New-York tribune., 1881-08-10


nections is to be held at Commissioner Finks Office
to-day. In the notice issued by the Commits
soner the purpose of the meeting sta ed
10 be the consideration of the causes which
have led to the present nous of rates, aud the
means that should be adopted the future 20
maintain the tariffs established by the committee.
tumors of conference of the trunk line presidents
at Saratoga have been circulated assiduOusly for
more than a week, butfhe day of the meeting has
been postponed necessarily because each day no
meeting has taken place. 1t reported in Wall
Street that the conference took place yesterday.
William II. Vanderbilt found at his residence
last evening by TRIBUNE reporter. who inquired
il he had held a conference with any of the other
trunk line presidents Mr. Vanderbilt replied posi-
lively that he had not and that ne had not been in
vited 10 do He said i'm addition:
What need is there of a conferencef There is
nothing to confer about. The war in ratesf know
Of no war; / am fighting nobody. Some of the
trunk lines were stealing the business Of the Cen
trail, and then they honey y-fugled around US and
pretended that they were maSnfainine rates They
knew they were not, and knew il too They said
that the rates were made by some of their Western
connections thatAhey conld not control Ihave sim
PLY followed their rates dId begin the cutting
but do say now that their rates are our rates By
and by will get sick and tired Of the whole
thing / perfectly well satisfied. To be sure,
the Central is doing a vast deal of work for the
same money it received last year, but il is getting
about the amount of money; there is some
satisfaction in that. There is secret about
this matter. When there is plenty of
business for the roads il is easy enough
to maintain full rates when there is little traffic
there to be a scr amble for that little; when it
comes to that pools and pooling agreements amount
to nothing. But [ repeat that did not begin the
cutting of rates. We control our Western roads
whatever the other lines may do. They found that
they were losing their business through the low
rates made BY some of their competitors they re-
solved to regain it by making similar rates, aud they
did this without orders from me.
By the way. how impossible il is TO please every
body maintain rates, and am mOnopolist who
gradually is absorbing the wealth of the country
by exorbitant charges; reduce rates to my
business ana / am blamed because | am running
the property in my charge and the whole railroad
property of the country. L am depriving innocent
stockholders of the fruits of their investments Why
think Thurber and the rest of that LOT ought to pat
me the back and hail me as a public benefacUOr.
Those men howl for free canals and by and bv will
want to tax the railroads TO raise money to repar
the canals Don't they that by free canals they
strike blow directly at the railroads themselvesf
in favor of canals because they bring gram to
New-York but 10y aboishing the tolls the b0atInen,
whom l am charged with running, would not be
benefited they would not receive cent more for
carrying grain. 1t is impossible, certainly, please
| everybody"
HOw did the Erie increase its deliveries Of grain
so largely last winter and springp asked the re-
| porter.
| "By cutting rates and by no other means Every
| railroad man in the country, who knows anything
about it, Will tell you that he was astonished that
the Central stood it so long. have SIMPLY followed
their rates, and now rates down to hsrd-pan
where they cannot steal our business BY making
lower prices"
II.
many things to be settled. Take the Baltimore and
| Ohio for instance. which was allowed 5 per cent
| of the kew-York business. That road cut on every
hundred pounds of freight it carried in order to
even that 8 per cent Of the business. What right
has the Baltimore and Ohio 10 any New-York hnsi-
ness at all 1t is not a New-York road
| and is not entitled TO any of the business The
roads to Baltimore and 10 Philadelphia have built
up those ports at the expense of this city. IL is
' Tbcv have been allowed diferea:ial rates
TO those cities If they cut rates to
| New-York they have no need of the
diffcrentials. / do not say these will be abolished I;
do not know; and have no propositions 60 make
to ANYBODY. But good many rious questions
have got to be settled, and l g9e the present is
carry goods around by Baltimore and Philadelphia
aud New-Yo TO Boston at 10 cents less than 10
New York then all have 20 say is that the New
York rate is too high that's all there is about it
the New-York rate is too high"
How about the arbitrary rates on roads west Of
"oh! that is all right Those roads have pool
among themselves, and what is more they live up 10
il. It's a pay did not have some of their
sense and honesty, and not have pool merely
TO violate agreements. Is there anything smart
| in "a freight solicitor going about aud getting a
thousand tons of freight AT cut rate He has that
much freight hut in doing he has caused hrs road
to violate solemn compact Is there anything
| smart in that
THE PASSENGER RATES.
"The Central Road perfectly satisfied with
things they are Some of the companies have lots
of idle cars i do not say that have
! none. We doing great deal Of
work. and getting money
aud recovering our business. Why, this passenger
business is good thing for us notwithstanding the
| low rates. The passenger earnings of the Central
increased S75 900 last month and those of the Lake
Shore increased $45, 900. My attention called
tue other day 10 the Grand Trunks rates of So be
tween Boston and Chicago, and some Of my olficer
. wanted to meet the rate / said il would be foolish
to do Our trains were going full all the time
and Ii anvono was willing 10 go around through ths
woods $50 miles further TO couple of dollar
s L perfectly willing that the Grand
n passengers. OF / paid no attention 4
n | the Grand Trunks rate. The Central can hold ia
own in both freight and passenger business 4or
little while any way. am pc fectly satisiiedrand
when people get tired Of this thing they can come
= to me. have propositions 10 offer. L meet the
others rates and that is all there is about it."
a THE rudR CONTRACTS.
lis the Central making many time contracts 2
the reporter asked.
I" / think not" Mr.. Vanderbilt replied and with
= | smile lie added The Pennsylvania way is a gooS
z one, and think we have rather adopted tiff yoS
get good customer keep him. We are taking car
n of our customers now you may be sure, and ths
d is better than any contract. don't think any 0