Evening star., 1923-09-24
COMPULSORY RAIL
MERGER PROPOSALS
ABANDONED BY US.
Firm Opposition in Congress
Causes Cummins to Drop
Fight for New Law.
VOLUNTARY MERGER ACT
MAY BE SOUGHT NOW
Commission, at Work Two Years,
May Not Complete Survey
for Government.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.


Compulsory consolidation of the
railroads of the United States into
limited number of systems, but pre-
serving competition as far as prac-
ticabie, as contemplated in the rail-
road act of 1920, has been abandoned
for many years. at least.
That the incoming Congress be-
lieves railroad legislation one of the
principal issues on which the people
demand action is shown by a canvas
of the entire memb mbership of the new
Congress. A large number of SEN
ators and representatives have re-
ported serious dissatisfaction among
their constituents over the provision
which Senator Albert w. Cummins of
Iowa had inserted in the railway act
of which he was one-of the authors,
directing the Interstate Commerce
Commission to prepare a plan for
| consolidation of the railroad prop
critics.
.Cummins Drops PInn.
With the Interstate Commerce Com
mission opening hearings in Boston
today on railroad consolidation plans
| affecting the New England carriers.
1t became known that Senator Cum
Minis. who is chairman of the Senate
| committee on interstate commerce,
| which has jurisdiction over railroad
| legislation, and who has been a
| pioneer worker in Congress for rail-
road consolidation, has abandoned his
plan to ask the next Congress to give
afSC fnra ~ fy,Sa ar
| feet whatever program of consolida-
tion II finally agrees upon as best
/ Senator Cummins now intends to
! Introduce a. measure which would es-
tablish period of years during which
| voluntary consolidation could be ef-
! fected by railroads, subject to the
| approval of the commission. He says
he will ask Congress to provide that
! during this period no definite plans
| for consolidation throughout the
country shall be required or promul-
gated. This means that the work of
| the commission on consolidation
plans. on which 1t has been at work
| for two years, may not be published, j,
or even finished. 1t is probable, how
| ever. that the commission will have
it's plans drafted for publication be-
| fore Congress can act upon the new
! Cummfns' proposal In any event,
| the time and expense that the COM
mission has put into this work will
l
edge obtained would be of value in
passing upon voluntary consultations
as now proposed by Senator Cummins.
Coolidge without Plan.
The fact that President Coolidge
said recently that his attitude on
railroad legislation would be guided
largely by the advice of Senator
| Cummins adds to the Importance of
! this new decision by Senator Cum
minis.
Not long before the death of Pres
ident Harding Senator Cummins said
! he would ask the next Congress to
give the Interstate Commerce Com
! mission power TO put its consolida-
/ tion plans into effect. President
! Harding announced his readiness to
! support Senator Cummins, who then
| intended to have hearings before his
! committee, even before the next Con-
| gress assembled.
! Compulsory consolidation, however
has not caught popular favor. Aside
! from the legal questions and problems
| involved, 1t is such a complicated
proposition that the general public
! has displayed little interest in it.
while railroad officials, bankers. ship
pers and others who have studied the
! question closely are not, for the most
part, enthusiastic about it as a gen.
eral proposition.
| Consolidation Voluntary.
The change of mind by Senator
Cummins means that no compulsory
railroad consolidation legislation will
| be attempted in the next Congress,
or. for q long time ahead, makes 1t
pretty certain that any consolidation
| In the next few years will be volun-
| tary. Even IL Senator Cummins
should support a measure in the next
Congress to give the Interstate Com
merce Commission power to enforce q
consolidation program, as he until
recently planned, 1t is extremely
doubtful If such legislation would
pass, SO strong is the sentiment in
| Congress against such course, as
| shown by the survey just made.
| Replying to a direct question as to
| whether he believes the Interstate
Commerce Commission should be Civ
| en- power by Congress to put into ef-
feet its consolidation plans, Senator
| Cummins said:
/ troduce a bill for the amendment OF
that part of the transportation act OF
1890 which relates to the consolida-
1 ton of railroad properties. One oi
1.-THE features of that amendment will
probably be that during the period
allowed for voluntary consolidation
| no. definite plan for consultations
| throughout the country shall be re.
uuired or promulgated, but that dur
ling that period all consultations
proposed by the railroads shall be
subject to the approval of the Inter.
state Commerce Commission"