Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-04-20
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The Wan ON THE wnAxFBoLrs.-The
paper in circulation petitioning the
Council 10 reconsider the action at It's
last meeting, ordering the removal OF the
wharfboat Of the Memphis and St. Louis
Packet Company, has received the slg'
natures of at least q majority OF the
commercial firms Of the city. And yet
we are told that in the interest Of the
merchants, and at their instance the
measure against the wharfboats was de-
yised and carried through. How Is
tbis2 We Aatter ourselves that we have
discovered the key to the seeming eng
ma. The war as waged by the Council
on the wharfboats has thus far been
in discriminate as II has been determined.
Not so with the merchant and shipper,
in whose name the onslaught was first
made and has since been followed up.
While opposed to the wharfboat interest
wherever ii has proved itself in conflict
with the commercial interests Of the city,
the petition so numereusly signed in
behalf Of the wharfboat Of the mail line
evinces a disposition on the part of the
merchants TO discriminate. And herein
the Council would do we'll to follow their
example. We have no disposition to
criticise the action Of the Council with
regard to the wharfboats complained
of by the merchants. Against such VT
say let the warfare 20 on until no vestige
of the grievance exists. But in the in
stance of the wharfboat of the packet
company, against whose removal the
merchants have so unmistakably pro-
tested, we can but remind the council that
for consistency's sake, if the suggestion
of the merchants is to be acted on in the
one case it certainly should be in the
other We can easily discern the dis
tinction drawn by the merchants, and are
only at loss to comprehend why it has
not been as clearly drawn by the council.
Let us examine the case as it really
stands.
The two wharfboats at the landing
against which complaint has been raised,
have materially damaged the mercantile
community, AMI therefore the interests
of the city. In the carrying on by their
respective proprietors of a forwarding,
commission and storage business, in
which they have assumed the attitude Of
middle men, standing between the carrier
and the consignee, and by cutting, as
with two edged blade, slice from
both, they have enhanced the cost Of
both commodity and conveyance, and
finally diverted trade into other and
foreign channels by driving it from
themselves and thus from Memphis
The patrons of these wLarfboats have
been the through or transient packets
running in the direct interest of rival
ports, and driving our local packets out
Of the trade.
These are among the reasons originally
presented by the merchants for the re
moval of the wharfboats named, but
wherein do they apply to the wharfboa'
of the mail line2 In no one particular
are they applicable at all. In the first
place, the officers of the Packet Com
pany have never carried on, or permitted
to be carried on, on their wharf COM
mission, forwarding and storage busi-
ness. Their wharf has been used
simply as a depot for the mutual
accommodation of the carrier and
the consignee or shipper. Reshipping
freight has invariably been held by them
for local packets, and thus Arkansas and
White river lines have been sustained,
and outside boats crowded out of the
trade. OF the three packets plying be-
tween St. Louis and White river last sea-
son, not one j. running to-day, and for
the reason that through bills of lading
have been given to all points on White
river by the St.. Louis and Memphis line,
which has closely connected here with
the packets of the Memphis and White
river line. And then, as an advantage to
merchants, the delivery Of freight in good
order and free from the extra charges OF
skids, tarpaulins or storage by means oil
the wharf boat, should not be overlooked
In short, while we see no good reason for
the removal, we see every reason for the
retention of the packet company's boat
at the landing, and we believe the mer-
camille community of Memphis look al
the matter in just this light. Will the
Council then consult the expressed wishes
of its petitioners before carrying into ex-
ecution its recent indiscriminate order,
or, protesting to serve the mercantilein
terests fthe city, will italtogether ignore
the merchants petition.
Gentlemen can find the neatest and
best Hats ut Leidy d. Co.'s, 269 Main
street. %
H. E,on., OrprpYuc An III MWnnn