The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-12
OBJECTIONS FROM MIDWEST HE AR J
Delegations To Washington Fear Far-Reaching Distur-
 bance To Transportation

WASHINGTON. Jan. ll.-be beQerd plans for railroad consolidation were attacked before the interstate com merce commission today by Clyde M Reed, chairman of the Kansas util. tiles commission. Speaking not only for his state, but also as special rep resentative for St. Joseph and Kan sas City. Mo-; Omaha and Lincoln Nob, and Council Bluffs and Sioux City. la, he declared that the Mis- souri Valley residents were "sub- stantially unanimously opposed tc the wholesale consolidation of rail- roads,"
 Tt would involve" MT. Reed as- serted. the farthest reaching dis turbance of our transportation sit uation ever seriously proposed. Il would place control over wealth and hands than has ever been dreamed of," he added, "and its general de- sign of centering transportation ter minals in the west in and around Chicago would enforce the decline of all the market centers of the Mis- souri Valley.
 The general proposals Of the con so1idation scheme had the effect, MT. Reed concluded, "of tearing each and every terminal now existing on the Missouri river out by the roots and moving it 500 miles farther away from the producing regions.
 o O O
 Roads In Controversy.
 "The consideration and framing of the consolidation plan" he declared, had been carried on exclusively in the light of controversy between railroads as to what particular prop critics they will or will not be con- solidated with and the views of in dividual cities as to the effect of railroad disposition upon their own destiny. The larger public interests of regions and marketing areas" he contended. would lose by adjust ments made in any such limited man ner. So far as the consolidation policy being the road away from government ownership" MT. Reed continued, I've believe it may prove to be the direct route to that end. Suppose after all this tremendous sand separate railroads operating in the United States had been forced into 19 billion-dollar corporations, one of them should be unsuccessful and fail to pay it's way. In such circumstances there is but one agency able to take over and handle system of that size-the govern ment itself.
 Equal Price To All.
 Consolidation is not the only an- sWer to the problem of weak lines Our transportation policy has under taken to make all railroads sell their service a the same price. Why not change this and allow the weaker roads to sell their service at a price having some relation to that service. This system has been forced on the Kansas City. Mexico & Orient for year And the commerce commission mas power to give such lines a larger proportion of joint earnings on through traffic.
 Railway traffic managers are thoroughly human. This ccnsolida- tion plan attempts to terminate every railway system at Chicago. With it Tn effect every interest of every road would tend to force the move ment of traffic clear through to the ends of each system. The greatest congestion of traffic known to our country would be around the south ern end of Lake Michigan"
 The larger existing transportation systems of the country have reached tteir present size by natural growth, MT. Reed said, contending that this should be allowed to continue rather than to depart governmentally upon an unnatural and unnecessary and dangerous Jumbling." As +o f'ne \, Nr Pa T 7as.AnI 1'