Evening star., 1932-02-07
RAILWAYS PREPARE
.. FOR MERGER FIGHT
Foes of Four-System Plan in
East to Be Heard Feb
ruary IS.
1y the Associated Press.

Uy the Associated Press.
Railroad leaders hold hope that con-
solidation of Eastern railroads into four
strong trunk-line systems soon will be
In the final stages.
Already owning or controlling most
of the great-claSS carriers necessary to
make up their systems, the presidents
of the four trunk lines lack only The
approval of the Interstate Commerce
Commission before they can start final
nnification.
Their forces are marshaled ready for
the onslaught of opposition to the plan
February IS At that time Chairman
Claude R. Porter of the commission
will resume hearings on the proposal
of the carriers that the commission
amend its 1929 consolidation program
to provide four instead of five Eastern
systems.
Through Daniel Willard of the Bal
timore & Ohio, j. j. Bernet OF the
Chesapeake g. Ohio. w. w. Atterbury of
the Pennsylvania and Patrick Crowley
of the New York Central, the railroads
have told Porter and Examiner irving
L. Koch. who is assisting, that their
plan is the only feasible one. Several
lesser officials have testified along with
their chiefs that the commissions fifth
system would not be practicable.
Marshall TO lake Stdnu.
r. S. Marshall vice president OF the
Chesapeake & Ohio is due to return TO
the witness stand February Is. He Will
have to withstand the onslaught OF op-
position to the plan from Virginia, New
England and the Central States. He
introduced a great mass Of exhibits for
the carriers, as we'll as his own line, ana
it was for a study of these by the OPP
position that hearings were ADJOURNED
Special opposition comes from nVe
New England Governors and group OF
New England organizations which con-
test the propriety Of assigning iour
Hudson River Bridge lines to the 1our
trunk lines jointly. They want them
left TO New England lines as planneu
originally by the commission.
Another source of stiff opposition
comes from the Virginia Corporation
Commission. That body and Norfolk
trade bodies are opposing division OF
the Virginian one of the great Poca-
hontas region coal carriers, between
the Norfolk g. Western and the Chesa-
peake & Ohio.
Out in Indiana and Illinois opposition
to the plan to assign the Chlcago q
Eastern Illinois to the Chesapeake &
Ohio instead of the Chicago & North
western and the Chicago Indianapolis
Il Louisville also known as the Monon,
TO the Baltimore & Ohio is being con-
tested. Southern trade organizations
are backing this fight in an effort to
prevent what they declare would be
cutting off their direct contacts with
Chicago.
Little Opposition Heard as Yet.
The Monon is owned jointly by the
Louisville & Nashville Railroad and
Southern Railway, which used it as a
bridge line into Chicago. 1t was as
signed under the commission plan to
the Southern Railway System and the
Atlantic Coast Line, which controls the
Louisville & Nashville.
Little of this opposition reached
Chairman Porter during the first hear
ing in January due to the tragic death
of Louis E. Jeffries of this city, vice
president and general counsel of the
Southern. Jeffries dropped dead just
after completing croSS-eXamination Of
Daniel willard on the subject. Nothing
further was said during that hearing.
Trade bodies throughout the South
east have filed petitions opposing the
Monon plan. Other Southern organiza-
tions oppose the Chicago & Eastern
Illinois scheme.
Just how long the next hearing will
last no one is able to predict. The
commission has made general inves-
tigation on the hearings. This means
any one may interview merely by filing
an appearance.