The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-07-08

with its long swing to the South to
Galveston and New Orleans, to COM
pete successfully on any substantial
amount of transcontinental business
except that to and from southern
California. And as to that business,
the position of the Southern Pacific
has already been weakened since
1914 by the opening of the Panama
Canal and the entry of the Union
Pacific into Los Angeles.
The best interests of California
imperatively require that the South
ern Pacific be kept in a strong
position. Southern California needs
the continued help of the Southern
Pacific in maintaining at heavy
annual loss, the wonderful system
of the Pacific Electric. All of
California, north, central and south
requires that this railroad be kept
in a position to compete strongly
on local and transcontinental traffic.
Effect on Competition
The Transportation Act expressly
provides that in formulating the
plan of railroad consolidation into a
limited number of systems, which
it is made the duty of the Inter
state Commerce Commission to pre-
pare.
Competition shall be preserved
as fully as possible and wher-
ever practicable the existing
routes and channels of trade
ard commerce shall be MAIN
tanned.
The interests of the people of
California and the Pacific coast
are obviously in exact accord with
the national policy thus established
by Congress in demanding that the
railroad consultations shall have a
number of strong railroad systems
able to compete with one another
on terms of substantial equality.
The Railroad Commission of Cali
fornia said in 1913 that the tearing
of the Central Pacific properties
| from the Southern Pacific and their
acquisition by the Union Pacific
Railroad Company-the only pos.
sible purchaser-wouid not only
seriously impair the Southern Pa
cific but also would give to the
Union Pacific dominant position IN
the transportation of the Pacific
coast. That statement is even more
true today.
The acquisition of the Central
Pacific by the Union Pacific would
give to the Union Pacific a position
of overwhelming strength which
would prevent competition on terms
of equality with the Santa .Fe,
The Western Pacific and what would
be left of the Southern Pacific. The
best interests of Nevada and Cali
fornia require that all of these three
railroads be kept strong, with a
fair chance to compete.
Instead of having the Union Pa
cific at Portland the Union Pacific
at San Francisco and the Union Pa
cific at Los Angeles, it will be far
better for the people of California
and the Pacific coast to keep the
Southern Pacific in a strong position
to compete on transcontinental bust
ness through the Ogden gateway.
We may assume that this is one
of the pricipal reasons why the In
terstate Commerce Commission, in
promulgating it tentative plan" of
railroad consolidation on August
8, 1921, dearted from Professor
Ripley's recommendation that the
Central Pacific be torn away from
the Southern Pacific and given to
the Union Pacific, and left the
Central Pacific with the Southern
Pacific, where it has been all these
years.
Conclusion
The dismemberment of the South
ern Pacific would not only be unjust
and inequitable from the point of
that company, but would also be a
calamity from the point of view
of the people of Nevada and Cali
fornia. The press, all civic and COM
mercial organizations and every pub
lie agency in the state should unite in