Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-02-16
RAILROAD WAR.
The ClarksViIHe Tobacco Board of
Trade and ST. Louis and
southeastern Hallway
Company.

com p9ny.
ST. L. & S. RAILWAY,
OFFICE OF GENERAL FREIGHTAGENT,
ST. LOUIS, JAN. II '7S.
II. VI. Clark, Esq, Secretary Cga7'ks-
riLLe Tobacco Board of Trade,
OarksUiUe, Tenn.
DEAR SIR am in receipt of a
copy of certain resolutions passed
by your Board of Trade. January
10, for which please accept thanks.
But for my absence from my Office
from the I'd to the 18th inst, earlier
reply would have been made there
to. / have no disposition to ques-
ton the right to adopt any course
of action you deem proper upon any
subject affecting your interests, but
/ respectfully submit for your con-
sideratiOn, whether before putting
forth such vigorous resolutions
against us, it might not have been
equally proper for your board to
have first endeavOred to ascertain
our reasons for the act you COM
planned of. While in attendance,
Jan. 4th, upon Line meeting at
Rochester, n. Y, avery briefsynop-
sis Of M. III. Smiths notice of I'd
inst. Copy inclosed) was telegraph
ed me. ThereupOn / telegraphed
my chief clerk to make the same re-
quirementS of the Louisville &
Nashville Railroad as they made
from us, and to refuse to advance
them any charges, and to require
all freights to them or from them to
be prepaid. So far from intending
this action as a discrimination
against GAINESVILLE, l did not think
of GAINESVILLE in any way, but in
tended merely to follow the lead of
the Louisville q Nashville Railroad.
BY combination of circumstances
not necessary to be mentioned here,
my order was issued to apply only
to tobacco from Hopkinsville de-
livered to Louisville d Nashville
Railroad atGuthrie. From ROcheS-
ter | went direct to Atlanta, and on
my return from there to Nashville
on the 18th inst, | received infOr-
nation from st. Louis that my or
der had been applied only to tobacco
from Hopkinsville, and decided
that, although the course of the
Louisville & Nashville Railroad
fully justified us in our action, we
would reScind our action as far as it
has gone; accordingly the order
requiring prepayment on tobacco
was withdrawn on the 18th inst. by
telegraph, at which time | was ig-
nOrant of the contents of your COM
munication. If you or any of your
board have time and inclination to
| think it may give you some new
light upon the merits of the case.
We have long since found out that
the only way for us to remain at
at peace with the Louisville &
Nashville Railroad was submitting
to all their demands and by adjust
ing our business to please them.
From our fixed determination not
to submit has grown the present
trouble. In conclusion, permit me
through you to say tOthe tobacco in
terests If your city, that while our
first interests are at points on our
own line, and while we propose at
the same time to make fair rates for
GAINESVILLE, and then let the rival
markets take care of themselves.
Also allow me to say that at any
time your board thinks they are ag-
grieVed by any action of ours,
communication from them on the
subject will receive prompt and
respectful attention and remedy.
remain, sir, very sincerely yours,
G. H. CROSBY,
Genl Freight Agent.
GAINESVILLE, Tenn, Jan. 30,
1S78.-C. H. Crosby, Esq, G. f. A.
st. l.. & S. E. r. R., st. Louis, Mo.
Dear Sir: Your valued favor of
the 18th inst. came duly to hand,
and contents noted. 1t and the ac-
companying copies of the CORE
spOndence between yourself and
and Mr.. NJ. II. Smith, G. f. A. of
the l.. & n. Railroad Company,
were laid before our Tobacco Board
of Trade, who passed the following
resolutions, to-day:
"ReSOlUed, That the letter of Mr..
c. II. Crosby, G.. F. A. of the ST. l..
& S. Z. Railway Company, of the
18th, to the Secretary of this board,
in reply to the resolutions passed by
this board on the 10th inst, is duly
noted.
Second-That the thanks of this
board are rendered to Mr.. Crosby
for resembling of his Objectionable
order, though said repeal was made
before the action of this board was
known to him.
Third-That Mr.. Crosby saying
in his letter of the 18th that while |
we propose to give our own markets |
all the advantages we consistently
can, we propose at the same time to I
make fair rates for GAINESVILLE, and |
let the rival markets take care of |
the Secretary of this |
board is hereby instructed to reply |
to Mr.. CrOsby's communication, and |
him for his promise of |
fair rates for Clarksville,' learn t
from him what constitutes fair rates /
for GAINESVILLE. ,"
Before obeying the last resolution,
/ would desire to say that my own
house, though it has its headquar-
tiers here, has been represented by
our Junior in Hopkinsville ever
since a tobacco market has been
fairly established there, and there
fore every thing which affects the
of that tobacco market
is a matter of interest to us. With
this personal explanation which
may be necessary 10 the perfect I'M
Outstanding of some of my remarks,
/ beg to thank you for the very full
reply you make to the resolutions
of our Board of Trade, and the
disposition promised to our
trade, though dissenting from some
of the positions taken. You say:
81 have no disposition to question
the right of your board to adopt any
course of action you may deem
proper upon any subject affecting
your interests, but 1 respectfully
submit for your consideration,
before putting forth such
vigorous resolutions against us, it 1
might not have been equally proper
for your board to have first endeav-
pred to ascertain our reason for the
lct you complained Of"
Our board considered your order
to as an almost complete {