The New York Central has pointed out that this control, if approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission, would give the combined C.+O. -- B.+O. Railroad a total of 185 points served in common with the New York Central. Not only is this kind of duplication wasteful, but it gives the combined system the ability to take freight traffic away from the New York Central and other railroads serving the area.

The New York Central notes: ``The freight traffic most susceptible to raiding by the C. + O. - B. + O. provides the backbone of Central's revenues. These revenues make it possible to provide essential freight and passenger service over the entire New York Central system as well as the New York area commuter and terminal freight services. If these services are to be maintained, the New York Central must have the revenues to make them possible.''

The New York Central today handles 60 percent of all southbound commuter traffic coming into New York City. This is a $14 million operation involving 3500 employees who work on commuter traffic exclusively. A blow to this phase of the Central's operations would have serious economic consequences not only to the railroad itself, but to the 40000 people per day who are provided with efficient, reasonably priced transportation in and out of the city. ``There is a workable alternative to this potentially dangerous and harmful C. + O. -- B. + O. merger scheme'' --