Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-31
RAIL CONSOLIDATION
CONSENT EXPECTED
|. C. C. Attitude Has Been One
of Hope for Movement
to Be Initiated.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

The immediate question is whether
the Interstate Commerce Commission
will approve the great railroad CONSOLE
dalton. Because of the judicial func-
ton of the commission, one would hesf-
tate to speculate in advance about
decision by it almost as much as about
decision of the Supreme Court. Never
theless, railroad men. lawyers, and
others familiar with the trend of the
commissions actions and policies believe
strongly that the commission will ap-
prove this consolidation.
1t is taken for granted that the rail-
road presidents who effected the con-
solidation must have been careful to do
only what the commission would be
likely to approve. This consolidation
has been under consideration for sew
eral years. All the railroad presidents
and lawyers concerned have had album
dant opportunity to form judgments as
to what the commission would and
would not approve.
Consolidation Has Been Hoped.
The broad attitude of the commission
for nearly 10 years has been one of
hoping that the railroads of their own
initiative would achieve proper CONSOLE
dations. The commission, in short, has,
in the language of one close observer,
done everything possible for it to do
under the law to accelerate consolida-
ton F" The commission has itself been
| under a burden put upon it by Congress
in 1920 to bring about consultations.
The commission has known, however,
| that it was impracticable for it to make
| fiat consultations of its own initiative.
| In this condition it has been evident to
everybody that the commission has
wanted the carriers of their own initia-
tive to bring about proper conSolida-
| tons.
All that is here said about the COM
mission favoring consultations is, of
course, subject to one imperative con-
dition. AS the commission has itself
| stated in the past mo consolidation
can be accomplished until we
have found, after full hearing, that the
| public interest will be promoted there
by What is now presumed. therefore,
Is that the commission will inspect the
| proposed consolidation in detail and
will declare whether the public interest
| will be promoted by ii. The common
assumption in Washington is that the
commissions decision will be favorable
! Congress Has Been Favorable.
There is some query also about the
dCLlLuQe Oh congress. On tfllS point the
! fact is that Congress, ever since 1t au-
| thoriZed and decreed in 1920 that the
railroads should be grouped into sys-
| TENS, has been eager to see the actual
| consultations effected. Doubtless indi-
vidual voices from within Congress may
speak out in protest, but the sustained
! attitude OF Congress as whole, from
! 1920 until the present, has been one of
! wishing TO make it easier for the car
! riers TO unite voluntarily.
| The public advantage of the new con-
Solidation that is Immediately aproproS
10 business conditions lies in the fact
| that the railroads, so soon as their
/ plan is approved, will be free to go
ahead with improvements on an inn
menSe scale. SO soon as they have
assured knowledge of what the railroad
map will be for a generation to come
extremely important permanent con-
Struction will get underway. Aside from
| this immediate ainelioration of unem-
| ployment the large economic and social
| benefits of consolidation were made
| familiar at the time of the original act
of Congress calling for consultations
| in 1920
After Congress in 1920 authorized and
I decrced consultations the Northeastern
railroad presidents engaged in prolonged
conferences about the distribution Of
lines and branch lines among their vari-
Gus systems. These esrly negotiations
Id to no result, partly because most OF
the railroad executives were too Jealous