The morning call., 1892-08-14
FREIGHT RATES And FARES.
New TranscOntinental Freigh hi
Schedules.
An Agent Of the Interstate Commission Qui
city Investigated the Overland Ticket
Offices as to Cut Rates.

The contingencies, Offices and ware
houses Of the shippers and merchants. as
we'll as the desks of the railroad Off
cials. were deserted yesterday. and the
heads of all the industrial enterprises in
this city left for the usual Saturday and
Sunday vacation.
Trauscontinental traffic, clipper ships,
local rates and competing railroads were
therefore for brief period allowed to rest,
but on Monday morning the discussion of
all these subjects will be renewed, for there
is no question but that the mercantile COM
munity is aroused TO their Importance. and
that the good work of relieving San Fran
cisco from the oyertaxations of the Southern
Pacific Company will be continued earnestly
and vigorously.
The clipper ship committee of the Traffic
Association neld another meeting yesterday
morning. There is every assurance now
that large amounts OF eastbound freight
will constantly be shipped to New York by
the vessels chartered for that purpose.
Canned goods, barley, raisins and such
general merchandise as the California
market produces have been promised in
quantities sufficient to furnish cargoes for
many vessels.
The westbound traffic by the Cape Horn
route is already immense; $4,000 tons are
now on the way to this port from New York
and over $1,000 tons from Philadelphia.
Besides these large number of vessels are
loading to follow soon. Eastern merchants
are contracting for California goods to be
delivered by sea. and California buyers
close similar bargains in the Eastern
markets.
Fast freight alone is necessarily shipped
by rail.
This state Of affairs alone Is enough to
alarm the Southern Pacific officials. Then
there is the surety that the San Francisco
and Great Salt Lake road is in q condition
TO commence building operations within a
few months, and will start when ii is COM
pleted an overland railroad boom, which
Will doubtless induce other roads to find a
San Francisco outlet.
TRANsCoNTINENTAL FREIGHT.
Furthermore, the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe threatens to ship transc0ntinental
freight from its San Diego terminus to San
Francisco, and the Union Pacific road is
certain to avail itself OF the same privilege
by the way of Portland, Or.
The Canadian Pacific, the Great Northern
and the Chicago Northwestern roads do not
propose 10 stand by and be idle in this COM
petition, and therefore II can easily be seen
that when Mr.. Huntington proposes TO
lower transcontinertal freight rates he is
not acting as philanthropist. He does not
consider that he has squeezed the merchants
OF San Francisco long enough, and that Ii is
about time his company content itself with
reasonable, legitimate profits, but he acts
under compulSiOn and with the intention to
crush rivalry at the start. He desires to
frighten capitalists from investing In COM
petlng railroads, and to intimdate shippers
so they Will cease TO patroniZe ocean trans
portatlon In all the talk of Mr. Stubbs,
and in all the carefully prepared compare
tive reduction tables. there is not word or
hgure intimating that the local freight rates
Will be interfered with.
No matter IL the Transcontinental and
the Western Traffic Association are going
10 be dissolved aud wiped off the face of the
earth IL will cost the fruit-raiser in the in
terror just as much In the future to ship his
product TO the local markets, and ton of
freight sent from here to San Jose will not
be carried for one cent less after the present
big row Is settled than 1t costs to-day to
send it there.
Tomorrow morning the Railroad Com
mlssiOnerS will be in session TO hear the
argument on the Southern Pacific Com
pany's demurrer to X. o. Shively's COM
plant That IS, in other words, the South
ern Pacific Company will commence to have
itself investigated by the board it owns.
Mr.. Shiyely says he wants a reduction OF
fares and rates. Mr.. Huntington's COM
pany says there is no cause for any such de-
mand, and jim Rea Of San Jose, together
with Messrs. Beckman Of Sacramento and
Litehheld Of San Francisco will sit in
solemn Judgment OF the respective merits in
the case.
There Will be plenty OF legal talent pres
ent when this farcical comedy is "for the
time" presented to the people Of California,
and before the curtain drops on the last act
of this investigation" the comedy may be
turned into circus, with Jim" Rea as the
ringnaster. Attorney j. &. Martin will
represent the Kentucky corporation, and
Mr.. Shlveiy's lawyer. Richards, will doubt
less also be on hand.
COLONEL MORGAN WILL DE THERE
AttorEey-Genera Hart will he the Iacal
adviser of the board, and Colonel Morgan
OF Ohio, who has done some premature in
ves;igating on his own hook authorized by
the commission, but paid for presumably