Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-27
Meet to Discuss Ways and Means
to Get Better Freight Rates.
A Petition Asking that the Difference
in Carload and Less than Car
load Rates be Maintained.
The Interstate Commerce Law the Beginning
OF all the Evils Complained OLA
Full and Free Discussion.

ductive of no good, Mr.. @. NJ. Suther-
land of this city, unwilling to give up
trying for more favorable freight rates,
undertook to get up another meeting,
from which should be excluded au but
business men, a circular letter was sent
out to the jobbers and manufacturers do
ing business in Texas, askiag their views
upon the prOpriety of holding another
meeting for consultation with the traffic
managers of the Texas roads.
In accordance with the views expressed
in a large majority of the replies a meet
ing of the jobbers was called to convene
in Huffman $ hall in this city August 20
ct 10 o clock a m.
THE MEETING.
| A call was therefore issued, and at IL
| O CLOCK Yesterday morning q body OF
men representing the jobbers of almost
every city IN North Texas assembled at
the place indicated in the call.
! The meeting was called to order by q.
NJ. Sutherland, who outlined the object
| of the meeting. He said it was Il confer
/ ence of business men with the represent
| tatives of the railroads, and in no sense
! a convention The business men Of
! North Texas had come together to confer
! with the freight men as TO what could be
! done to repair the injury done interior
/ jObbing points by the operations OF
the Interstate commerce law. He had
/ thought out no plan of action, and
| his desire was to get fair expression OF
| opinion from business men upon matter
| of buiness, and without the slightest po-
liticaI tinge. He expressed surprise that
so small number of gentlemen had at
| tended the meeting, as he had been led
! hn
Mr. Sutherland said it renamed with
| the meeting to say what kind OF an Or
ganization they would have.
On motion of William Cameron q. Nj.
Sutherland was elected chairman, and
G. w. Cleveland of Dallas secretary.
The convention then took q recess till
q O'Clock.
! GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS.
| Tpon the reassembling of the meet
ing Mr.. Sutherland took the floor and
made an elaborate speech on the sub
iect of transportation and the evils that
at present beset the Texas jObber.
He began by saying that the meeting
was called for the sole purpose of hav-
ing a conference among business men,
and with the railroad representatives,
to see if something could not be don9
to relieve the jobbing trade of Texas
No newspaper notOrIety was desired and
for that reason little mas been SAID by
the papers concerning this meeting
Every sensible man knew that newspapers
were important factors IN the upbulIdIng
of q country bat business men wanted
their business advertised rather than
themselves The papers represented
here have the good of the business com
munity at heart, and if gentlemen say
| ANYTHING they DO not want reported ne
assured members that what they said
would be suppressed if desired. Every
BODY knows the interior towns are not
| enioying the same facilities for distrib-
uting as before the passage of the inter
state commerce bill, and we are here TO
see if something cannot be done to put
them back in their former de-
slrable position Dallas asks
fo- no advantage Of Fort Worth,
| Fort Worth wants no advantage or Dal-
las, and Waco desires no advantage or
either. but Galveston and Houston have
the advantage of all. If matters con-
tinue as they are now going, all the job
bling trade will be drawn by cities that
have
WATER TRANSPORTATION.
The question is shall the jObbers' profits
be made by such houses as Joe Brown OF
Fort Worth, Armstrong s. Co. Of Dallas
the money here to help pay taxes
and to assist in building up the
state or shall they 90 to New York
New Orleans, ST. Louis, Chicago and
other points in other states having water
| facilities? This movement has no polltI-
cal significance. The men who are here
are friendly to the railroad interests and
have no sympathy for the anti-railroad
CRY of the demagogue
This is TO be a conference, said the
sneaker, of the old fashioned church
sort. where ever member IS expected &c
give in his experience. He said he WOulo
give his views and then yield to others tt
do some talking.
Mr.. Sutherland received letter IRON
q roemper of the interstate railroad COM
D mission which told really nothing, anc
; then proceeded TO discuss the working!
of the interstate law - which he though
was at the bottom of all the mischief
He read from a report of the interstate
5 commission statement Of the filing OF Z
= number of complaints against certain
railroads by the wholesale grOcers' assO
citation of st. Louis, and certain large
wholesale esta blishments in New York
Il in which the commission was asked 10 81
q construe the law rs TO compel the road
1 to ship less than carload lots at carload
l rates, q decision that would, in the opin-
ion of the speaker,
RUIN EVERY JOBBING CENTER
that has not water transportation. Al
o of these cases have been postponed OF
e the motion of the complainants Tor th'
4 purpose of giving them an opportunity u
get New Orleans and other points TO jon
=. with them, thus bringing an influence &
to bear upon the commission that WouL'
force them to render the decision desired
There is no patriotism involved III IN
. filing of these complalnts-no loVe 10
I the dear people-but simply a grabbin;
: after the iobbers margins, TO which tn
: interior towns had as just claim as tn
u initial points.
The speaker said ne had prepared 4
y petit,ou setting forth his views, which n
thought it might be well for the meeting