A Bridge Too Far? A blocking move: Any background?
Flashback to 1957....
"A McKinley Bridge purchase plan submitted on behalf of the city of Venice was presented Monday to the Illinois Terminal Railroad directors. The group discussed the matter but took no action. Venice hopes to acquire the bridge through its representative, the Sarjem Corp. Robert M. Sherritt, Sarjem representative, has conferred at length with three members of the Illinois Terminal Railroad Association. The purchase plan was developed during those discussions. The proposal includes a flexible schedule of lease payments for the railroad's right to continue using the railroad facilities on the bridge. The schedule would result in yearly payments increasing if the bridge receipts were insufficient to meet debt and operating costs. If this happens, the railroad could cancel its lease. Complete details of the plan have not yet been released. A member of the ITR said the plan should remain confidential until the railroad board takes an official action. He reiterated that the plan is extremely complex and has various angles to it that the board will need to consider. The negotiations will continue to move ahead slowly until every detail is worked out, he said."
As it turned out, Sarjem was in reality the unmasked AT&SF RR in a covert raid on the St Louis Gateway, which had in mind eventual direct aquisition by way of the TP&W.....Ever wonder why the IT had nearly every other RR as a co-owner? A blocking move....Can anyone fill in the blanks..?
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
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