The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-05
Smiths Conference With Spencer On Dividing Roads of South Is
 Given At the Hearing
Continued from Page one)

gested to you, namely, that the South ern railway should not acquire property north of the Jellico-Harriman Junction. Chattanooga line; will not or cannot be adopted; that therefore we must proceed on the supposition at least that the Southern railway will be a direct com petitor with the Louisville and Nashville to and from various points on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
 T assume that the Memphis and Charleston road will have to be sold and that your company will be the only GUS toner at the sale, and I also assume that the Mobile and Birmingham road will sooner or later be disposed of in the same way, thus giving you control ot lines touching the Ohio and Mississipp! rivers at Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, GreenvilIe, Vicksburg, New Orleans and the Gulf at Mobile. Now, outside oi those roads there are number of lines only partially constructed and equipped that if not acquired by one system or the other may, in time, give one or both of us great deal of anxiety
 The record shows that MT. Smith asked MT. Spencer what should be done with the P. T. & A., the Tennessee Midland, the Decatur Chesapeake and New Or leans, the Chesapeake and Nashville, the Nashville and Knoxville, and the pro- posed Tennessee Central railroad; that MT. Spencer had replied he would be willing to treat the question as the Louisville and Nashville desired" Other roads discussed and what was said in- cluded the following:
 M. & B. TO L. & N.
 Mobile and Birmignham: NO possibil- ity of it going into our system
 MT. Spencer: Nevertheless it natural ly belongs to your system if it belongs anywhere"
 MT Smith Marietta and North Geor- gia Smith to Spencer: Tt is your meat if you want it for nobody else can use it.
 MT. Spencer: q will retire gracefully in your favor"
 East and Vest Ut does not make much difference what becomes of it.''
 Georgia Central. Both wanted control of this road
 Chattanooga Southern: q have always looked on it as worthless to us'' MT. Smith said, to which Mir Spencer replied:
 Tt is not worth anything to us.' MT Smith, however, thought it was a poten- tial threat of competition to the South ern by extension to Birmingham. If they could get party like Huntington, he was quoted as saying, presumably re- ferring to Collis P. Huntington, '.and Of fer to give hain the Chattanooga Southern and the East and West and show him lots of things around there that he could tie together and make a system of, some- body might put money in it..
 GIVEN FOR ASKING
 Kansas City. Memphis and Birming- ,t<., l. T can have it.
 MT. Smith: Macon and Birmingham: ''The Macon and Birmingham is dead, l think. for a long time to come" Mir. Spencer was quoted as saying. To this MT. Smith was quoted as repiyfng: Tt is one of those roads with a certain amount of vitality and certain power of position that make it necessary to watch it. If it should be ever sold at a reasonable figure, one at which it could take care of itself. we mfgnt nave some thingsto say about it.
 Atlanta and Florida. T would decline to have anything to do with it., MT. Spen- cer was quoted as saying. MT. Smith was quoted as asking what is going to become of it? Let it elSe out miserable existence?'' Yes MT. Spencer was quoted as replying, it has no terminals at Atlanta
 Georgia. Midland and Gulf-'They are struggling along" MT. Spencer said, ac- cording to the record. T have done nothing with it at all and have no inten- tion of doing anything
 ROAD IS TROUBLESOME
 Macon and Northern-''The Macon and Northern" MT. Spencer was quoted as saying, lis a thorn in our side because of it's connection with the Seaboard Air Line and Brown Brothers (of Baltimore) interest in both. Brown threatens to go in with the c. c. X N. and take that line to Macon all of which is another means of annoying us and possibly en- forcing terms of sale. If it is a question of who will get tired first I have faith in the other fellows getting tired first "
 There is another road there, the Jug Tavern road" MT Smith was quoted as saying, to which MT. Spencer replied.
 "Yes, it ought to be killed--narrow gauge. We do not want it unless you want it give it away with endowment fund added sufficient to take care of it for life.''
 A misunderstanding apparently arose as to what MT. Spencer had said at a pre- vious meeting with reference to disposing of the Central of Georgia railroads in terest in the Port Royal and Augusta and its interest in the lease of the Georgia.
 Not in the lease of the Georgia cor rected MT. Spencer
 That is the way l understood you, Mir. Smith replied But that you were not then prepared to say you would favor dlsposing of the Atlanta and West Point and Western railroads. If we were sure we get the interest of the Central in the Georgia I do not think we would want any road beyond Augusta
 The confereince terminated with this statement reputed to MT. Smith:
 T really think it would be to the ln- terest of the Central railroad and per haps to yours to turn the Georgia over to us. It would have mollifying ef- feet upon public opinion if that property were turned over to the Louisville and Nashville railroad.''
 Before discussing in detail plans con- corning individual roads, MT. Spencer was quoted as saying:
 PROPOSED AGREEMENT
 Suppose we put it this way: In Ten nessee west of Nashville, we would CO., operate with you in the way of control ling that territory. Between Nashville and Knoxvilla if we could not prevent new construction we would act Jointly upon some plan. neither of lis to promote new lines in there without the conci,r- renee of the other and should the local situation be such as to force action we would act together. In the territory south of the Memphis and Charleston and north of the Georgia Pacific and west of your main line you would cooperate with us in our controlling that situation against further competition.
 The document was admitted in evidence after MT. Smith spent nearly half an hour reading it through and upon objection of his counsel, which Chairman Never over ruled. After it had been filed. MT. Folk went into detail concerning the alleged effort made by the Louisville and Nash