The ICC had no agenda, other than to obey the law as written by Congress and judged by the Federal courts. When they considered if a thing should happen, the system provided avenues for support and protest, and for appeal and judicial review of the consequent ICC decisions. The ICC themselves were part of the Exectutive branch, but subject to pressures of the laws written by Congress, themselves under pressure from their constituents (the voters) and supporters (the railroads and shippers, who contributed to campaigns but were seldom in parallel on transportation issues). If a decision went to court and was re-decided -- either way -- the ICC had to follow the new instructions until the whole process (which could take years) ground out another set of rules. Then the whole thing started all over again. Meanwhile, boom and bust and technology played their own game right in the middle of the field. Imagine the Australian Open, the FBR Invitational, and the Super Bowl being played simultaneously on the same field for real, long-term stakes involving the whole economy before an audience which could -- and would -- change any and all of the rosters. What happened, happened. Randy Brown, admitted to practice before the ICC on October 30, 1970. - -------------------------------------------------------------- Michael writes: > The N&W did not want to take the EL or the D&H, they were ordered to by > the >ICC as a price for the approval of the N&W-NKP merger. The Dereco > >mechanism was to keep the EL and D&H at arm's length. The Penn Central's > >inclusion of the NYNH&H on January 1st, 1969, was similarly the result of >an >ICC order. Since the ICC ordered it, it must have been OK. The ICC, >after all, is Mike -- Can you cite any evidence that the ICC ordered this on its own initiative or in an arbitrary and capricious manner, inventing these orders out of thin air? Thanks! Cheers, Jim Guthrie The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List http://EL-List.railfan.net/ To Unsubscribe: http://Lists.Railfan.net/erielackunsub.html ------------------------------
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