The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-03-29
DIsCRnzINATION IN FREIGHTs.

ed DISCRIMINATION IN FREIGHTs.
.et The INrELLIGENCER has heretofore
complained of the exorbitant freigr.
charges to certain points on the Green,
Vile & Columbia Railroad, and the dis;
~erimination which is made against those
places, the result of which. is to injure
and oppress the business interests Of the
places having unfavorable rates without
materially bene6tting the Railroad, as
I'VE believe. This unjust policy gives to
Greenyille and Spartanburg, which are
also on the Air Line Road, very light
tariff, and other points, where there il
any, danger, of competition for the car
rying trade, are favorably provided for,
while places not near a competing line
are charged in some Gases more than
double what towns many miles further
i.on pay over the same road for the same
articles. This is an imposition upon our
people in regard to which we have hith-
erto expressed the belief that it is the
duty of the Legislature to remedy by the
enactment of q law prohibiting these
prejudicial differences between towns
on the same line of road. We naturally
expect the. rate of freight on roads in
this State to be higher than it is on
Northern roads which have many times
the amount Of business which ours have,
but the fact that a higher rate is necessa-
~ in this State does not in any degree
explain or justify the making of favcra-
BILE rates to some places and unfayorable
ones to Others. Railroads, it is true,
enjoy high privileges under the law
which creates them bodies corporate,
but these privileges are bestowed upon
them not for their exclusive benefit, but
because of their great Importance and
advantage TO the people of the section
of country through which they are loca-
ted. These privileges are granted them
by the State upon tho faith that they are
TO be- used for the benefit of all, and it is
the duty Of the body granting these
rights to see that the trusts created by
them for the benefit of the common
wealth are not ignored By the selfish
caprice of the body to whom they are
granted. Failure of consideration will
avoid an ordinary contract between In
dividuals, much more will it do so where
the State is party; and in case fran
chise is granted by the State to a corpo-
ration upon the faith thatiti is to exercise
its privileges in fair and impartial man
ner towards all her citizens, if that corpo-
ration at any time uses its franchises to
injure OF oppress the citizens of the State
or any portion of them, the consideration
moving the grant fails, and the State has
the perfect right to remedy this evil by
legislation, and even by declaring the
charter itself forfeited.
Now, the discrimination between An
derson and Greenville is about seventy
ave. per cent. in favor of the latter.
That is, where Anderson pays sl.75 for
freight from Charleston, Greenviale only
pays 81, and where Union pays ~ Spar
tanburg only pays s1.o5. This difference
is unjust, uncalled-for and injurious to
the railroad interests as we'll as the COM
mercial prosperity of the State, because
it tends to build up trade in Greenville
and Spartanburg from the counties lying
from forty to fifty miles of, while it of
course lessons the business done at other
points. Now, these towns on the Air
Line buy their goods in New York and
Atlanta and bring their freights over the
Air Line while the points Disseminated
against purchased largely in Charleston,
and of course bring all their freights over
the Greenyille & Columbia Railroad.
Thus this policy drives off trade from
Charleston. and carries additional freights
to the Air Line Road. This system is
the creature, we believe, of MIR. McGrath,
the President of the South Carolina Rail-
road, together with his board of directors.
They have been demonstrated with fire.
quently, but nothing has been accom-
plished by remonstrance, and the people
of Union are now preparing petitions to
the Legislature, asking for protection
from the policy which seeks to make
extravagant profits cut Of some points, to
the end that favorable rates may be given
to others. There is just cause for COM
plaint, and these gentlemen who control
the South Carolina Railroad should rem
edy the evil without waiting to be made
do so hy the Ie1islature ,r..,,