New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-03-08
ADVOCATING EQUAL RATES.
SECOND DAY OF THE ADVISORY BOARD.
SUPPLEMENTARY ARGUMENT OF TIE PRODUCE Ex-


Advisory Commission, which was held yesterday,
the Board of Trade and Transportation was heard
in gument against the continuance of diferentiai
freight rates between Western cities and the Atan-
tic seaboard. The Board represented by the
following committee most OF the members of which
were present: Ambrose Snow Darwin II. James,
John F. Henry, William Fl. Wiley A. B. Miller, A.
NJ. Coffin, T. B. Thurber, II. X. Miller. John c.
Cook, Josiah j. White. NJ. Schrenckc'sen and Mar
| tin n. Day. Several Produce Exchange merchants
were present, in addition to members of the Board
| of Trade and TRANSPORTATION. The three Advisory
Commissioners bore themselves with less solemn
| gravity than AZ the first meeting on Monday. Ex-
| Senator Thurman had his coat thrown back care
lessly at the opening of the proceedings, and his
shirt front became a rival of that OF Judge Cooley.
| The third Commissioner, ex-Minister Washburne,
had dark red flower in the lapel of his coat. The
| general resemblance between Mr.. Thurman and Mr..
Washburne was increased by both gentlemen wear
ing black trimmed eyeglasses at times. Judge
| Cooley made fewer notes than on Monday. while
| the other two Commissioners made more. Before
each of the Commissioners lay open book, like
the books used by stenOgraphers, in which their
memoranda made
At the opening of the proceedings Franklin Edison
read supplementary statement for the Produce
| Exchange at the reqest of the committee Of that
body He said that the arguments of the merchants
respecting the subec of dferentia rates necessa-
rly must be those Of laymen far the technical
knowledge of the science of railway construction or
| transportation was concerned. But vast tho
railway interest of the country, the commercial in
teress involved In the question, together with tho
rights of the people of the State Of NewYork, were
at least proportonately important. New-iork never
| approached the position OF financial centre OF
the country until the people of the State mad
| improved the natural advantages within Its
| borders by the construction Of the Erie Canal.
| Those natural advantages were the same to-Gay as
they sixty years ago. Stripped of all its husks,
| the term dferentia rates meant SIMPLY ruinous
tax on the commerce of New-York for the benefit OF
other Atlantic seaports less favorably situated Every
pound of freight shipped over the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad between Chicago and Baltimore had to
be lifted mp and down the Allegheny Mountains
| than @ 600 feet. Between New-YorK and Chicago
| the freight shipped over a comparatively un-
broken level along the lake shores and through tho
| valleys of the Mohawk and the Hudson. Nowhere
on the New-Yorl rail routes there an elevation
of more than 900 feet, and all other
| conditions favored minimum cost OF
railway transportation. And yet, II the
| Chicago merchant wonld ship his grain other
| freight to New-York instead of TO Baltimore by
rail he must submit TO tax or "difierentia rate.
Of 90 cents per ton this 100 a na
ability to carry it TO NewYorS at the same rates AS
those upon the Baltimore roads The same , facts IA
Baltimore; only, perhaps, to slightly less extent
There could be no peace among. the railways, Mr..
Easn ass%s ffS Ec %ns as % sRSS @
The argument of the Board Of Trade and
TransportatiOn, which was made by F. B. 3;
question asIi of the general evils connected with
way management as 70 that of diferental rates.
between the West and the seaboard, by the various
lines could only be equitaby determined upon the
Investigation into the various elements Of coste t
should be proved that Baltimore and Phils-
delgha were entitled to lover rail rates than Nsw-
that carriage to New-York and Boston costs no
more than to the Southern .scaboard ports,
then the former communities should not he weighted
in the commercial race to benefit cities which
are less favorably situated. The speaker said
that owing to the lack Of supervision and
control of the " modern public highways" by the
people, the data upon which to base conclusions as
| to cost of service almost exclusively in the
hands of the railroads. He asked the CompIssi?gh sion
to secure information of this kind from the rail-
roads, and he then recOunted the variOns elements
which entered into the problem OF determining the
cost;
the railroads ~ Mr.: Washburne asked
| Yes, sir" was the reply. 1--WE experience great
difficulty in getting such Information from the rail-
| rOlds especially that respecting through traffic,
Possibly on account of the varying conditions gov
ernng that traffic the railroads have not got that
| data themselves"
Mr. Thurber then volunteered brief state
| ment of the history of the organization
of the Hepburn Committee to investigate alleged
Mr. Washburne-What was tho practical result Of
| the committees work
| THE committee drafted seven different bills to
remedy the different phases of the evils complained
| of and whose existence may say, was proved be-
| fore the committee, Four of the bills relating to
minor evils, were allowed to be passed by the rail-
| roads which found had absolute control of this
upper house of the Legislature. The other i'm
p0rtant bills could not be passed without the con-
| sent of the roads. We then took the field against
the railroads politically and succeeded so far as to
break the grip # the railroads on the Legislature"
The speaker added that the Board did not share
| in the fear often expressed that the railroads
would ruin themSelve' by, competition unless pro.
tected against themselves by legalized combination
| The Result of the last railroad war showed thai
when competition had brought rates down to
point whre IbeE & were RP PedT9a9ntdy H
| cumstances, advanced prices independently OF
combinations Railroad wars which inter-
on dTi'u watered tered stock might not be an
unmixcd evil. Stability and uniformity IN charges
were desirable, but they might be purchased at too
high cost and the result of the pooling operations
of the last four years bade fair to show that they
had been so purchased. All the advantages enjoyed
| port had come through competiilon, ana now car
riers We're endcayOring to obtain public sanction 10
uncontrolled c9mblnaton. Mri Ih9tOer dwet id az
the railroads in freight rates between different ship
pers regretting that the scope Of the Commissions
INJURY was restricted TO such narrow groove
as that of investigating and advising in regard
10 the differences which should exist between the
rates to and from the various seaboard cities" The
far more important question, he said, was what was
a reasonable charge for railroad service. The Hep
burn Committee invest gation had developed the
fact that certain houses In the grain trade at New
York not only received lower rates than others, but
they actually charged their less favored neghbors
a consideration for shipping goods In their Ithe
No day has yet been fixed for the hearing of the
Chamber of Commerce Mr. Thurman requested
Mr. Thurber who is n member of the Chambers
4 v,