Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-22
DEMOCRATS SEE
FLAW IN RAILWAY
UN|F|CAT|ON PLAN
Failure to Provide Through
Pacific and Atlantic Coasts
Line Hit in Senate.
u. S. TRANSPORTATION
MAP IS RESHAPED
Interstate Commissions Program
for Congress Provides 10
Competing Units.
~ the Associated Press.

Sy the Associated Press.
Consolidation of steam railroads into
10 competing units that would radically
reshape the Nations transportation map
was outlined by the Interstate Com
merce Commission yesterday in its long
awaited unification program, drawn at
the direction of Congress.
Five of these systems would be in the
East outside of New England, two would
be in New England, three in the South
and the other nine in the West.
The Pennsylvania. the Baltimore &
Ohio, the Chesapeake g. Ohio, the New
York Central and the Wabash would
be the key systems in the East. In
New England the Boston & Maine and
the New Haven would be the dominant
reads, while in the South the Atlantic
Coast Line, the Southern and the
Illinois Central would head the major
systems.
The other key lines would be the
Great North-Northern Pacific systems,
the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and
Pacific, the Burlington, the Union Pa
c1f1c, the Southern Pacific, the Santa
Ft, the Missouri Pacific, the Rock
Island and the Chicago and North
Western.
Immediately brought to the attention
OF Congress, the plan was aSSailed from
the Democratic side of the Senate for
its failure to provide through trans
continental lines connecting the Pacific
and Atlantic coasts.
Additional Law Question.
The question was also raised at the
Capitol whether additional legislation
Is required to empower the commission
to carry out its consolidation scheme.
Senator FesS of Ohio, the author of
compulsory consolidation bill now be-
fore the Senate interstate commerce
committee, planned an early conference
with members of the commission to
determine their wishes on legislation.
Senator Watson of Indiana, the Re-
publican leader and a former chairman
nf the interstate commerce committee,
expressed the conviction that the addi-
tional legislation would be required and
he proposed that Congress take 1t up
early next year.
Senators Pittman of Nevada and
Wheeler of Montana, Democratic mem
bers Of the interstate commerce conf
mittee, assailed the plan in the Senate,
Wheeler opposed the provision that
would merge the Northern Pacific and
the Great Northern, asserting 1t would
be a great calamity for the North
west.
while Senators Fess and Watson
talked OF compulsory legislation for con-
solidation, Commissioner Eastman, in
separate opinion contained in the COM
missions plan, held that I'VE should
proceed slowly In this matter" and
added that "the best consolidation plan
would be one so constructed that if good
reason later develops, after we have had
more experience, for carrying the proc
ess CT unification further. it could be
done by merely combining some Of the
smaller systems"
Open Terminals Urged.
Differing radically from present usage,
the commission proposed that all rail-
road terminal properties should be
thrown open to all users on fair and
equal terms, so that every industry on
whatever rails located shall have access
to all lines radiating from that terminal,
and every line carrier reaching that ter
minal shall similarly have access to all
terminal tracks within the terminal
area"
At present terminals are owned in
most instances by the pioneer road in
that section or combination of roads,
with other users paying for the privi-
1ege. The commission pointed out that
for years access to terminals has raised
questions associated with such terms
as reciprocal switching, absorption of
switching charges, switching of COM
petitive traffic and with unjust discrim-
nations and undue preferences.
THE unification of terminal proper
ties everywhere" it was contended,
SHOULD put an end to disputes of this
character to the advantage alike of all
railroads and all users of railroads"
In proposing that the Eastern roads
be merged into five great systems the
commission settled a long-debated ques-
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