The Washington times., 1923-06-23
HARDING FINDS
WEST COl]DON
RAIL MERGER
Excites No Enthusiasm in Exc
pounding Plan to Kansas
City Audience.
CONTINUED from First Page)

Continued from First rage
he was going to ask the stronger
roads and their stockholders to do II.
Not one tinisst tap of applause
greeted any part Of the Presidents
lengthy discussion Of consolidation
in his speech here. His remarks
previous to that discussion were sew.
eral times applauded. So were his
remarks subsequent to it. Console
dation, however, left this friendly au-
dience frigidly silent ,or-as the case
may be-swelteringlY uninterested.
Vivid interest, nevertheless, Is dis
played and expressed in railroad con.
solidation by the business commit
nifty of this region during business
hours. The subject Is recognized to
be one of critical national import
ance; and against the President ana
against his argument there will come
from this region a most determined
national appeal.
1t will be based apparently on two
general lines Of reasoning.
The first is that consolidation IL
a scheme by which the well consid-
cred efforts Of certain citizens to-
ward making good railroads are to
be confiscated in order to support
the ill-considered efforts Of certain
other citizens toward making poor
railroads. Every informed business
man in Kansas City knows of In
stances in which railroads have
been built through districts here
which already had as much trans-
portation as they could support. He
knows of other instances in which
they have been built through dis
tricts which had no justified claim
to any railroad transportation at
Ill.
He notices now that In the Inter
state Commerce Commissions con.
solidation proposals these weak and
ailing sisters, instead of being al.
lowed to follow the course Of nature
to the grave, are scheduled to be
married off to healthy and hearty
railroads which will have to sup
port them in a luxury to which
they have not been accustomed and
in return for which they will cook
no meals.
Contrary to Justice.
In specific instance here IL Is
shown that the Interstate Com
merce Commissions proposals would
oblige a certain strong railroad to
take the money which it is spend
ing in improving it's useful line and
devote it to paying interest and
dividends on the useless trackage or
certain weak line.
Such results are held to be con-
trary not only to justice but TO
service. The weak lines. 1t Is held,
should be obliged to justify their
existence and should not be carrietl
, to asolvency without service.
1t is argued that to hitch a horse
to a tortoise does not mean tnat
the two will necessarily travel at
the speed of the horse.
In the next place it is denied that
consolidation necessarily means
more efficiency in management. It
is pointed out that nowadays in
business the smaller unit is NOT
only holding its own but is making
Roadway against the larger aggre-
cation.
The case of the packers is cited:
to be gaining on the larger pack
ers. The theory of increased eff
cheney through mere increased size
Is held tosbe at least five years
dead.
Must Modify Views.
A certain railroad system here is
doing very well with a terminal
here and a terminal on the Gulf of
Mexico. The men who manage 1t
live here and know this region.
They know it and are interested in
developing it. The Interstate Com
merce Commissions proposals would
sink this lively immediate local
skill into a vast impersonal un-
focused vision with a terminal at
Chicago, a terminal out West at
Pueblo, Colo. terminal out South
west at Ell Paso. Tex, and ter
minal eastward and southwark 1T
New Orleans
It is denied that the man who
should try to manage any such
variety of localities and interests
/ could ever sympathetically and sue
cessfully do the best that could be
done for any one of them.
It is claimed. in other words,
that consolidation is an approach
to the remoteness and woodenness
of Government ownership. It is
claimed also that it is an approach
to the readiness with which Gov.
eminent ownership would keep weak
and unnecessary traekage in exist
ence at the expense of needed and
serviceable trackage.
On those two arguments the anti
consolidation sentiment Of this re-
gion will go to the public judgment
of the country against President
Harding and will confidently hope
to bring him to modification OF
his views.
Copyright Washington Press Service)