The record-union., 1892-12-10
THE MERCANTILE PROTEST IN SAN
FRANCISCO.

cisco against the political policy of the
San Francisco Traffic Association man
ayers, and the statement therein that the
merchants do not desire to throw the
railroad tariff question into the Legisla-
ture and the political arena, has created
CONSERVATION in the ranks of the dema-
gogic agitators in San Francisco.
1t is fact that eighty-five per cent. of
the members of the Traffic Association
signed the statement published. This
fact, denied at first by the anti-railroad
press, is now so far conceded that both
the call and the Bulletin speak of the
signatures as quite large number of
the merchants and the latter paper re-
marks upon ga split in the Traffic Asso-
ciation." This is great deal to confess
upon the part of those papers; an unex-
pected admission that their suicidal
course has not the approval they have
claimed for it.
The statement of the protesting mem
bers of the association shows beyond
question, indeed it is fatty and undis-
guisedly stated, that the original and
central purpose and real object of the
Traffic Association was to make San
Francisco the distributing center of the
State. All the evasion and excusative
explanations of the Traffic Association
and Autocrat Leeds are swept aside by
the frank statement of the protesting
merchants that such was and is the pur-
pose of the association.
Leeds in his attempts to cover this pur-
pose proves himself dishonest hypo-
crite, and nothing more, because since
the protesting statement has been pub
lished he has pointed out in an interview
that the Traffic Association did not want
to confess its real object, for the reason
that it feared it would create opposition
throughout the State. He said, in brief
these people want to make US confess
this thing in order to produce schism in
our ranks and divorce the sympathy of
the country from US. In effect, he said.
we cannot go before the Legislature with
the interior members antagonized by
declaration of the true purpose of the
Traffic Association.
1t is matter of history that when the
merchants wanted to try negotiation with
the railroads Leeds opposed it; in every
form in which the suggestion came up he
antagonized it. The merchants said:
1--WE have vast patronage in our
hands. We have at least one-half of all
the tonnage brought from the East to San
Francisco, and we are served by six in
dependent through lines. If we unite
the entire volume of our overland traffic
we can put it up as the prize for cheap
through service. One of these lines, the
Canadian Pacific, is not amenable to the
interstate commerce law, which forbids
lower rate for a longer than a shorter
haul. If the entire volume of our trade
were offered to that road, it would sever
carry our trade More than this. The
merchants of San Francisco united could
say to the Southern Pacific or any other
line having through connection, that at a
certain rate of transportation, which
would be fair, they would stay by 1t
against all propositions of cheap competi-
tive rates, and in that way guarantee to
it a steady. resistant, unvariable volume
of freight. This would starve the other
roads into submission"
Now these things were possible. If
Mr.. Leeds is the wise man he pretends
to be he knew it. Pretending to be a
railroad expert, having experience in
transportation, he yet takes advantage of
none of these things. Thereupon, after
patient waiting, the business common
sense of the mercantile community of
San Francisco rises now to the situation.
They would have accomplished some
thing long ago, but they abdicated their
own good judgment in favor of the sup
posed ability of this Eastern traffic man
ager. The fact of Mr.. Leeds discharge
from the system of roads over which he
had charge at the East is justified by the
exhibition of his incompetency here. He
would make, perhaps, a first or second
rate freight clerk.