Red Cars’ Demise
Cecilia Rasmussen’s Jan. 8 article, “70 Years Before Sinkholes, L.A. Had a Subway,” fails to mention the Los Angeles Railway Co.’s purchase by National City Lines, a company financed in part by Standard Oil, General Motors, Phillips Petroleum, Firestone Tire & Rubber and Mack Manufacturing. National City Lines then systematically dismantled the 1,164 miles of track that linked more than 50 Southern California communities, replacing the trains with buses.
A lawsuit was filed by Department of Justice antitrust division against those companies and a number of their corporate leaders. The companies and individuals were all found guilty.
But, in what was perhaps one of the greatest aberrations of justice and one of the greatest corporate rip-offs of the century, the companies were slapped on the wrist and ordered to pay $5,000 fines, while the individuals were each fined $1.
KENT WEISHAUS
Los Angeles
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