ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 7, 1996 TAG: 9612090019
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BRIEFLY PUT ...
FROM THE railroad-merger department, legal division: Conrail and CSX Corp. this week sued Norfolk Southern for interfering in their agreement to merge. NS's sin? Offering more for Conrail shares than CSX is willing to pay.
Bidding up the price is the kind of "interference" most sellers would welcome. Which again raises the question: Where do Conrail management's deepest interests lie - serving their stockholders or preserving their own jobs?
THE DAY after GOP Del. Robert E. Harris of Fairfax was buried, Fairfax City Democratic Chairman Austin Morrill accused Harris of trying to trick Democrats about the condition of his health. Say what?
According to Morrill, Harris, 60, wrote a letter two weeks before his death on Nov. 29 indicating that he was recovering from leukemia. Harris' purpose, Morrill charged, was to throw Democrats off base and give Republicans a head-start advantage in fielding a candidate for a Dec. 17 special election to fill Harris' seat in the state legislature.
We don't know if this might have been Harris' motive, but many who knew him during his 22 years of service in the General Assembly can attest it would be highly uncharacteristic. Harris was respected for his integrity; partisan subterfuge was not his style.
Besides which, Morrill's charge is as dumb as it is disrespectful. Does he imagine it will help Democrats in the special election?
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