The morning call., 1891-10-15
MERCHANTS COMBINE.
Increased Interest in the Traffic
Association.
It Will Be Modelled After the Chicago
Freight Bureau and Leeds May Be
Its General Manager.

The merchants are wide awake over
the prospective traffic association which
will be organized at the Chamber of
Commerce on Saturday. The new COM
bine is about the only thing talked of in
commercial circles, aud the coming meeting
will in all probability be well attended.
Among the members of the Organizing COM
mttee considerable interest was manifested
yesterday by tho announcement that the
| Transcontinental Association Is holding
special meeting. Some of the committee
members thought it likely that the pro-
posed convention Saturday might be dis
| cussed by the Transcontinental magnateS,
and one of the committee said that one
proposition that has been made refers to
the Atchison system.
There has bean some lively talk" he
| said, TAT the attitude of the Atchlson sys-
TEN toward San Francisco. 1t has been
said that road that has come within 800
miles or so of San Francisco and there
| stopped should have some pressure applied
to induce it to build. 1t does not seem In
clined to come here, as it has stopped where
it is for several years. One of our commit
tee has held that it never will build into
San Francisco as long rs it can have Cali
fornia business without having to build.
| This member believes that the only way 10
force an Issue is to boycott the Atchls0n. Ii
the AtchiSon found that it could not secure
| any business without coming here 1T IS ar
guod that it will come. At any rate this IS
| one of the matters that have been dis
| cuSsed.'
ARRANGING THE PRELIMINARIEs.
At meeting of the Committee on Pre-
| liminary Arrangements yesterday, general
plan of action was decided upon, which VIII
| be submitted for approval to the convention
on Saturday Resolutions were adopted
avowing the objects of the associations 10 be
| as follows;
To do all in It's power to build up the COM
| mercial prosperity OF San Francisco, by encOur-
| aging tie DuildnI OF canals connective system
! Of railroads, steamship lines, aud Tor anything
thai may tend TO develop lie In erests OF tue
| State; also TO so regulate freight and passenger
| traffic that the Interests and resources OF our
State may be developed and not retarded.
To foster our commercial interests aud lndus-
tries, To develop new territory for our trade by
eoing out fields for gu: merchants and pT0duc-
| ers to distribute their goods. products aud manu-
| features.
! Aud such further purposes as may by the Ex-
| ecutiye Committee be deemed advisable from
time TO time. There shall be committees APP
pointed IN diff rent parts OF the State, which
| shall cooperate with the Executive Committee
in the management of the association.
These resolutions also recommend that the
| Executive Committee be given full power
10 draw up bylaws and rules for the gov
eminent of the association; that the
qualification for membership be that the
applicant Dc'a merchant or producer, aud
that mem bership dues be fixed at 81 80
month, a contract 10 be entered into
with any firm joining agreeing to re-
main member for not less than five years,
| and TO further agree that the ASSOCIATION,
through its Executive Committee, shall have
the routing Of all freightS, both east and west
! bound, for the term Of contract of member
ship. 1t has been also decided that the new
association shall be modelled after the CHI
| cago Traffic Bureau, an organization when
has proved great success.
THE PROBABLE MANAGER.
Two dispatches have been received from
! j. IL. Leeds of st. Louis in response to
request from the committee that he come to
| San francisco and take charge OF the new
combiue. Both messages signify his wiling
| ness to come If an arrangement can be
made a. to terms. Mr.. Loels IS AZ years
old, having been born in Clermont County,
| Ohio, IN 1874. lie entered railroad Office
in 1866, and has been connected with rail
roads in one capacity OF another ever since,
until he assumed the position lie at present
occupies with the ST. Louis JobOers' AssO-
citation as manager. He was at first a tele-
graph operator in the employ OF the Marietta
and Cincinnati Railroad, and was stationed
at Cincinnati from February, 1866 10 March
/, 1868. He then was engaged as telegraph
operator ard clerk by the Chicago, Burling-
ton aud Quincy road. and was stationed at
| nuul, ILL, dll u IL ObldNd, HI, USiuB 81 eu-
gased until May 10. 1869. He then be-
came station agent at Lewiston, Ill, rema in
ing there until September 10, 1870.
He was next chief clerk and cashier OF the
c. b. q @ at KeOkuk. Iowa, where he re-
manned until December 10, 1873. He then
went into the service of the AtchisOn, To-
peka and Santa Fe as chief clerk in the
general Office of that system, and so con-
tinued until July l. 1881, when he was made
Assistant General Freight Agent. Three
years later in November. 1854, be was aD-
pointed General Freight Agent of the Atch-
ison system, and this position he occupied
| about three years. Since then he has been
Traffic Manager of the Missouri Pacific sys-
TEN, but was removed because of charge
Of cutting the sugar rate.
His removal was a great surprise TO all
other railroad men. They finally reached
the conclusion that Mr.. Leeds was simply
made a scapegOat, while acting under
Gould's instructions Mr. Leeds has also
been Chairman of the Transcontinental As
ISOLATION. He has had a wide and varied
experience as railroad man, and has ais o
had some experience in precisely the sort
Of work he is wanted to do here, by reason
of his connection with the organization
formed in self-defense by the merchants Of