The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-03-27

ritory of their new competitors, IN the
hopes of crushing them OUT in short
time. The consequence was that the
consumers in this restricted territory
reaped the benefit, and instead of paying
jobber's profit of 10 to 90 per cent. on
staples, it was quickly reduced to mar
gin ranging from to per cent. Find
ing that even under this kind of compe-
tition their competitors still lived, they
had TO devise other schemes to accom-
plish their undisguised object of Crush
ing the Interior Jobbers," as they ex-
pressed it. Their first attempt in the
new direction was made by sending a
committee representing all the associated
grocers of the Missouri river, to the great
sugar refinerie5 at New York and New
Orleans demanding first that the re-
finers could not sell these interior Job
bers of Kansas at all, and which was
peremptorily refused; they then de-
manded that if they did sell them that
t they must do SO on delivered price
equal 10 the market price at the re-
! tineries plus the sum Of the local freight
rates to the different interior points, en-
deavoring i'll this way to deprive the
! Kansas jobber of the small differentials
| to which he is entitled on through rates;
the retineries refused this. Their commit
tee also made demands of like character
of all of the prominent manufacturing
industries of the country, notably to the
tobacco manufactures, the great coffee
roasters, the starch people and many
other minor industries, but to the credit
of these industries be it said that with
one or two exceptions they all refused TO
become parties to such a glazing con-
spiracY and discrimination. Be-
ing foiled in all these attempts,
what was naturally their next move!
| To influence the railroads Of course. At
! that time the jobbers of Kansas were en-
| joying rate of 90 cents per hundred on
sugar from New Orleans, which in itself,
was admitted by all of the railroad traffic
men of the country to be an excessive
rate and out Of all proportion to the dis
lance traversed, when compared with
the rate from the same initial point to
the Missouri river; they reasoned, and
correctly, that by uniting all their ship
ping interests as one firm against any
railroad or railroads. they could WELD
powerful influence and perhaps induce
them to put in discriminative rates that
would bring about the same results
which they had failed to obtain by their
demands upon the refneries and manu-
factories. The result shows they made
no error in their reasoning, but found
pliable tools in the ajority of the traffic
managers they approached, as a conse-
quence, in very short time after this
effort was made, the rate on sugar from
New Orleans was advanced to 60
cents per hundred to interior Kansas
points, while that to the Missouri river
was left unchanged. Now, consider that
for years previous the highest rate on
sugar had been so cents per hundred.
and that, at 4 time when the amoant of
sugar hauled by the railroads into this
section of Kansas was not 1.-THE of
what was being hauled at the time the
rate was advanced to go cents. Does not
this conclusively prove collision between
the roads and the shippers of the Mis-
souri, river: knowing rs we do that this
advance was made in the face of condi-
tons that would have warranted de-
cline and taking effect Immediately
after the demand being made upon them
by the Missouri river jobbers. This adj
vanra in tho smear ra 70 no Il tIa ,,r,o.;o,l
effect of forcing every interior jobber to
sell his sugar at loss, while his COM
petitors, although 230 miles away, could
sell in the same territory at profit.
Various other discrlminative rates were
placed in effect about the same time, all
showing favoritism to the great Missouri
river combine. 1t was when this state
of affairs became unbearable and the life
of the wholesale interests of interior
Kansas was in jeopardy that the jobbers
of Sallna, Hutchinson, Wichita and
Arkansas City determined to join in an
effort to secure equitable freight rates.
The result of this prolonged struggle is
well known.
The state board Of railway commits
sioners of Kansas in their decision of
Jan. 6, plainly and concisely showed this
Determinations under which two-thirds
OF the state of Kansas was laboring and
issued an order TO the railroads com
manding them TO correct their rates on a
reasonable basis. At rehearing before
the board of commissioners on Feb.
and 9, an agreement taking the form of
tripartile contract between the rail
roads, the commissioners and the whole
sale grocers of interior Kansas, was
reached in which all the practical bene-
fits of the commissioners decision were
retained but in a slightly different form.
which il was claimed would be less oner-
Gus to the railroads. This contract was
entered into. endorsed and signed by the
highest legal talent in the employ Of the
different roads but the Western Traffic
association refused to allow the roads in
terested 10 put Ia the rates agreed upon.
Whereupou the state bogrd Of commits
sioners. under the date OF March ., issu-
ed u final order compelling them to put
IN the rates
But this great Missouri river combine