Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-02-18
THE RAILROADS.
Provisions Of Judge EaSts BIN for
Their Regulation.
A Peep Into the Mysteries Of Through
Freight Traffic.
Legislation Highly Important to Ship
pers Proposed.

Legislation Highly Important to Ship
pers Proposed.
Judge East introduced bill Of great i'm
pOrtanee, a day or two ago, by which it is
sought TO prevent railroads from discrmi-
mating against each other, or against
shippers and travellers, in freight
or passenger rates. Instead Of giving
the text Of the bill or a mere syn
opsis, which none but railroad men could
be likely to understand, we publish below
The data upon which Judge East prepared
bis bill, and which have been kindly fur
nished us BY the author. The illustrations
are, Of course, uppositious-belng used
only to show how railroads could, II so dis
posed, cripple and even destroy each others
business, unless restrained by legislation.
l. Section applies mainly to a refusal by
3 railroad company to receive property, ETC.,
OF car loads, from another railroad eompa-
ny, and transfer and forward the same
when necessary. Such refusal would de-
priye a railroad company Of all through
Business; in other words, Of making freight
| contracts for destinations beyond its own
line Of road. A fiat refusal Of this kind
gOuld not be made probably, but the ne
1
the illustrations bearing upon sections 2, 3
/ and 4, as given below.
The term forward is of significance.
railroad company could evade the force ola
| provision that that they should receive and
| transport freight received from another com
pany, or any shipper, ETC., by simply turn
ing over the property, etc, whether in
osr-lOads or less quantity, etc, to the rail
rOad beyond their terminal station,
/ but refusing and failing to furnish the
| proper way-bill, or instructions to the con-
Meeting railroad. This refusal would stop
the goods indefinitely. The term used
| "fOrWard" lis apt to secure proper bills, in
sluIctiOns, etc, to be furnished when
| freight is delivered. :.
"PrOmptly and in the rider of their ten
| der, transport" etc. A railroad company re-
ceiving freight from another could ruin
/ The latter's business, by delays of many
/ days in spOrting-detaining cars and
| goods on side-tracks. Especial injury
/ would result toperishable articles, as bacon,
! fruits, etc. The effect would be exclusion
TO other roads, and the benefit of COMPETE
ton to shippers would disappear.
The intent of section is to prevent I'M
| lawful combinations of two or more rail-
road companies, to the detriment Of other
companies. Suppose a, at Chicago, de-
| sires to ship freight TO B, at Columbia,
! TenneSsee-say one car load. The con
| signee at Columbia has purchased in Chi
cagO, at a low price; but, to secure the ad-
vantage of that, he must see that the
freight charge does not appreciate the price
too much, or he will thereby pay an excs-
siTe price.
Such freight costs less to carry than local
E-.ss- q 80 H.
on same rOad,) and a through rate is
always given. The railroads over whose
line the carload Of goods passes each get
their pro rata proportion Of the entire
charge, based upon the mileage on each
road respectively. Each road receives the |
same compensation as any other for each
mile It carries the car or goods.
The question then is, who shall carry
the car or goods? If the railroads over |
which it INST pass are in agreement 10 |
treat each other alike, manifestly it does |
not matter to the shipper which road it |
shall pass over if the charge is the same. |
He would prefer probably the shortest |
route.
AYhen the goods reach Nashville they can |
only reach Columbia by transportation |
over the Louisville and Great Southern /
railroad Decatur branch.) That road has |
the key to the position.
And this further suppOsitiOn may be /
added: That the Nashville and ChattanOO- |
ga Railroad Company and Louisville, Nash /
vile and Great Southern Railroad COmpa- /
ny, enter into an agreement between them !
selves and railroad companies south of them /
whose lines they control and can influence, |
and say IN effect: We agree that t0aTfrt
points which are reached by our lines or /
through our connections, and which We can |
control, We will charge a less rate Of freight /
on freight business TO each other than we 4
do to other railroads. More especially say /
the y. and c. r. r. Co and the l., Y. and |
G. 5. r. r. Co. agree that all freight re-
ceiyed by either from the other, consigned |
from any point north of the Ohio River to /
apOint reached by either or its connections, |
south, shall be carried for a less rate than i
if received from the s.. Louis and South
eastern railway (Edgefield and Kentucky.) /
Now, in the given case OF shipment from /
Chicago to Columbia, Tenn, suppose the \
Louisville and Nashville and Great South /
ern Railroad charge the Southeastern Rail- |
road an excessive rate from Nashville to /
Columbia, say five, ten or fifteen times as |
much as they charge the Nashville and |
Chattanooga Railroad, if received from it, |
it is manifest that they thereby disable the /
Southeastern Railroad Company from get
ting the freight, though the route is much /
the shorter over their line from Evansville /
south. The Southeastern road Is in the /
predicament Of charging so much for |
thrOugh-rate that the other railroads under |
bid il, or Of carrying for nothing. No /
limit can be fixed to what the Louisville /
and Nashville aud Great Southern Railroad /
may charge from Nashville 10 Columbia, /
except by statutes.
Then, the Louisville, Nashville and |
Great Southern Railroad would get the |
business from Chicago, all of il, if it |
agreed with the Nashville and Chattanooga !
Railroad that the latter would not inter /
fare with that point. And, again, the |
Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern |
Railroad could, in consideration of secur- |
ing the Chicago freights and the freights |
from the Eastern cities, via indianapolis, |
etc, etc, give the Nashville and Chatta- |
nOOga Railroad all the business from st. |
Louis, Peoria and all points West Of Chi |
cago. By discrimination Of charges against |
the Southeastern Railroad, they could ex- |
rlude it from all possible chance Of doing |
through business. Once rid of its cOmpe- |
tition, they could raise the rate Offreight on |
through business, their lines being longer |
LHal he EOuLu6dSLtIu > anu llcl udflL- /
absolute control.
If Atlanta, Macon, Montgomery, Mobile, !
etc, are the destinations instead of Column |
bia, Tennessee, the hardship would be even |
more marked. The two companies named |
could so arrange their rates, to the prejudice !
Of the Southern railroad, that Then it !
brings the car or goods to Nashville, the |
others could charge arbitrarily what they !
please to carry it over their roads.
The Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad |
has an arrangement with the Western and !
Atlantic Railroad, by which it secures all |
business to and from Atlanta-cOmmand- |
ing every outlet. So with Macon, Chatta-
nOOga, and several other points south and
southeast. The Louisville, Nashville and
Great Southern Railroad, commands Mem
phis, Decatur, Montgomery, Mobile, and
practically New Orleans. They could
charge, if they saw fit, a prohibitOry rate
to the Southeastern Railroad.
A clause beginning, "But nothing con-
tained,' ETC., TO the end of Sec. ?, is in
| serted for the benefit of citizens of Tennes-
| see, OF local business entirely. 1t provides,
| in effect, that railroad companies shall not
| be prevented from giving the citizen, travel
! ing or shipping from point to point in the