage for the New Haven TO
carry the cost of terminals, which was
tremendous. With all the six or seven
thousand miles Of railroad that at the
time Of my retirement was in control
Of the New Haven. the average haul OF
a carload OF freight was only ninety
FIVE miles. For that movement we had
to provide expensive terminals to take
care Of a movement from perhaps Bos-
ton TO San Francisco. We could not
do that with short hsuls. The cost OF
the terminals had 10 be distributed
over large mileage. The pub
lie also demanded expansion. but for
every million we expended we had to
look for q return Of interest on the
principal.
THAT" continued Mellen, "was what
impelled the New maven to reach out
all the time for the control Of more
business.
There was no end in sight at the
time of my retirement" he added.
"Those expenditures had to be sup
ported and they had TO be the control
ling sources Of business.
Feared Another Line.
otherwise 1t might have been pos
sible, after we had expended on our
main trunk line the enormous amount
of money that was necessary, for spec
ulators to have built line from New
York to Boston and spoiled the whole
matter.
New England needs an efficient
transportation system almost beyond
any other section Of the country. Any
one looking Ut a map can see that 1t
is nothing more than great, central
terminal yard. There are great manu-
facturers there, and everything they
consume is brought from other sections
of the country and everything they pro-
duce is sent out. An equality OF rate
and cheapness OF raw material is alb
solutely necessary for the holding of
that industrial supremacy that New
England has so far enjoyed.
The defence, at the opening Of the
session, announced their intention OF
finishing the cross-examination Of Mr..
Mellen to-day. The ruling on Wednes-
day Of Judge Hunt, who permitted re-
ports Of the Massachusetts Railroad
board. BIZ which the New Haven direc-
tors assert they were guided in acts
Of expansion, to be placed in the rec
ords was again taken advantage of and
more reports were read to the jury.
Mr.. Mellen upon cross-examination
explained details OF the absortion
trolley and steamship lines. He assert
ed that chambers of commerce, boards
of trade, industr al organizations. cor
porations and individuals throughout
New England protested vigorously
when the road was forced to relinquish
its steamship lines. He told OF the
many complaints from the government
relative to the trolley holdings, and
added;
"At one time we considered the ad
visabil ty Of installing q duplicate set
of officers, one to run the road and tho
other to receive governmental com
plants"
New Haven's Share of Business.
Asked about New Haven control Of
railroads. Mellen declared that in eight
states in which the road operated the
road controlled about 81 per cent OF
the mileage, ~ ITO per cent Of the
tonnage and % $40 per cent OF the
passenger traffic. In New England. he
said, the mileage was "a 4-10 per cent,
the tonnage 70 per cent and the pas
senger traffic II $40 per cent. The
control Of trolley and electric lines. &C
cording 10 the witness, was IN c. ght
states II go per cent and in New
England 81 6-10 per cent.
Asked by Choate why mention OF the
steamship lines was omitted from the
so-called Bonaparte suit against the
New Haven during the Roosevelt adj
ministration, Mellen said:
"Mr. Roosevelt had somehow cor
ceived the idea that | overstepped in
TAX ng too much for granted as a re
suit of my talk with him on Charles
w. Morse's offer to buy our steamship
lines. | was naturally disturbed at the
idea Of such theory on Mr.. Roose-
velt's part, and | asked Herbert Knox
Smith to give me a memorandum on
just what was said at the Washington
interview"
"Was Mr.. Roosevelt pacified them"
Not completely" replied the witness.
1T is hard TO convince man Of some
thing about which he feels strongly.
Mr.. Roosevelt, ! believe, finally acGui-
esced in our holding those steamship
lines as the lesser of two evils. He was
unalterably opposed to Charles W.
Mnrcaie actiyifieen