New Britain herald., 1926-03-03
Sponsors To Go For ward With Plans, Be- ing Guided By Decis- ion of l. (. (. For- bidding Van Swerin- gen Program.
In Meantime Defeated Rail Interests Are Said to Be Already Planning New Unification Policy.

New York, March tPl-Pending railroad mergers, other than those intricately tied up with the pro- posed Nickel Plate consolidation. will not be deterred by the adverse decision Of the interstate commerce commission against the Van Sweringens' projected combination. their sponsors asserted today.
 Plans to Go Forward
 Plans which already are well ad. vanced for the new Loree system in the southwest. embracing the Kansas City Southern, Missouri. Texas and St. Louis-South- western railroads, and another for linking the St. Louis-San Francisco and Rock Island lines, will be car ried forward as rapidly as possible. Other suggested mergers in the south and east, which are in a more tentative stage also will proceed along lines originally contemplated.
 Welcoming the Nickel Plate de- cision as clearing the atmosphere surrounding the general consolida- 1 tton problem, railroad and banking l interests, apart from the Van Sweringen group, said that the com missions ruling would guide rather ! than hinder them in formulating their own merger plans.
 At the same time evidence ac- cumulated in Wall street that q new ! financial structure for the proposed Nickel Plate unitiCltton would rise upon the ruins of the plan reflected by the interstate commerce commits sion.
 Now Nickel Plate Plans Nickel Plate interests will en. dcavoIe to worE out a new merger plan to meet the terms of the inter state commerce commission decision, in the opinion of F. N. Brown. chair man of the Pere Marquette railway. one of the roads in the proposed consolidation.
 "l have had no information as 10 what Nickel Plate will do," Mir Brown said today. but 1 suppose an entirely new plan will have to be presented to meet the interestate commerce requirements. An amend cd petition probably would not be sufficient but much of the detail re- quired in the original application
 will not have to be represented. The interstate commerce commission de-
 cision came as a surprise to most
 people.
 Morgan X Co. Silent
 J. P. Morgan X Co. financial ad-
 Nlsers of the Van Sweringens main . tained their silence regarding plans
 Tor rccaSting the financial structure Of the merger but the impression |, prevailed in quarters close to the :. Cleveland rail magnates that be . tween S2,000,000 and SS,000. .OOr , which has been spent in draftins
 the plan would not be allowed to gC , for nought, The final decision vii
 await a conference of the Var Swcringcns with their counsel Rn, , bankers.
 l In the long run. it was indicated o the commissions ruling might cx pedite the combination of the road, r involved since the determined op Il position Of the Chesapeake an, s Ohio minority stockholders oHc il terms would probably have resulte. n in Q prolonged court contest had tn l, merger been approved. It was gen = orally conceded, however, that Y serious setback had been given { s merger plans in the eastern trun V line territory which had accepte n the proposed Nickel Plate syste,
 as one of tho "big four"
 Directors of the Pcre MarQuetl
 railroad met today and declared tl regular quarterly dividends of p, cent on the common and 1-4 ?,
 cent each on the prior preferred au
 tpretcrrcd stocks.
 ls' In view of tho interstate con II, merce commissions rejection Of q U" original nickel plate" merger plan
 1t was announced that speci
 meeting Of the Pore Marquei - board will hc cnllrd within the ne m few days to consider the questit D. Of taking special dividend actio nd The board iid not feel free to CO ". sidcr any change in the regub
 dividend rates when inc nick rH plate" plan was p'nding before tl id commission,
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