St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-09
Of the Charge Of Disepimina-
ton Made Against the
Kansas City.
General Manager Egan Pro-
nounces It a Case of Pure
jealousy.
II the Proportion Was Wrong,
the Error Was a Clerical
One.
A Change Of Claim Agents.
Local Railway News and
Personals.

Charges have been made that the Chi
cagO, st. Paul & Kansas City has been
engaged in manipulating freight rates
on grain. 1t is said that they secured
1890 cars of corn from Kansas City to
Chicago by means of cut rate of two
cents, this being worked by their
acceptance of proportional two
cents less than the regular rate,
indicating that some Western roads
have influenced business by the Kansas
City road. and taking more than their
proportion of the through rate. The
charge is made that the grain was billed
to Duluth at the Chicago rate, and the
destination changed while in transit
from Duluth to Chicago. If such has
been done, the road has not only violated
its agreement with the Interstate Com
merce Railway association and South
western association, but has directly
violated the interstate commerce law.
The further charges are made that this
cutting has extended to live stock from
Montana. and that passes have been
literally issued to induce it.
j. Nj. Egan, general manager of the
Kansas City, was asked yesterday what
he had to say in reference to these
charges. "They have been common
property" said he, ''fOr week in Chi
cago. A representative of the Burning
ton & Northern has been hawking them
around to the newspaper offices there,
and | know of three papers at least
which refused TO publish them, taking
no stock in them on account OF the
source from which they sprang. The
charges are not true. The explanation
of their origin is simply this: The Kan
sas City road has been shipping grain to
Chicago on through rate made in con-
nection with the Missouri Pacific and
Atkinson, Topeka Il Santa Fe. All
of the Missouri river was car
ried on this agreement, and we
had been shipping OH it for
some time. The Trans-Missouri &
Southwestern associations made a
through tariff which was published.
This made the through rate just about
two cents higher than that under which
we had been working, and it was made
up of the sum of the local rates. When
this tariff was published the Missouri
Pacific and Atchison, Topeka u Santa
Fe pulled out from their agreement
with US. This they had no right to do:
No mistake was made as charged. and
no rebate have been given. All cars
shipped locally from Kansas City and
st. Joseph were reported to the South
western association, which kept no ac-
count of through billing from points
west of the river. This can prove, as
| have a letter from Mr.. Midgeley III
reply to me. wrote him asking correct
report. i'll which he says he is unable to
give it. AS for the charge that we have
been cutting on stock rates from Mon
tana, it Just amounts to this, that other
roade are jealous of the amount OF
such business we have been doing. We
have been getting nearly all of the live
stock business because we have men up
there working for the shipments. Last
year we had none, and only got our reg
ular share of the business. Mr.. Shields
and myself are old residents of Mon
tana and know all the stock men in
timately. We were out there when the
Manitoba road was being built, and
know every ranchman on that line.
They ship their stock over our line be-
cause of the personal friendship exist
ing between us. AS for the mistakes In
billing, such mistakes are constantly oc-
curing to all the other lines, and
amount to nothing, as the fault lies with
the Southwestern association in keep
ing no accurate account of the through
billing. | am perfectly willing that the
matter should be brought before the
interstate commerce commission. L
court an inquiry. as we have nothing to
conceal, and will he able to show that
this fuss is all being made by jealous
rivals. There are some roads which
work on the principle of crowding new
competition to the wall, and make use
of unprincipled methods in order to at
tain their ends. We have not been long
in the business. but we can hold our
own against anv of them.'