Wichita eagle., 1889-08-09
THE ALTON IN COURT.
The Interstate Commerce Commission Ap-
pealed to by the Roads

WASHINGTON, August S.-There has
been filed with the interstate commerce
commission complaint of the Interstate
Commerce Railway association VS.. the
Chicago & Alton railway. The petition of
the complainant recites that the defendant
was member of said association until
July Is, 1889; that the defendant is COM
petitor for products of live stock from
Kansas City to Chicago with other lines OF
said association, towit: The Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy and affiliated lines;
the Chicago, Rock Island s. Pacific; Chi
cago, Minneapolis & st. Paul; Wabash
Western; Chicago, Santa Fe 81 California,
and Missouri Pacific; that said last men
toned companies together with the de-
PENDANT have united in the establishment
of a tariff for the transportation
of said commodities from points
beyond Kansas City to Chicago; that said
lines also aided in the establishment of a
tariff on live stock, dressed beef and pack
ing house products, etc, from Kansas
City to Chicago The complaint then out
lines the course of business in the hand
ling of such traffic, shipments of cattle
being received in Kansas and the Indian
territory, by lines reaching the grazing
points and consigned by the shippers to
Chicago with the privilege nevertheless of
stops off at Kansas City. The complaint
recites that each line engaged in traffic
owns a considerable amount of equipment
especially constructed therefor. Of late,
however, the transportation of cattle,
especially from Kansas City to Chicago.
has been very largely carried on by the
use of private stock cars of various so
fal I'd improved patterns; the owners of
w iich are accustomed to engage
ipments by negotiation with
d slers in live stock and they
u collect from lines hauling the cars
mileage of "a per cent per mile run. Such
ears are to a large extent taken west from
Chicago to initial points and loaded for
Chicago and loaded with or without the
privilege of the Kansas City market. as
the shippers may desire. One result OF
this practice, the complaint says, is that
the cattle cars owned by the lines are now
TO large extent unemployed. 1t recites
the complainant has leased forty of its I'M
employed cattle cars to the American Live
Stock Commission company at a rental of
Sc per car per month The mileage upon
said cars in both directions in the ordinary
course of affairs would amount to
ct least Sl2 per month, affording
profit of at least So per month per car to
id lessees. Complainant says that the
repairs of said cars and the service as
sumed by the lessor in collecting mileage
earned, makes the so-called rental almost
nominal; that an arrangement of this kind
whereby the ordinary equipment of line
Is leased outright to shippers is unusual
and Irregular; that in so tar as the pay
ment of the mileage is made or partici-
pated in by the defendant by use of its
OVID cars of any sum in excess of So per
month realized by said lessees in the ma
ture of a rebate, and complainant AYERS
that the transaction is device whereby
the defendant will receive from said
American Live Stock company a larger
compensation for transportation of cattle
than it receives from other persons for a
like contemporaneous service Complain
ant AYERS it is unable to prevent this dis
elimination and asks the intervention Of
the court