The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-10
WALKER HINES AND
 THE NEW HAVEN
By HOLLAND

2 New York, February 9.-(Special.)-lf Walker D. SHines, who has succeeded William G. McAdoo, as director generai~ of the American railroad systems, were to find time to look into the record which tells of the experience of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad company and of the prosecution of that company by the department of justice for alleged violation of the antitrust law he would discover that some fea- lures of the proposition which he has laid before the interstate commerce com mittee of the Senate were precisely the features which caused the departmnt of justice to prosecute this railroad com pany. MT. Hines is reported as having recommended such reconstruction of the railway systems of the United States as would establish zones. For instance, he is quoted as having mentioned the New England railway systems and to have said, tentatively, that these might be mobiliZed or reorganized so as to make New England one of the contemplated zores within each of which the railroads are to be constituted as a single sys- tenn MT. Hines went so far. as to sug- gest a name for this zone. not calling it the New England zone, but the north eastern zone.
 Nearly 20 years ago the late J. P. Nor gar listened with interest to the propo- sition that the railways of New England sh ould be consolidated into a single sys- tenn Already the New Haven railroad company had secured several railroad corporations which heretofore were inde- pendent. MT. Morgan was quick to real ize the economic soundness of the propo- s.tion, believing that If there were ade- ouate governmental regulation and con l trol then a consolidated New England railroad system would be of benefit not only to the railroads, but also to ship pers and to communities Large and Va l rieG economics would be secured by the consolidation The traffic relations be- tween. New England and that part of the l co oUntry west of the Hudson and south of New York would be greatly facilitated With the intuitive judgment which char. acterized MT. Morgan he accepted this proposition as sound and he stood be- | hind President Melen, who undertook \ to perfect the plan. All that Mir Nor gan knew was that the plan If worked out would bring into single systen | the New England railroads and that the interstate commerce commission nigh | be relied upon to prevent any injus | tice. President Mellen was authorized tt ] go ahead and perhaps one of the req sons for the failure of the plan may bt traced to his impetuosity and zeal ant I possibly 10 somewhat imperious manner which characterized his efforts
 THE DEPARTMENT SAID NO
 The chief reason. however. for the fail ure of the plan was the action of thu | dc pa rtment of justice The New Havel | ce mpany was alleged to have viola tee foI1 rto +,tfac Tha dnno ortv, ar sought authority from the courts to tea the system into pieces, ultimately. re l stricting it to the original New Havel company with the extensions of tha lctnpany from New Haven to Boston When Howard Elliott became presiden he deemed 1t the better part to hold con feTerces with the department of justic with intent to avoid. if possible, ltiga tfon Those conferences resulted in proposition That the New Haven com pany part with some of the propertie it had secured and as President Elliot agreed to that proposition and late acted upon it the department refraine
 fro m further prosecution.
 Now precisely what Mir Morgan an
 his associates contemplated Director Ger,
 eral Hines earnestly recommends. If hi
 rs e n nn.endations are accepted New Enc
 land will become one of the zones an
 the New England railways will be em
 bodied in a single system. Mir. Morgan
 view will he vindicated The experience of the war seem to have taught govern
 r.ent officers the economic soundness (
 the principle which MT. Morgan accept ed. although because he and his assc c:ates did accept it they were prosecute or the railroad which they represente
 was prosecuted by the federal goverr 1 ment.