New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-15
FREIGHT DISCRIMINATION.
COMMISSIONER FINKs ADMISSIONS.
HOW THE TRUNK LINES FAVOR BOSTON TO HELP
urp AcArxsr SFw-YORK

HER AGAINST NEw-YoRK.
The Interstate Commerce Commission devoted
another day yesterday to- hearing evidence ana
arguments concerning the charges Of violation OIL
the Interstate Commerce act brought oy tne
Produce Exchange against various trunk railroad
lines. The object of the Exchange is to secure
ruling from the Commissioners which will pre-
vent the companies from giving cheaper rates
from the West to Ncw-Yorl1 freight which Is
| consigned to foreign port than on 1relgho
which is consigned to NewYork
The trunk line commissioner, Albert Fink, who
| testified the previous day, was recalled. lie sald
that the practical result Of the order of the Com
mission issued on March was to restore the
methods in vogue prior to November 20, 1887.
The interval is generally referred to as the period
of demoralized rates The bills Of lading on
through freight on file in his otiice sometimes
showed the inland rate and sometimes. merely the
through rate As rule, the companies reported
their inland rate only the understanding being
that the through rate made by simply ADDING
the ocean rate. The trunk lines favored Boston
TO enable Boston to compete with New-fork MI
Fink admitted that although Boston Is further
from Chicago than either Philadelphia or Balti
more, she exported a great deal more OF chicago
products than those cities
| THE EXPENSE OF LIGHTERING.
John S. Wilson, freight traffic agent OF the
! Pennsylvania Railroad was the next witness. lie
! told what advantages the Pennsylvania road de-
rived from transferring grain TO ship holds with
ont lighterng" 1t effected a saving OF 80 cents
n hundred pounds The Pennsylvania Company
had no present arrangement with any steamship
comnanv. and had had none since February 90
From November 1887, until February 1855 IL
had had an arrangement with steamship COM
panies, whereby they received half the through
| rate Thus on thrty-cen rate from Chlcaso
to Liverpool the railroad company would get 10
conts When tramp" ocean rates were as low
rs 3 cents the Pennsylvania Company had pald
IS cents for the purpose Of steadying the rates
and preventing generalization of rates MI
Wilson believed that the Commission should de-
eide what was reasonable through rate including
ocean TRANSPORTATION, and the companies snould
stick to it. He added:
The great trouble in situation is this; In MAKING
rate through Chicago TO Liverpool VIA New. io
of 30 cents the railroad might to-day find an ihhuA
tramr they might get for their division Oh ' @ n'
o. cent? having the tramps7 Tomorrow they
might have to pny high percentage TO the ocean ca
and tramps" might turn up in Baltimore ano ocean ld.1'
would be cheap from that point Next DAY fhaue'pH'
nigh. be the favored city. We want absolute steauhe
a. noor a. We can got t. and elimination OF this de-
ooall1inc element walch subject the supervision
OF tho Commission 1t necessarily demofaH~es 'hi"-
when the one day may be cents py .rsHp ~
and the next day 90 cents ty regular steamship
fore advocate the Commission fixing a reasonable
through rate TO Liverpool and seeing that 1t Is maintained
II nv competitor at Chicago joined me in securing
through rate and stuck It, would not care What per
ceatage he got for the inland transportation
Mr. Herman ridiculcd the idea of the Commls-
sioners undertaking such work as Mr.. wilson sug-
ccsted and the Commissioners themselves looKeu
as though they did not relish the idea OF adding TO
their burdens. Things grew exciting wnch Nr'
Herman intmated that the Pennsylvania Company
had used the name Of Peter Wright & Sons as q
blind to hide its own transactions, and had hired
Mr.. Griscom to kick in order TO deceive the
nublic This. Of course Mr.. MacVeagh resented,
but Judge Cooley came to the rescue by ordering
recess five minutes ahead Of the regular time
Mr. WILSON RECALLED.
After recess Mr.. Wilson was recalled and ex-
amined by Mr. MacVeagh.
oUow does the condition OF rates between November
, ,s7 and February Ss. compare with the condition OF
rates before and sncel A.-From information we have
believe The through continuous rates seadea the
rates very much. o,
o-wbat is the situation to dsy1 Al am satisfied
from information to-day that freight has passed
within the last seventytwo hours or Is now en- route from
Chicago Liverpool via Boston at less than the Boston
export rate. -
| o-Does that include mcie thai one line A-Without
going into details giving about which feel some
deIlcacy should say that there are two lines
Mr. Kernan-If It be that inland rates were
steadier methods enforced between Novemner
1877 and February 49, why IL that all the trunk
lines with the exception the Pennsylvania voted to
pu1ate that system ABecause the PENNSYLVANIA Rail-
road seemed 10 be the only that had allied TO it by
ranrement an ocean line under which 1t took business
from an interior point in United States a point in
! Europe under percentage agreement
o-The other roads that that It an undue ad
! vantage7 Ayes
Q-Is II not true that It charged at times that the
perns7lyana Railroad was tuyer Of grain in the markets
through Pcuer Wright Companyl Al have not heard
that charge made; II 1 had should have denied t.
o-Does rot any arrangement such suggest with
corpanles noce.sate supplying OF ccrtl
amount OF tonnagef A.-Not any than an agree
men. between the Pennsylvania and Fort Wayne Road
would put Wayne in the market to buy tonnage
SUMMING UP BOTH SIDES.
Mr. McVeagh summed up for the Pennsylvania
Company. He rdiculed the antquated system
of employing lighters in New-York to transfer
freight from shore 10 ship, thereby greatly IN
creasing the expense. He argued that the Com
mission should establish reasonable through
rate to Liverpool Mr.. Herman, for the Produce
Exchange insisted that the Commission should
concern itself only with freights to the seaboard'
where its jurisdiction terminated, and argued that
, freight from the West whether for home con-
sumption or export should pay the same rate;
This ended the hearing. The lawyers received
three weeks to hand in briefs and when the
Commission has thoroughly dgeSted the evidence
| IL will render its decision.