The New York herald., 1879-10-01

| canal Is IN good condition t0-uayf A. no.
q. Arnt there bridges falling down every day
"A That don't affect my business.
Witness was asked by the Chairman to furnish
statement showing the rate on the canal during the
To Mr. sterne-The canal does not mako loca
rates the railroads do nearly all of the loca
business now; there is q largo amount of freight
shipped in the autumn from Buffalo to Syracuse
Rochester and Little Falls by canal; boats that
at Buffalo as general thing load through freight
The committee here took recess until two
O'Clock.
COST OF ELEvATING GRAIN.
The committee met again Mt two +. NJ, and Niles
Case was recalled. To Mr.. Hepburn he said Hall
a cent per bushel is large price for elovating; a
quarter of cent would be fair price; have heard
elevator men say that they would not want any bet.
tor business the goo 9ba OF cent
other quarter costs 50 per thousand bushels for
tho elevating. trimming, &c. OF grain;
| To MIR. Shpman:-The American Transportat ton
| Company ceased business many years ago; the high
toll did not affect it, the American Transportation
Company made up of small companies; the
Western Transportation Company stood the pres
sure; my canal business is principally through;
In charge for local traffic just such prices
as 1 can get; under tho contract system the
canal proved unnavigablo about six or seven years
ago. but it has got back into good shape; business
probably would not have gone TO pieces on the canal
THE EVIL OF SPECIAL RATES.
Amos A. Bissel ex-Member of Assembly from
Niagara county. testiied:I reside in Lockport; am
in the trans portation business; manage num-
ber of canal boats; have bcen in the business
twenty-five years. own thirty boats; business has
been taken away from me by system of special
given by railroads to millers was shown and
read letter that friend OF mine received from tho
New York Central Railroad; he told that he
could not ship by il he did he would lose his
special contract with the railroad company; the
letter reads follows:-
To Mr.. HoorKR-Tho road wil take your freight At
T VIII g. % osDG%NY
To Mr.. Hepburne--The letter was in type writing,
TO Mr.. Sterne-That destroyed my business; car
ried half million barrels OF -four annually don't
carry single boat load now; come to Buffalo for my
business now; was running on the canal ut the
same time Allon they did as woll as did; don't
know why Allen lett the canal; the American
Transportation Company fixed the rates at tho
time; We had to go by their quotations;
did considerable business in the package shipments;
my boats were chartered by railroad agents at New
York carried freight for tho New York Central and
the Erie roads; carried most for the Eric;
got three cents hundred. sixty cents
per ton. and have had AZ cents hundredwcight;
got no local freight tor Buffalo; they don't
put any local freight on our boats; Buffalo don't
get any Of the low ratio traffic that goes the canal
| we carry q load to New York in about twenty-five
days; this business has been very large, but s not
large now; cant fight the railroads successfully;
il they don't give me their freight can't got it;
freight il composed OF everything grocers' goods
and stock for other dealers get difference in clas-
sincation; the highest got this year was AZ cents
per hundredwcieht. or 30 cents per ton; have al
ways myself dealt with the Erie road; sometimes my
agent dealt with tho New York Central road my boats
| goods to me; make my contracts with the Erie
company; contract cont lasts only y,so, for the trip;
to the Erie's dock; deliver to them
sometimes to their boats; at other times to their
we would have to back light if did not carry
the freight offered; have never discov
cred any special marks on the goods thar
were shipped to the Erie company; / experienced
hard times from 1873 to 1876; in 1877 lost money;
did not make dollar during the whole year owing
to railroad competition; since 1877 we have built up
what previously lost: we can't get freight to
local points from here's railroad companies take 1t
| all ut a lower price than we can.
| M lfr Il pal
ago; have since built some; during the last three
years forty boats have been built at Lockport deal
with Robert Williams. the Erie agent in New York
the railroad companies give special rates and gather
up all of the local freght my canal rates huctuate
wo carry according to the market.
| To Mr.. Gluck's question. What is the name OF
the party who showed you the letter that you have
| referred to p witness objected.
| BY Mr.. Storne to Mr.. dluck-Do you want to take
away his special rates
| The Chairman ruled that the question must be
answered.
