OCR Text |
Show SAYS WICKERSHAM HAD COERCED HIM San Francisco. March 10 Testifying Testify-ing today In the suit of the federal government to unmerge the Central and Southern Pacific railroads. Julius Kruttschnltt chairman of Hie executive execu-tive hoard of the Southern Pacific company, charges that George W. Wickersh im. former United States attorney general, coerced the Southern South-ern Pacific into an agreement to sell the Central Pacific to the Union Pa I Cific railroad for $104,000,000. "The Scuthern Pacific company.' Mr. Krutt.;ehnitt testified. ' signed the agreement with the Union Pacific to sell the latter the Central Pacific at a price of fl04.000.000 under the compulsion com-pulsion and coercion of the attornev general of the United States, who threatened m with a forced sale of the line, if it was not sold to the Union Pacific. ' The California state railroad commission com-mission prevented the deal, he said, bj refusi'is to approve the plan. "I went to the attorney general personally,' continued the witness, "and protested vehemently against his action, telling him that it would destroy the Southern Pacific His only reply was: '1 am going to apply equal compulsion to the Union Pacific' Pa-cific' " Attorneys for the Southern Pacific, who elicited this evidence from Mr Kruttschnltt, said they were trying to show thr.t during Attorney General Wickersham'B tenure of office the government attempted to bring about a merger, the equivalent of which, they asserted. It is now trying to break In Its suit to dissolve the Southern South-ern and Central Pacific roads. Asked what the dissolution of the Central and Southern Pacific railroads rail-roads at this time would cost the 'Southern Paelfj, ompan. the holding hold-ing corpuiatlon, the witness replied: "By the terms of the loan to us by a syndicate of French bankers of 50- J 000.000 iu ion nr,v abrogation of our lease of tho Centra Pacific would sub ject us to an Immediate call upon the loan. if this call should ie made tomorrow the loan would have cost us $6,000,000 To reborrow thai amount of money under present conditions con-ditions for thirty ears upon bonds, we would have to pay a price In interest in-terest of approximately ?lo 500.000, J making a total cost of over $21,000,000 ! should ne be robbed of the Central : Pacific " Further said Mr Kruttschnltt, "an unmerging of the two roads would demoralize the Southern Pacific sys- I tern and wreak upon stockholders financial fi-nancial havoc." |