Within 90 days, responsible men stated last week, definite plans will be submitted to the Interstate Commerce Commission for consolidation of the Great Northern Railroad and the Northern Pacific Railroad. These two roads already own 97% of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (the Burlington).† So it is probable that the Commission will also, later, consider this line officially joining the others. Thus the longest railroad system in North America will evolve —longer than the Canadian' Pacific (20,000 miles), the New York Central (14,537 miles), the Southern Pacific (13,000 miles) and the Pennsylvania (11,698 miles). It will include 28,300 miles; will represent a capital investment of $650,000,000 and a valuation of $1,500,000,000.
The will behind this consolidation is that of Arthur Curtiss James, largest owner of railroad securities in this country. He dominates, but does not control, affairs of Northern Pacific, of Great Northern and of Burlington.
These, together with the Colorado & Southern, which brings them northern Texas cotton traffic, are the "Hill" roads that James Jerome ("Empire builder") Hill (1838-1916) developed. Now, with the Western Pacific which connects the Burlington directly to San Francisco and in which Mr. James bought controlling interest last summer (TIME, June 21), they are more aptly called "James" roads. The Hill descendants have never become active financially.
When he acquired his Western Pacific holdings, Mr. James stated that the investment was "purely personal," meaning that he was not representing his other companies, but only himself. Nevertheless, a still further consolidation of western transportation was not invisible, if the Interstate Commerce Commission should approve Mr. James's present plan. A web connecting west and midwest by north and south is already dominated, and might well be directed, by this financier who, though never a railroad man, can sit in his office and evolve plans "to build up the territory" as readily as he would take a trick at the helm of one of his yachts; as earnestly as he would inquire into and relieve the finances of one of his many religious charities.
†lmportant cities in the district are: Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, Butte, Spokane, Seattle, Tacoma.