RAILROADS CARRY ALL THE FLOUR
A. b. Hooper, used to run boats for the special
purpose OF getting local freight, but do not do
now, us canDot get it,
TO Mr.. shipman-Used to carry lot of -four from
Rochester to New York cannot got it now the rail-
it as cheap as did; don't know what tho railroad
companies charge for transportation.
To Mr. Gluck-Have not built any new en-
ployed any other boots to carry my freght there is
not enough Of the business from Lockport to Buf-
falo to keep up the trade.
1877 the manager of the Union Steamboat Company
told me that he made money on his boats; one boat
made 2,O00 none less than $4,000; while
ran mno loss; the railroads got the preference
on account of their superior tonnnge; wo cannot
touch the package freight. tho railroad companies
have superior facilities for speedy trans portaton.
c. p Dudley was called. but did not appear; also
W. q. Riddle and j. b. Gibbons.
SPECIAL RATES AGAIN.
Samuel Goodman recalled
by Mr.. Sterne-Do you know anything about this
contract with tho Western Transportation Company?
A. do not; never have it; it has never been
signed: only because j only know
it from hearing Aliens testimony If I
% CORRECTLY ra t are to receive tho
York of the through rate: that's about all
thero is in it; we are to carry all his West bound
freight; We don't give him any preference.
g. He is permitted to get as much business as nc
likes? A. Yes. sir; have got three agents in Buffalo;
MIR. Standgoord il one Of them.
O. Who takes care OF the cattle yard OF the New
York Central Railroad? A. L. L. Crocker has charge
OF tho yard and Mr. Hoover has charge of tho cattle
business at Buffalo; the stock yards leased
don't know to whom; there Is no yardago charged
tho lessee makes his living by selling feed for
stock; Mr.. butcher. think has the lease of
it,; don't know how long the lease has been in
existence. Tho rebates to Schoclkopf and Matthews
passed through my office; also the Offices Of the
General Freight Agent. General Transportation
Manager, Auditor Assistant Auditor and Vice Presi-
don't.
they amount to? A. can butcher has charge
of all the stock yards.
kopf Matthews on grain from Buffalo to niagara
Falls, and flour from Niagara Falls to New York,
IL higher than the Buffalo rate; has boon always;
Schoelkopf's Mill has been up eight months; tho
is six cents higher.
BY Mr.. sterne--Now9 A. Yes; 1t has lasted for
tho last sixty days; we have contract with them ut
quarter OF cont per bushcl on grain and five cents
on flour; have additional contract with them
that shall carry ut three cents per bushel. which
IL to bc paid for terminal charges; tho two
rates combined make 1t little higher; far my
memory is concerned they have not paid less than
fifteen cents per hundrodweight; have not carried
-four road for less than ten cents pcr hun
drcdweight.
q. At fifteen cents per hundredweight? A. Yes.
sir; when Schoclkopf & Mathews paid forty-fvo per
cent they paid much the Buffalo men.
q. Have You carried grain ut ton cents per hun
drcdweight? A. Yes. sir.
Q. When the rate fifteen cents per hundred
weight ut Milwaukee what your schedule
rate from Buffalo to New York; A. Fifteen cents
per barrel tc everybody; paid seven cents per
barrel for terminal charges ut New York; that left
eight cents for carrying 1t from Buffalo to Now
York.
Q. Was II tho from Buffalo to New York as
from Chicago to New York? A. No, sir; ii was ff-
teon cents per barrel from Buffalo to Now York.
q. You don't mean to say that whenever the rate
went down In the West you put II down to tho
Buffalo people corrcspondinglyP A. We had to do It.
q. IL you tried to do that, what the reason for