The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-24
Nv HOLLAND

New York, September 2S.-(Special) E. H. Hartman at the time when he was contemplating the extension of the Union Pacific system to the At Iantic coast said to one of the bankers upon whom he relied for financial aid that to quote hit words. If they will let me alone. l will take the Erie rail road and so handle it that within five years it will be paying dividends upoh it's common stock" If MT. Harrimal could bring the bankrupted Unloi' Pacific up to a high dividend paying basis in a few years the reasons are excellent for believing that he coult have done the same thing for the Erie
 Now the obstacle to which Mir liar riman referred when he said that Il they would let him alone he would make the Erie a dividend paying stock in a few years is removed. And thls is very likely one of the reasons, Il not, the chief reason, why the Della ware, Lackawanna and Western rail road management is contemplating eX mansion and improvement which may include the Erie railroad, probably tho Wabash system and possibly the NickIe Plate.
 Of course the combinatio ana unifications of railway systems of the kind understood to be in contemplation by the Lackawanna management mean much to the leaders in the financia' world as also there nfay be much meaning for the people. But for the moment the most. significant feature of this contemplated combination IS the fact that it will reveal almost dramatically certainly strlkingly change in the attitude of the govern ment and back of that in the view or the people so far as railroad com binations are concerned. The war taught the government a lesson as it did the people, so that now the gov ernment is disposed to favor railroad combination under proper government regulation. In fact the United States director of the American railroads warmly advised before he retired from his office the formation of zones and districts and the combination Of rall- roads under adequate government regulation within these districts. Five years ago President Truesdale and his associates in the Lackawanna would not have deemed it possible that the governments attitude towards con- binations would be so changed that combinations instead or being pro hibited would if reasonably perfected be favored by the government.
 w S. Jenney, who is vice president and also general counsel of the Backa- wanna, admitted in the application made by the company for permission to declare a stock dividend of hun dred per cent, that it is the desire or the company to extend and improve it's lines of railroad by acquisition of or consolidation with other lines. MT Jenney would not have dared to make a statemElt of that kind to the inter state commerce commission five years ago. He probably ventures to make 1t now because he presumes that the interstate commerce commission will give it's approval to reasonable plans.
 Many are the conjectures which refer to the purpose of the Lacka- wanna management to extend and inn prove it's lines by acquisition of or consolidate with other lines. One Of these conjectures brings the Erie rail road under consideration This railroad is a parallel and competing line with the Lackawanna from New York to Buffalo. The ablest of our railroad manages have for years believed that the opportunities for the Erie railroad were very great, but only once has there been suggestion of consolidation of it with another railroad. That was at the time when Mir. Hartman had Tn