The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1882-07-28
TIE ABUSES PRAcTIcED BY TRANsPoRTA.
TION COMPANIES.

The facilities for transportation aud the
manner in which companies engaged in such
enterprises accommodate. the public or abuse
the important calling in which they are en-
gagged, are subjects which are of vital in
telest to the public welfare. The people
Of the Willamette Valley and particularly
. of Benton county have been unfortunate
for the lack of competent and proper ac-
commodations in this line which, seems not
to improve. Last summer during a
season of the year when the water was so
low that it was impracticable for boats to
get here, the only railroad company and in
fact the only practicable means then of get
ting supplies to this place, refused to carry
and deliver to our merchants the article of
powder, and yet we never heard of any
other town on their line of road being de-
MED any such privileges. The feigned ex-
cuse was that it was dangerous to bring it
to Corvallis, but to any other town they
could carry it without any fears. For a
.long time the merchants of this place have
been missing freight. To one merchant
here lot of stoves receipted for in good
order are shipped from San Francisco, part
of the pieces arrive all right and the re-.
manning pieces are not delivered. To an
other miscellaneous lot of general mer.
chandise is senta portion of it Is delivered
but barrel or two Of sugar or something
else is retained. To another lot of choice
California fruit is shipped receipted for in
good order and when it arrives here the
boxes are broken open and one-third per-
haps is gone. On some such occasions bills
have heretofore been presented the pay
ment o. which in some instances have been
delayed for a year or two and in other in
stances no satisfaction whatever has been
obtained.
During the latter part of last winter and
last spring merchants from all over the
Valley as they had been doing for years be-
fore, ordered goods from San Francisco
marked in care of some of the steamboat
companies at Portland engaged in bringing
freight up the river to different points,
which were not in any way connected with
bhe steamship lines from San Francisco to
cortland or in the railroad lines leading
from Portland South. But the line of boats
from San Francisco to Portland and the
railroads just named being directly in
terested together, concluded that for some
reason they could not safely deliver to 9TH
er steamboat companies the goods which
were directed in their care and which was
intended by shipper and consignee should
bring them up the river at about one-half
less cost than the r. R. Co.'S would carry
It tor. The railroad has, however, retained
such goods in their charge and brought
them to their destination charging there
fore about double what the river boats
would have done it for. But before this
outrage was committed it had been the
custom ever since transportation companies
had existed in Oregon to deliver freight
during its transit to any other company to
whose care it was marked. Such is the
manner in which the rights of the people
of our State are being outraged and the
faith with them broken continually, and
yet any effort on the part of the people to
relieve themselves from this monopoly is |
frowned down and discouraged, and the
projectors of it are abused and vi,ifed by |
such local papers as the Oregonidn and
Willan,ette Farmer, which seem. to be run in
the interests of Mr.. Villarl and his high