The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-02-15
SINGULAR WAR.
Four Railroads and Four Newspapers
in Conflict.

A curious warfare, of which the public has
heard nothing, is waged here, writes a Detroit
correspondent of the Chicago Tribune. 1t is
between the Michigan Central, the Wabash,
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and
the Detroit, Lansing 6 Northern railroads
on the one hand, and the four English daily
papers-the Free Press, the Tribune, the
News and the Journal-on the other. The
equal numerical division of the contending
forces does not necessarily make the conflict
an equal one by any means.
About a month ago the roads named re-
solved to no longer pay the papers for pub
fishing their time cards. For years regular
advertising rates have been charged for this
service by the papers, The railroads argued
that the newspapers must publish the an
nouncement of the arrival and departures of
all passenger trains as matter of news, the
same as the weather reports, the market quo
tations and similar things, and, thus reason
ing, it was not difficult for the representa-
tives of the roads present at the meeting
where this action was taken to convince
themselves that during all these years they
had been practically swindled by the news
papers. AS an exchange Of courtesies, how
ever, the lines decided to grant the dailies
annual passes ION condition of the publica-
ton Of the timetable of the company" This
they had long done with the country press,
and they now failed to see why the condition
should not be enforced against the city
dailieS.
The roads were somewhat surprised when
the newspapers, as if by previous, under
standing, simultaneously quit publishing the
time cards, and Jan. 10. when the annual
passes expired, refused to accept the new
ones offered. The various lines were noti-
fed that all announcements of the change
of the running time of trains, excursion
rates, and similar notices which the papers
had been accustomed to print free of charge,
would be accepted only on payment of regu-
lar reading matter rates.
The spirit spread to every person connect
ed with the press, and, although no orders to
that effect were issued, it was understood
that war had been declared, and that the
campaign was to be a long one. Since Jan.
10, there is not reporter in this city who
cannot scent railroad accident at twice the
distance as formerly, and recent fatal acct
dents, as depicted, have been more than
usually narrowing Reporters have hap
pened to get on the jury-they know the
coroner-and in very recent case the jury
found that, when the victim was killed, the
train was running Is miles an hour out OF
the Central yards, in violation of the law,
and recommended that the company be pub
licly prosecuted.
Such an unusual verdict was, Of course,
treated by the press as its Importance de-
served, and the facts were given to the pub
lie under such eye-catching captions as
Murdered by Central Company" The
Public Be D. d. Policy" ETC. Public feel
ing has been so aroused by these reports that
action is about to be taken against the COM
pany.
The fact that number of railway gates
are needed at an equal number of street
crossings in this city has but recently been
discovered, and the discovery has resulted in
bringing the railroad commissioner to town
for the purpose OF inspecting the alleged dan az
roads owning elevators to charge extra stor-
age for grain not removed by certain date,
although not an unusual thing, has been de-
n0unced, and such sentiment created in IA
yor of the board of trade that the roads no
titled the board that extra storage rates
would not be exacted.
The funniest circumstance of the war is
that the Grand Trunk, under the direction of
its general manager, refuses to join the 9TH
er roads in their action against the press.
The Grand Trunk time card continues to
adorn the advertising columns of the dallies,
and the road derives special advantage from
being the only one that has its card thus
printed cOnspicuouSly in all the newspapers
giving the impression to strangers that it is
the only road running in and out of the city.
Grand Trunk passes, also, are distributed
more freely than ever to the newspaper edi-
tors and reporters, and any newspaper man
has but to hint that he wants pass to get it.
It's a coincidence, to say the least that the
papers have apparently just found out what a
great benefit the Grand Trunk is to Michi-
gan. 1t has been discovered that the Grand
Trunk is being Outraged" in the matter of
its treatment by the Central road, whose
switching charges are pronounced exorbi-
tant, and the attention of the attorney -gener-
al has been called to this alleged violation by
the Central of its charter and the general
state law. 1t is positively announced that
the attorney general will move against the
Central company in the supreme court of the
state to rectify the alleged discrimination
against the Grand Trunk.
What the final outcome of this novel fight
will be cannot be conjectured. Nothing like
it ever occurred before in Michigan. The
Detroit papers have nothing to say about it,
for obvious reasons.