@BITUARNtrS

J. Porter Stoddard' a salesman for more than 20 years with Ray Hill Lumber Co. , tns Angeles, Ca. , died JulY 4, 19E6, in Encinitas, Ca. He was 74.

Born in Missouri, he moved to Los Angeles in 1942 and joined RaY Hill Lumber ten years later. He retired and moved to Encinitas in 193.

Mr. Stoddard is survived by his widow, Gertrude, one nephew and one niece.

Santa Fe & SP Merger Nixed

After 2Vz years of consideration, the Interstate Commerce Commission has rejected a proposal to merge the Santa Fe and Southern Facific railroads.

Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corp., Chicago, Il., the holding company that owns the Santa Fe and holds the Southern Pacific in trust, was ordered to submit a plan for selling one or both ofthe railroads. No deadline has yet been set by the ICC for divestiture.

The 4 to I decision was believed to be the first time the ICC had halted a merger in 20 years. "Potential anti-competitive problems which outweigh potential public benefits" was given as the reason for the action.

Santa Fe Southern Pacific, which was formed in Dec., 1983, in a $6.4 billion transaction, was unprepared for the decision. Press kits detailing the chronology of the merger had been distributed and work had begun on repainting the locomotives with a new red and yellow design.

The Southern Facifrc railroad reportedly is on the edge of bankruptry. Solutions projected by speculators include the creation of a transcontinental railroad with CSX Corp. or Norfolk Southern Corp. merging with one of the two western lines.

Business Up In Salt Lake

Business in Salt Lake City, Ut., is up l0% this summer with strong waferboard sales, according to Dave Stringham, president of the Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, and Fred Caruso, executive secretary of the association.

The two, who have been visiting dealers in the region, found that while business in Denver, Co., is not up, the retailers are looking for 1987 to be better.

Meetings were held with members in both Denver and Colorado Springs, Co., with charging for services such as restocking and delivery and credit collec- tion policies as the top issues. The association is undertaking a survey ofcredit "days outstanding" in the region.

TV Series Returns

Owens-Corning Fiberglas will underwriteThis Old House, the Emmy Awardwinning tv series on home remodeling, for the sixth consecutive year.

The program, which returns to the air on Oct. 4, is currently ranked as the most widely-watched half-hour ongoing show on PBS, with more than eight million weekly viewers.