Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-08-10

per hundred, while from Wheeling to Win
chester it is seventy cents, and from Balti-
more to Winchester thirtystwo cents: thus
making it tsoo cents PEI. hundred cheaper to
ship freight from Wheeling 10 Winchester Uia
Baltimore than by the direct route oVer the
same roddI \
2. Violations of thstr Charter By the BALI.
more and Ohio Road.
In buying out tho Winchester and Poto.
mac road, the Baltimore and Ohio Company
are of course bound by the provisions and re-
strictions of the charter under which the
former road was incorporated. Upon exams
lining their charter, Virginia Acts of Assem-
bly, 1881, page 1879, fud the following pro-
vision =
act Of Incorporation, passed AprHSM 1881.
SEC. 18. So soon as u section of ten miles
of the said road shall be completed and as
often thereafter any other section of the
like length shall be completed, the said Pres
ident and Directors shall transport all produce
or other comtnoditiea that snall be deposited
convenient to the said road, SO that equal and
impartial justice shall be done to oil the own
ers Of produce oE other commodities in the
transportation thereof by the company: Pro.
vided the owner Of the produce or other com
modites required to be transported by the
said company the saldfalr6ad, shall pay
or tender to the said company at their toll gate
or gates, the. toll due upon such produce or
other commodities under this act; and 1t shall
be lawful for the President and Directors Of
said company, and they are hereby authorized
to erect on such section or sections toll gate
or gates, and they shall be entitled to demand
and receive the following rates of toll. viz:
For toll and transportation on all produce or
other commodity which they may transport
from west to eust, at rate not exceeding four
cents per tnile for every ton weight; and for
toll aid transportation on all produce or other
commodities they may transport from east to
west at 9 rate not exceeding six cents per
mile per ton weight; and for toll and trans
pCrtation Of persons whether from west to
east or from e;lst to west ut a rate not exceed
ing three cents per mile for each person
1t strikes me, therefore, that in discrimina
ting between certain points on the Winchester
and Potomac branch. for instance in the
transportation of Coal between Winchester
and Charestown and in making private con-
tracts with individuals to transport at differ
ent rates than those established for the public
the Baltimore and Ohio Company are viola
ting the charter under which alone they eau
operate the stem road As to their rates Of
toll, these being prescribed by the charter,
do not think them modified by section 10, IF
chapter 81. of the Code Uf Virginia. which is
expressly limited to tolls on u rail, oud o.:
tUhiCh different rates are not t)reScriOed by
iGw." | have not been able To fluid any law
whatever, authorizing the Baltimore aud Ohio
Company to charge more than their prcde
cessors were limited to by the section Of their
charter above quoted. This limit Isl three
cents per mile for passengers. The distance
from lIarpers Ferry to Winchester is, say
thirty-one miles. and the charge is SlT5. or
at the rate of more than tiUe d,d u h1Lf cents
per mile, being tw0 ard a. uLf cents per mile
more than the charter allows! believe shat
the rate allowed by the charter is not below
tho average charged on oheE roads. S" in
regard 80 freight. By the car, load OF $4,000
pounds. or nine short tons, the charge from
Winchester to Harper's Ferry is twelve cents
per hundred, or 81 50 per ton, which is at the
rate of seven and one quarter cents per ton
per mile. being three and one quarter cents
per ton more than the charter allows This
is the charge By tEs Cdr>I00d; in smaller
quantities the amoCut charged above the legal
tolls is still greater. Thus while the charge
from Winchester to Baltimore by the CARLSBAD
is thirty cents per hundred, the charge FOR less
weight is forty>ive cents per hundred, or Fifty
per cent more.
g. The charges Of the Baltimore and Ohio
Road compared nth those Of ether Roads.
| refer here, Of course, nos ID the charges
of the Road on its main EnS. but to those
which we pay who live along the stem. |
have the authority cf Col. Robert w. Baylor
and Mr.. Charles Nd2ning. for the following
statement: They shipped stuck from Phila.
delpha to Baltimore Zone hundred miles) and
from Baltimore to SuYmit Point about the
same distance, and the Baltimore and Ohio
Company charged them just double the freight
they paid on the Philadelphia and Baltimore
road. They found the agents on the latter
road far more obligihg. also. Bills of freight
placed in my hands by Messrs. McElroy 4
Mcknight. of CharlestOwn, establish that the
Baltimore and Ohio road has charged them
freight about double the rates charged by the
Cumberland Valley road.
append statement of the cost of hushel
of Wheat from St. Louis to New York. Du
buque to S.. Louis. Dubuque 10 Chicago. Chi
cago to Buffalo, and Buffalo to New York,
by railroad. and ask our farmers to get the
map, look at the distances. and compare tie
charges with those OF the Baltimore and Ohio
Road:
Dubuque to Chicago.Isc. Dubuque to st Louis 81.
Ch,rag TO Buffalo =. Sc. st. Louis to n. York2Sc.
Buff 10 Elevator go. ic. | tr.
Buffalo TO New Yorkl6:. Total. 3Sc.
Tptal. .4Sc. -.
l. Conclusion I:
Front the best estimates can make based
on the above data and the census returns of
1860. it is my belief that the amount of
freight drawn from Jefferson coiinty BY the
monopoly of the Baltimore and Ohio Road.
over and above what she would pay under
fair COMPETITION. amounts annually to $50. 600
on wheat, and $4,000 on corn, making $780,
600 OF these two staples alone.