Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-04
Commission Asked to Accept
Proposal in Place of s.
of 4-SyStem Set-up.
200 LINES FROM EAST
TO KANSAS INVOLVED
Little Remains to Complete Alloca-
ton Among Four Groups
in Merger.

Under consideration for a decade
since the principle was advanced in the
transportation act, railroad consolidation
moved toward realization yesterday,
when the Eastern carriers laid before
the Interstate Commerce Commission
for approval their four-system unifica-
ton plan, which has been under study
for nearly year.
Joining in the petition were the New
York Central, Pennsylvania, Baltimore
& Ohio and Chesapeake g. Ohio-Nickel
Plate ivan Sweringen Lines. They
asked, first of all. that the commission
modify its own plan, advanced in 1929,
which provided for a five-line set-up
in the East, and accept, instead, the
four system proposal.
If this is done, the carriers then will
be in a position to take the step actually
leading to rnification by filing applica-
tions for consolidation or acquisition.
as the case may be, of the roads
assigned to The four groups.
200 Lines Involved.
Involving in the neighborhood of 200
lines, valued at billions of dollars. the
project affects a huge section of the
countrys transportation system touch
ing as 1t does a network extending from
the Atlantic Coast to the Kansas border
and from Canada to the Carolinas and
Tennessee.
So far as the principal lines are con-
cerned little remains to be done TO
complete their ALLEGATION among the
four systems Neither the New York
Central nor Pennsylvania has anything
TO obtain from outside interests, while
the Nickel Plate and Baltimore & Ohio
have few acquisitions to make.
The proposed lineup, in its major
provisions, and exclusive of some l25
small roads, which will be taken over
by the four systems. and various track
age grants. is as follows:
Baltimore e. Ohic-to which will be
added the Ann Arbor, Atlantic City
Railroad, Buffalo &; Susquehanna, Buff
falo, Rochester g. Pittsburgh jersey
Central, Reading, Western Maryland
Chicago g. Alton, Lehigh g. Hudson
River and Monon Route &C. l. 81 L.
Because OF previous acquisitions, the
B. & O., to complete its grouping, needs
now the Ann Arbor, subsidiary of the
Pennsylvania owned Wabash; the Le-
high g. Hudson River and the Reading,
Of which the Jersey Central and At
lantic City are subsidiaries and in which
the B. & o. already owns Al per cent
of the stock. In addition, it would be
necessary for the commission to vacate
a Clayton act order, under which the
B. g. o. has been instructed to diveSt
itself of its holdings in western Mary
land.
Chesapeake & Ohio, which has abb
sorbed the Hooking Valley, and to
which goes the Nickel Plate, Pere Mar
quette. Erie and subsidiaries, Bessmer
& Lake Erie Chicago &, Eastern ILL
nois. Wheeling & Lake Erie and Lehigh
Valley. All are under control but the
Bessmer e. Lake Erie and Lehigh VAL
ley though in the case Of the Wheeling
g. Lake Erie its voting stock is trusted
pending the outcome OF Clayton act
proceeding to make the Nickel Plate
divest The BeSSemer Is owned by the
United States Steel Corporation and
the Lehigh Valley by the Pennsylvania,
which also. under the Clayton act, has
been ordered to divest.
Additions for PennSy.
Pennsylvania-To which would be
added the Long Island, West Jersey &
Seashore, Detroit, Toledo & 1ronton,
Wabash and Norfolk d. Western. The
Pennsylvania now controls these prop
critics and is fighting Clayton act pro-
ceeding instituted against its owner
ship of the Wabash.
New York Central-To which would
be added the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western and the Ulster & Delaware, in
both of which it already is in sub
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