Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-03
Plea Asks for Acceptance OF
Four Systems as Best
for Public Interest.
PROPOSED GROUPINGS
VIRTUALLY CARRIED OUT
Eastern Railroads Must Show That
Terms Set Out Are Just
and Reasonable.

The Eastern railroads today laid their
four-system plan before the Interstate
Commerce Commission for approval.
The rail petition calls on the COM
mission to accept the principle that the
public interest will be best served by
TENS instead Of fve, as proposed by
the commission two years ago. and the
commission Is asked to amend its own
plan in accordance.
The groupings follow along the gen.
eral line previously announced and al
ready virtually have been effectuated
by the carriers.
II the commission, after hearings, ac-
ceptS the proposed amendment, the next
step will be the filing and hearing of
separate applications for consolidation
or acquisition of the railroads assigned
to the four groups. which are Pennsyl-
vania, New York Central, Chesapeake &
Ohio-Nickel Plate Wan Sweringen)
and Baltimore g. Ohio.
Must Show Terms Are Just.
In each of these cases it will be
necessary for the railroads to make a
showing that the acquisition or con-
solidation proposed would be in the
public interest, and that the terms set
out are just and reasonable.
The present petition. consequently, is
not designed in itself to effect the con-
solidation, but only to establish the
four system principle.
AS proposed, the four system would
be made up principally as follows:
Baltimore & Ohio as at present with
the addition Of the Ann Arbor, Atlantic
City. Buffalo & SuSquehanna. Buffalo,
Rochester & Pittsburgh, Jersey Central,
Reading Western Maryland, Chicago &
Alton. Lehigh & Hudson River and
Monon.
The Baltimore g. Ohio already, by
authority of the commission, has the
Buffalo & Susquehanna Buffalo, Roch-
ester g. Pittsburgh and Chicago &:
Alton. 1t owns the controlling stock
ordered by the commission to divest it
self of 1t under the Clayton law. This
leaves to be acquired: The Ann Arbor
subsidiary of the Wabash (owned by
the Pennsylvania the Lehigh & Hud-
son River, the Atlantic City, the Jersey
Central and the Reading Since the
Jersey Central and the Atlantic City
are subsidiaries Of the Rea ding, acquisi-
ton Of the Reading covers the latter
three. The Baltimore 81 Ohio admit
teddy already owns ~ per cent of the
stock Of the Reading Railway Co. This
makes the Baltimore & Ohio system,
as proposed, almost corplete.
Proposed C. d o. Set-up.
Chesapeake g. Ohio as at present,
which already has absorbed Hooking
Valley To this would be added. Nickel
Plate, Pere~ Marquette, Erie and sub
salaries, BeSsemer & Lake Erie, Chi
cago & Eastern Illinois, Wheeling &
Like Erie and Lehigh Valley.
The Nickel Plate, Pere Marquette and
Erie already are Van Sweringen-owned
lines. The Chicago g. Eastern Illinois
Is under option. The Wheeling d. Lake
Erie already is owned by the Nickel
Plate, although its voting stock is trus-
teed pending the outcome of a Clayton
dtvest This leaves only the Bessemer
81 Lake Erie and the Lehigh Valley to be
acquired. The former must be acquired
from the United States Steel Corpora
ton and the latter from the Pennsyl-
vania.
Pennsylvania Railroad as at present.
To which would be added Long Island,
West jersey & Seashore, Detroit, Toledo
q Ironton; Wabash and Norfolk &
Western.
The Detroit. Toledo & Ironton already
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