Forceful Ruling

Not even Balthasar Henry Meyer, who has sat with the I. C. C. longer than any other member, could recall a ruling similar to one the I. C. C. made last week. The ruling affected not a mighty railroad system but the 23-mi. Fredericksburg & Northern in Texas, the 65-lb. rails of which have been worn and bent by passing trains since 1889. Yet it was important as a precedent.

Gulf & West Texas Railway, controlled by Southern Pacific, is linking San Angelo and San Antonio. Vital to the project is the Fredericksburg & Northern. Its owners asked $350,000 for the property. The Southern Pacific bid only $200,000, claiming that the line is so rundown that it will cost $733,000 to make its unballasted, steep right-of-way fit for through traffic. Last week the I. C. C. told F. & N. that unless it sells out for $200,000 S. P. will be granted permission to build parallel tracks. This would cost S. P. only $1,153,000 and would put F. & N. out of business. The "parallel track threat'' will never serve to arbitrate differences between major railroads, but railroadmen last week thought the I. C. C. had found a potent way to drag small railroads from holdout corners.

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