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Show Thbui is one railroad president who entertains a lively appreciation ol the force of public opinion. That man is President Garrett, of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, who at a late meeting of the directors of that corporation gave his reasons for not joining the so-called Saratoga agreement. agree-ment. In brief these were, thai, while the combination would temporarily, tem-porarily, from the increased rates, swell the earnings of the companies in combination, yet such hostile action generally on the part of the public would more than counterbalance counterbal-ance the temporary advantage. He heartily agreed on the abolition of commissions on freight and passengers, passen-gers, and urged the other companies to abolish the fast freight linen, expressing ex-pressing his conviction that they were vampires upon the railway system which would interfere with the maintenance main-tenance ot reasonable action with regard re-gard to freight rates. Mr. Garrett contends that the opposition of the Pennsylvania and other roads to tho Baltimore and Ohio, has been a huge advertisement of the latter and has greatly aided it to build up Baltimore. He contends that victory is certain for his road with its limited capital capi-tal and great lines of communication. communi-cation. The battle, he said, had become be-come not a fight of one railroad against another one, but a struggle to maintain the policy of the Baltimore and Ohio company against the combined com-bined power of the greatest railways of the continent, representing an aggregate capital ol more than $700,000,000. If the vast system of the Pennsylvania company shall be broken down, the responsibility, Mr. Garrett says, will rest with the president presi-dent and directors of the Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania railroad company; and he coolly says, Let the war go on. |