The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-11-26
railroads. POOL
FULLY ENDORSED
U. S. Supports Unitication as
War Move.
TO Be NO PROSECUTIONS
Drastic Curtailment of Passenger
Traffic in General Is Contempt lated.
Tourist Trains Doomed.

OurlSt rains doomed.
Washington, Nov. 26.-Unification
of railroad operations east of Chicago,
although tending directly to eliminate
competition by the carriers, will be &C
complished with the approval OF the
government.
1t was learned authoritatively that
railroad executives had given consid-
GRAFTON to the question OF legal pro-
cedu~e before they determined upon
the broad measures announced S1tur-
day and that they proceeded with the
assurance that they would h We the
full support and cooperation Of gov.
eminent officials.
The presence of Comm : SIS oner
Clark. Of the interstate commerce
commission at the conference IF the
railroad chiefs and federal officials
was not to signify that the commits.
sion intends to interpose any legal
technicalities to the plans of the roads
for maximum efficiency as war
ure Commissioner Clark attended
purely as a connecting link between
the roads and the commission, it was
stated.
"The best evidence that the roads
are not afraid of government prose
cution under antitrust acts seems to
be the action they have taken" said
a high government official. Railroad
men are not apt to rush into this sort
of thing without inquiring further
than the surface"
Railroad executives composing the
railroads war board will meet today
to work out the vast details resultant
from the decision to operate all lines
east of Chicago as a unit. Headquar-
tiers of nearly all the big lines virtu-
ally win be moved to Washington.
The railroad chiefs will be concern.
ed with two new problems in addition
to the enormous amount OF work es-
sential to plans already formulated.
Chief of these will be the further ex-
tent to which passenger traffic is to
be curtaied. and the other will be
the expected protests Of certain class
es of shippers, who, placing their own
interests above those Of the nation,
may desire to prevent natural inter-
ference with their shipping.
None of the railroad chiefs or their
advisers who remain in Washington
would discuss the prospects with re-
spect to passenger service, beyond
stating that this question will be taken
up here this week.
It was made clear, however, that the
travelling public in the United States
will be called upon to make sacrifices.
While the railroads will not interfere
with essential passenger traffic, 1t Is
certain that a drastic curtailment or
passenger traffic in general is con-
templated. Public attention will be
directed to the fact that in Englar;i
passenger traffic has been cut DOVE
80 per cent. In France the curtailment
Is even greater, while in Germany and
other countries the travelling public
is required to submit entirely to the
wishes of the governments and to ride
when trains are not needed for troop
movements.
One of the first results of the rail-
roads plans, it is said, will be the
disappearance Ol SEE AlucllCd uISI
campaigns by railroads, as tourist
trains and others devoted entirely to
pleasure traffic will be eliminated.
Consolidation Of competing trains
and the common use of terminals are
considered absolutely essential, and
the most direct routes, regardless of
rail ownership, will be used. Running
schedules will be heightened to pro-
mote punctuality, especially during
the winter months, decentralization of
traffic would result from trains fail
ing to keep their schudles.
The natural outgrowth of train con-
solidation would be a revision by the
postofice department of mail train
schedules, especially from and to Phil
adelphia, New York, Chicago and
other large cities, where the present
practice is to get mail out at the
first opportunity.