Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-10-20

ris Mcdonald of the Maine Central
Railroad said that this proposition OF
consolidation of railroads, did not
originate with the railroads. but
with Congress. He did not come 10
the meeting with any apologies for
the Maine Central. 1t had had hard
luck, had met it, and kept going.
He was going to talk entirely about
the consolidation proposition.
The Interstate commerce com,
mission, he said, had been instructed
/ by Congress, to submit plan where
by 179 units would be put together
inf 20 units, and if some one could
tell him how that was going TO pc
done without somebody's losing his
individuality, he would appreciate IL.
The Maine Central railroad had no
quarrel with the Bangor d ARGOS
took or the Boston & Aain&e or any
body else. We want. said Mr.. NC,
Donald that arrangement which VIII
give us the best service and enaole
us to best serve the State OF Maine.
The Maine Central plan was put to-
cether from the Maine Central view
point to give the best service ana
best results to Maine.
N0o0 FJUQSOH
We want a Hudson river gateway.
, said Mr.. Mcdonald. The New Haven
has it and SO does the Boston ana
Maine, why shouldn't we! Ine
Maine Central railroad Is owned al
| most entirely in Maine. and its dl-
rectorate Is made up of Maine men.
Bangor and Aroostook stock is owned
| entirely/outside of New England, and
Boston and Maine stock outside of
| Maine.
President Hustis says that we can't
! take the w. n. e. P, because the
Boston and Maine won't sell. Years
ago, when the Boston and Maine
| owned the Maine Central stock and
! we talked Of taking it back, they said
4 the same thing but we took it back.
Why? They wanted money. They
want money now.
| In the w. N & P, Mr.. Hustis has
! 40 miles of railroad, which he
| doesn't use enough to keep the rails
| from getting rusty. 1t seems to me,
| smiled Mr.. Mcdonald. that it would
! be pretty good business for him, II
; he can get rid if that 140 mile stretch
and still handle the same business on
his present fine two lines to Boston.
! Mr.. Mcdonald said that since the
| Maine Central plan was put forward
| it had been attacked by newspapers
and by financial papers; that this
| had been expected that the Boston
| bankers were interested in the finan-
cial papers, and so the propaganda
went out.
Freight Traffic Delays
| Referring to President Hustis' re-
marks concerning freight traffic de-
! lays, President Mcdonald said that
until three or four weeks ago, he had
never seen a maximum of 500 loads
of freight per day each way move out
! of Portland in "a hours. In the past
few weeks. this had been done,
Somebody, ne thought, had evidently
| said something to Mr.. Hustis. In
| his judgement, the Boston and Maine
! could handle six to eight hundred
| loaded cars per day, in and out of
Portland each way. if it wanted to.
| He said that this problem which
| the inter-S state commission had was
| to make an arrangement of roads
| into groups in accordance with the
order which Congress had given him.
I The Maine Central had put forward
! its plan as the one which it believes
| would most benefit Maine. 1t was no
| use to argue that consolidation of the
roads could not he affected. The
government did it in night, and said
Mr.. Mcdonald, with a little time We
can do it.
President Mcdonald took sharp is
sue with President Hustis of the Bos-
ton and Maine on the matter Of
whether the railroads could be con-
solidated or not. saving that the
government Joined all the railroads
together into one system in a night,
and he guessed that if they got to
work the railroads and the govern
ment could affect its consolidation
program. President Hustis had said
the Worcester, Nashua and Portland
division could not be taken from the
p. and NJ. and joined to the Maine
Central. Mr.. Mcdonald replied that
the Boston and Maine said the same
things years ago. when it owned the
controlling interest in the Maine Cen
trail but it was done.