t of six million dollars a year. Morgan was brought in to slash the value of the watered stock, reduce interest rates on the bonds, and assess the shareholders for more money. Morgan's plans for the Philadelphia and Reading lines were working well until their president A. Archibald McLeod waged was against Pierpont. Archibald built connecting lines and shipped coals on the carts. Morgan objected to these and other actions but was still able to reorganize the rails. In 1888, John Pierpont was again called on to reorganize railroads in the east. He reorganized the Chesapeake & Ohio and the Baltimore & Ohio. He often encountered some resistance to his interference but managed, in the end, to accomplish his set goals and reshape the failing economic Railroad system. Morgan was unsympathetic with governmental regulation; however, he sought to help enforce the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The act asked for the maintenance of "public, reasonable, uniform and stable rates. The act served to at least establish some community of interest among railroads that, at the time, were engaged in ruthless and wasteful competition. Their alliance paved the way for the future great consolidations of the railroads. After the Panic of 1893, the government called on Morgan once more to reorganize a large number of leading railroad systems of the country. The major lines J. P. dealt with were the Southern Railway, the Erie, the Philadelphia and Reading for a second time and the Northern Pacific. By the end of the century only two American systems were outside of his control. Various devices were used to ensure Morgan's continued control and that of his associates over the companies. One of these devices was his famous voting trust, by which shareholders voted to give their rights to Morgan's nominees on the board. Morgan's methods of railroad organization followed a standard pattern with small variations. He would first slash watered stocks, issued new bond...
