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Show S.P. President Claims Western Pacific Would Keep Identity Ernest S. Marsh, president of Santa Fe Railway, Chicago, emphasized em-phasized this week that, if Santa Fe's pending application to Interstate In-terstate Commerce Commission to acquire control of Western Pacific Railroad is approved, the Western Pacific will continue con-tinue to operate as a separate railroad corporation. In a brochure released by the railroad, Marsh stated that existing ex-isting service, gateways, routes, interchange points and traffic arrangements, including competitive compe-titive solicitation, will be maintained. main-tained. Marsh was emphatic in declaring de-claring that Santa Fe subscribes to and accepts the conditions on these subjects asked for in a petition filed earlier this week by the Western Pacific intervening inter-vening before the I.C.C. in support sup-port of Santa Fe's application, which conditions are: 1. "That Western Pacific and Santa Fe shall continue actively to solicit the movement of traf fic through the Salt Lake City, Utah, gateway to the same extent ex-tent and with the same vigor as in the past, to the end that Santa Fe control shall not be employed to divert traffic from the Utah gateway." 2. "That existing service, interchange in-terchange points, gateways, routes and traffic arrangements, and the competitive solicitation by Western Pacific of traffic for movement over such routes and under such traffic arrangements, arrange-ments, shall be maintained." The brochure issued today pointed out: "The growing economy of the West cannot afford suppression of competition in rail transportation, transpor-tation, particularly in the face of the fact; that present and projected traffic demand is adequate ade-quate to support two strong rail systems. It would be false economy econ-omy of the worst kind to surrender sur-render the proven benefits of active competition, especially for claimed savings to be accomplished accom-plished at the sacrifice of competition. com-petition. Such benefits are well known to shippers, industries seeking plant locations, and to students of transportation." |