Middletown transcript., 1915-12-04
GReBIIAlI..L. E.Ill!.If. II ].
BgGL0Rd[, RANDOLPH dIESTTR.
and / LILLIAN CHESTER
!. |SsEss5ss% sEEss.Ss g, ILLUSTRATED @-clR1oDEs
coaaasAnQY Il

the table, and stToked his round chin
refiectively. There would be sdme
disorganization, and perhaps financial
disorder, in the first two years., he
considered; "but the railroads are al
ready harassed too much by the koY.
ernment to thrive under competition,
and, in the end, believe this proposed
Capitalization would be the best thing
for the interests of the country"
wherein Chisholm displayed thst esfe
was vestryman of Market Square
church wherever he went.
What is your proposition?" asked
Grandin, who, because of the selGas-
sertion necessitated by his diminutive
size, seemed pompous. but was not No
pompqus man could have merged the
wood, coal and oil interests, and. hav-
ing merged them, swung them over
his own shoulder.
Allison's answer consisted Of one
word.
Consolidation" he said.
There was a moment Of silence.
while these men absorbed that simple
idea, and glanced speculatively, not at
Allison, but at each other. They were
kings, these heads of mighty corpora
tions, whose emissaries carried their
soyereignties into the farthest corners
Of the earth. Like friendly kings, they
had helped each other in the prptec-
tion of their several domains; but this
was another matter.
That's large proposition, Ed"
stated Vance, very thoughtfully. All
sense Of levity had gone from this
meeting. They had come, as they
thought, to promote large mutual In
terest, but not to weld Frankenatein.
Il did not understand your projee 1t to
be SO comprehensive. fancied your
idea to be that the various companies
represented here, with Chisholm as
financial controller. should take mu-
! tual interest in the support of the At
lantic-Pacific, for the purpose of con-
solidating the railroad interests cf the
country under one management, there
by serving our own transportation
needs"
Very well put, Vance approved
Taylor, smoothing his pointed mus
tache.
THAT is mere logical development
of the railroad situation" returned AL
lison. IF had not cemented this di-
rect route, someone would have made
the consolidation you mention within
ten years, for the entire railroad stu
alton has been disorganized sine the
death of three big men in that field;
and the scattered holdings would be,
and are, an easy prey for anyone vital
ly interested enough to invade the in
dustry. l have no such minor propo-
sition in mind. l propose, with the
Atlantic-Pacif1c as nucleus, to, first,
as have said, bring the financial ter
minals of every mile of railroad In the
United States into one central office
With this l then propose to combine
the National Dairy Products conaoIida-
ton, the Standard Cereal company,
the Amalgamated Metals Constructive
company, the Union Fuel, American
Textiles, the United States Supplies,
and the stupendous financial interests
swayed by the banks tributary TO the
Majestic Trust company. l propose to
weld these gigantic concerns into one
corporation, which shall be the might
est orgt ization the world has ever
known. Beginning with the control of
transportation, it will control all food,
all apparel, all construction materials,
all fuel. From the shoes on his feet
to the roof over his head, every man
In the United States of America, from
laborer to president shall pay tribute
to the International Transportation
company. Gentlemen, If L have
dreamed big, it is because have dealt
with men who deal only in large
dreams. What l propose is an empire
greater than that ever swayed Ny any
monarch in history. We eight men,
who are here in this room, can build
that empire with a scratch Of pen,
and can hold 1t against the assaults
of the world"
His voice rang as he finished, and
Babbitt looked at him in wonder. Al
lison had always been a strong man,
but new, in this second youth, lie was
an Antaeus springing fresh from the
earth. There was a moments lull, and
then a nasal voice drawled into the
silence.
Allison" it was the voice of old
Joseph G. Clark, who had built the
Standard Cereal company out pf one
wheat elevator; "who is to be the mon
arch Of your new empire"
For just moment Allison looked
about him. Vastly different as these
men were, from the full-beardeh Hav-
erman to the smooth-shaven old Jo-
seph G. Clark, there was some pne ex-
preston which was the same id every