Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1923-04-14
RAILROAD HEAD
OBJECTS TO FOUR
SYSTEM PLAN
Judge Lovett Says It Would
Strengthen the Hill
Group

San Francisco, Calf, April g.
consolidating all railways west OF
Chicago and the Mississippi river in
to four systems, as proposed recently
to the interstate commerce commits
sion, by Hale Holden, president of
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
railroad, would create many unnat-
ural alliances, and would greatly
strengthen the so-called Hill group
of railroads and greatly weaken the
so-called Hartman group" said
Judge Robert S. Lovett, chairman OF
the Union Pacific system, at today
hearing before Interstate Commerce
Commissioner Henry c. Hall. The
commissions tentative plan compris-
ing seven instead of four systems was
characterized as affording the basis
and ground work which should be
departed from only with great eau
ton, the Holden plan grouping the
Union Pacific with the Chicago, Mil
waukee & St. Paul, was strongly con-
demned, the witness explaining that
the commission's plan of placing the
Chicago & Northwestern with the
Union Pacific was the only logical
grouping; the Chicago, Milwaukee
& st. Paul being competitor and
the Chicago & Northwestern a con-
nection and natural ally.
Should the Hill lines merger be
approved, Judge Lovett said a re-
merger of the Hartman lines, Union
Pacific and Southern Pacific, should
be authorized to meet the strong
combination which would be effected
by the Great Northern, Northern Pa
cific and Burlington. The retention
of the Central Pacific by the South
ern Pacific with the same conditions
imposed by the commission in the
recent hearing as they protect with
reasonable adequacy, the rights OF
the Union Pacific" he said.
Continuing" he added, Another
striking effect of the way the Holden
plan treats the old Hartman system
appears when after assigning to the
Southern Pacific, the Rock Island, 1t
also puts with the Southern Pacific.
the Missouri Pacific and the Missouri
Kansas & Texas systems with which
the Southern Pacific does but little
business and with which it would
have occasion to do even less after
acquiring the Rock Island and also
the Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient,
which the press dispatches report
is about to be abandoned; the Mis-
souri,. Oklahoma and Gulf and half
interest in the Denver & Rio Grande
Western and the Denver & Satl Lake.
The latter feature is especially sig
nificant because it would, indeed, eff
fectually bottle up or as Prof. Ripley
expressed it., Short circuit The
Union Pacific since it would give the
Southern Pacific a line of its own
through from San Francisco to Chi
cago by way of ogden, both to Oma-
ha and Kansas City and parrallellng
also the lines alloeated to the Union
Pacific from Omaha to Chicago and
elsewhere east of the Missouri river.
'The plan is more kind to the
Santa Fe system; for it takes away
from the Union Pacific group where
the commissions tentative plan
places it, the Chicago & Northwest
ern, which in connection with the
Union Pacific is the door and gate
way for most of the competition out
of Chicago with the Santa Fe for
Pacific coast traffic and 1t turns 1t
over to the Santa Fe together with
the Chicago, st. Paul, Minneapolis
& Omaha which is the principal con-
nection and almost the sole reliance
of the Union Pacific for traffic COM
ing to its line at Omaha from st.
Paul Minneapolis and that territory
SIT gives to the Santa Fe, the Ca
madam Pacific controlled lines, the
Minneapolis, st. Paul & Sault st.
Marie and the Spokane International
thereby taking away another val
uable connection of the Union Pacific
at Spokane Thus the plan sends
the Santa Fe as far into the north
west as Spokane, Washington, by
going through Canada and stopping
short of Puget Sound. However, its
capacity for harm to the business
of other lines in the northwest
would not be great, for while al
most in sight of the promised land
Tacoma, Olympia, Port
land, it is given 40 entrance there
in but is held safely on the east
side of the Cascade mountains at
Spokane.
''The Santa Fe is also given the
st. Louis Southwestern, the Chicago
e Eastern Illinois, the New Orleans,
Texas & Mexico, the Western Pacific
and a half interest in the Denver &
Rio Grande Western, and the Denver
e Salt Lake. 1t takes away from the
Santa Fe, however, the Colorado &
Southern and the FIT. Worth & Dem
yer City, which the tentative plan
of the commission put with the San
Ia Fe consolidation and transfers
them to the group embracing the
Burlington and other strong He'll
lines.
Judge Lovett made it plain that
he had no objection to the commits
sion's authorizing a consolidation of
the Hill lines, but if that were done |
the commission should also authorize
the reconstruction of the Hartman |
Union and Southern Pa
meet the strong combina-
ton would be effected by the con-
solidation of the Hill lines.
"The Holden plan, however,
Judge Lovett declared, "does not
a consolidation of the
Union and Southern Pacific but in
stead weakens both by loading them
down with lines with which they
have no natural affiliations and
makes them competitive with their
natural allies, notable in the case OF
the Union Pacific by placing the Chi
,ago e Northwestern in rival