Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-21
RAILWAY MERGE
WOULD |MPER|L
STATE SERVICE:
Lack of Competition to
Follow Consolidation
of Western Hill Roads
Montana Shippers Face
Severe Handicap if
I.C.C. Rule Goes Over

Washington, Nov. 20.-Compe-
tition between railroads In tine
northwest would in reality be de-
creased. If the |. C. c. should pro-
ceed with its tentative plan of
consolidating the Great Northern
and the Chicago, Milwaukee and
ST. Paul. Ralph Budd, president
of. the Great Northern testified
Monday at the continued hearing
before the com mission on the sub
ject.
Elimination of existing competi-
tive conditions would be marked
particularly he said, i'm Montana
and at the head of the Great
lakes
In Montana, Mr. Budd declared a
conjunction of the st. Paul and the
Great Northern through mountainous
areas would result in making it practi-
cally impossible for that territory to
ever obtain other railroad service be
cause the great distances and the ex-
pensive construction necessary would
prevent other railroads from entering
that field.
Ore Carries
At Duluth. he said. the commission
10 merge the present ore ear
rying railroads. the Duluth, Missabe
and Northern, and the Duluth and Iron
Range into the Great Northern-St.
Paul system This would leave the
territory concerned almost completely
outside of the scope of other railroads,
Budd contended adding that the fac
tors indicated that the tentative plan
of the commission insofar as it af
fected the railroad concerned, had not
fitted into the design of the transpor-
tation act which required maintenance
of competitive conditions in carrying
out general consolidation of railroads
THE project is so injurious to the
interests of the Great Northern that
voluntary action of that company $
in compliance with the
suggested could be ex-
oected," Mr.. Budd said. Indeed the
plan itself sets up plan OF motives
which would actuate them TO oppose
t."
Budd suggested that if the I. c. C.
considered it desirable to split up the
present Hill group of railroads. which
Includes the Northern Pacific and the
Chicago. Burlington and Quincy. as
we'll as the Great Northern. the North
,rn Pacific should be taken out and
oined TO the Chicago, Milwaukee and
st. Paul.
One System
He opposed, however. any Separa-
ion of the three and argued for the
of their present asSOcia-
ion and their unification into one
system.
Louis \. Hill, chairman of the board
# Great Northern directors, told of
IN instance which Illustrated, he said.
he close association of the Burlington
ind Great Northern operations and
which included the difficulties of any
attempt now to consider equitable sep
tration.
Prior to the Burlington purchase
" the Northern Pacific and Great
Northern" he said ''the Great North
,rn made some investigations at con-
siderable expense into coal land loca-
ions in Illinois and took options upon
/ considerable amount of property in
order to assure the road coal sup
NY When the Burlington was pur-
.hased my father tJames !. HID
urned over the entire record of the
work and the options to the Rurling-
on, which itself exercised some of
hem"
In my judgment the interests of
he west and its expansion will best
,e served by maintaining the close as
which now exists between the
hree roads and the Colorado and
southern along with them. An even
reater unifieation in their operations
vill be justified