New Britain herald., 1916-11-20
HARTFORD TO NJ.
 LINE OBJECTIONABLE
May Be Included in Proceedings
 Against "NeW Haven" Road
Especial to the Herald)

Washington, Nov. 20.-The opposi- 1 pany continuing to operate the Sound steamboat lines is developing. Fol lowing the filing of brief by the de-
 partment of justice in opposition to the application of the New Haven railroad under the Panama canal act for permission to continue the opera tion of certain of it's water lines. Alexander Elder, an attorney for the interstate commerce commission, has filed with that body brief also in opposition to the New Haven's" ap- plication.
 MT. Elder, who has been identified with the investigation of the Sound lines and their control, enumerated five different decisions which the com mission might render upon the rail- roads application. However, he says in the brief:
 ''In view of the present record and the limited discretion granted to the commission under the law, only the second solution is open to the commits sion on the record as it now stands"
 This second solution is described substantially as follows:
 "The application of the petitioner railroad as to the nine lines of the New England Steamship company and the New York and Hartford Trans portatiOn company might be denied without qualification. It may be that the commission will make such find ings of fact that it will have no dis erection but to deny the application as to those lines.
 ,,1+h ho fo1 however, it appears that the existing through rail and Sound routes may for time at least be interrupted. At any rate it is the view of a great number of large New England ship pers that such result would neces- sarily follow at least temporarily.
 ''If the commission, however, is of the opinion that 1t has power to en- force joint rail and Sound rates and expeditions service over the rail lines of the petitioner in connection with independent boat lines, then it may be concluded that the complete di- vorcement of these nine boat lines will not even temporarily result in public inconvenience. A complete divorce ment of these water lines from the pe- titioner will at least assure a radical mprovement in the all rail service.'
 The department of justice in it's brief state that it did not care to be heard as to the question of the con- trol of the New Bedford, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, and Newport and Wickford steamboat lines now controlled by the New Ha- ven. However, the government, through the department of justice, does object to the continuance of the New Haven's control over the Fall River, New London, New Haven, Bridgeport and Providence steamboat lines and the line from New York to New Bedford operated through the New England Steamship company. These lines can be divorced from the railroad control, according to the brief, without great trouble, simply by selling the stock in them which New Haven interests own.
 The department also advocates the divorcement of the Hartford line the Merchants line, and the Bay State line from the railroad, which operates them through the Hartford and New York Transportation company, to Hartford, Bridgeport and Providence from New York. The governments brief declares that the Hartford and New York company was used by the New Haven people as fighting line" to crush out the competition of other steamboat lines operating in New England waters. The Hartford and New York company is said to be the successor to the old Joy line.