Although the Federal Government has smiled on most recent merger activity, every now and then a corporate union gets flagged down. Last week the Interstate Commerce Commission affirmed its year-old rejection of the proposed merger between the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railways, citing "serious anticompetitive effects" as its reason. The combined railway would control more than 90% of rail traffic on the West Coast.
The ICC move came on the heels of a Justice Department plea to the same body, urging a rebuff of Greyhound Lines's request that it be allowed to begin operating ailing Trailways immediately rather than wait...