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Show gf"0ggg'gfBagTgjJE logical and opportune moment for such action, for judging from what has already been done by the railroads, they should be in a receptive mood to consider any request within reason. Tltf Southern Pacific has aiready announced that it proposes to aid in the development of the steel industry in Utah. It will naturally be to its own benefit to buy steel rails from an industry on Its own lines. Unquestionably the people of Utah consider that the Union Pacific should be entitled to consideration con-sideration in that it maintains headquarters of the Oregon Short Line here, employs several thousand persons and pays yearly a great amount in taxes, not only to the state of Utah but to Salt Lake City and county. The Southern Pacific should operate its own line into Salt Lake City and maintain proper offices here in conformity with this city's status on its system. It should also have a line to connect with Provo or Spring-ville, Spring-ville, and then build a line into the Uinta basin. ,The Uinta basin is rich in vast raw resources and its development is held back by the lack of transportation, without which no community can hope to progress to the desired point. By developing devel-oping this great empire the 6outhern Pacific would be developing its own interests and, at the same time, it would form a connection with lines to the east, thereby giving Salt Lake- and Utah another an-other transcontinental system. If the Southern Pacjfic pledges that it will connect with Salt Lake as stated, instead of having a dead end at Ogden, that it will establish sucJf quartersTiere as will measure up to its !hicf competing line and become a taxpayer on a like basis, and at the same time cease to discriminate against Utah and really help to build up the state, then .we will stand behind it, giving the fullest support, for we recognize that domination by one transportation system is a step backward. The j , The Central Pacific VVITH the Salt Lake Commercial club and ' " chamber .of commerce going on record in favor of the Southern Pacific company retaining the control of the Central Pacific, thus joining in similar action adopted by business organizations , f Utah county last week, the way is no"w open, we believe, to discuss the question at large, not merely for the benefit of any one community, but for the state In general. We must first remember re-member that the state must be supreme. We cannot be governed by sectional advantages, but rather must we take a panoramic view in which Union Pacific now has the Los Angeles & Salt Lake route, and the Portland route, giving it two outlets on the Pacific coast for transcontinental traffic. The point is that the Pacific coast has been built up at the expense of the intcrmountain territory. terri-tory. It is time to call a halt. Utah demands justice and proposes to obtain it. even if she has to continue to fight as in the past or with greater vigor. We believe that the Southern Pacific should retain control of the Central Pacific only upon the stipulations here made, the object being to advance and protect Utah interests over and above all other considerations. all the diversified interests would be involved. The supreme court" of the United States, In a decision handed down several months ago, decided de-cided that the Southern Pacific company should relinquish control and management of the Central Pacific railroad. The decision was based on the, Sherman antitrust law, the Southern Pacific being adjudged without right to own the Central Pacific. However, the Sherman act dates back many years. Since it was enacted changing circumstances circum-stances have caused the enactment of other laws which, in themselves, may conflict with older statutes. . While under the Sherman law, the supreme su-preme court directed that there should be a divorce di-vorce of the Southern Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, that tribunal has nothing before it relative rela-tive to the constitutionality of the transportation, act. The latter, passed in 1920, gives the inter- state commerce commisison the absolute authority to decide what railroads might be grouped for the country's benefit and the tentative plan already al-ready decided by the commission is that the Southern Pacific' and the Central Pacific should be grouped. Before final action is taken by the commission, commis-sion, it is proposed to hold hearings at Washington, Washing-ton, D. C, and various points throughout the I country with a view to obtaining evidence as to what actual grouping should be adopted, and it is probable that one of the hearings will be held in Utah. The Union Pacific desires to obtain the control of the Central Pacific, a fact which has not been disguised. Both railroads, the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific, have .w ,; ;it to obtain the sentiment of the people of Ula'. md other Western states in their respective behalf. As a result of the big question involved, the Salt Lake Commercial club, similar to other bodies, investigated the subject af Issue. The result was that after hearing the claims advanced by both the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific Pa-cific representatives, it concluded that it would be to the best interests of Utah to keep the relationship rela-tionship between the Southern Pacific and Central Pacific intact. But, irrespective of whatever conclusion con-clusion might and was, in fact, reached by the Commercial club, we firmly believe that the concessions granted by the railroads in recent months was due more to currying for public favor than anything else. But for the controversy between be-tween the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific systems in their fight for control of the Central Pacific, we doubt that any concessions would have betn granted. The Telegram has always fought side by side with' the Traffic Service Bureau of Utah in its many battles for fair railroad rates to and from Utah. We will always be so aligned, for we ' recognize that the. prosperity of this commonwealth common-wealth rests to a great measure on a just basis of transportation tariffs. Both sides have been i heard by a fair tribunal, and if its judgment is concurred in by the interstate commerce commission, com-mission, the Southern Pacific must show its good faith. Jt has a remarkably big and virgin field to develop in Utah. For many years it has neglected this territory for the Pacific coast development de-velopment and it has, jointly or otherwise with . the Union Pacific, retarded progress here. The controversy brought about some freight rate reductions by the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific. But this is not enough. We want more reductions. We do not believe that we have obtained all that we are rightly entitled to' have and we here suggest that the public bodies, such as the Commercial club and the Traffic Service Ser-vice Bureau of Utah, should get together and formulate demands. We believe that this is the i |