Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-12
ALL PULL TOGETHER.
How the Manufacturers of Some Dis.
tricts Get Fair Rates.
UNITED AND ENERGETIC ACTION
Advocated by Members Of the Chamber Of
" Commerce Committee.
FREIGHT DISCRIMINATION FIGURES

The Committee on Transportation and
Railways of the Chamber of Commerce met
yesterday afternoon. Chairman James B.
Scott opened the proceedings by stating
that the object of the meeting was rot to
establish freight bureau. The object of
the committee was to investigate the alleged
freight Determinations against the Pitts
burg producer by the railroads centering in
and passing through Pittsburg, and if it
IVES found that such discrimination was
going on to take some course to remedy the
matter, and. while freight bureau might
be the direct outgrowth of the matter, it
was not seriously contemplated as yet.
A letter was read from j. Painter q
Sons, in which they said they wished to
rectify a mistake made in communication
to the committee on November 8, in which
they said the rate on iron to New York was
25 cents per hundred, but that it had some
time ago been put up to 30 cents and has re-
NAMED SO ever since.
Mr.. c. A. Painter, for the firm of j. Painter
& Sons, made the following report to the
committee: "We beg leave to supplement
our respects of the 9Th inst. with the fol-
lowing facts and figures showing the inc
qualities in Pittsburg freight rates as COM
pared with those of competing points.
Figures on Freight Discrimination.
Mahonin2 valley points to Selma, Ala, 81
cents per cwt.
Mahoning valley points to Cincinnati, O.,
l3 cents per cwt.
Mahoning valley points to East St. Louis.
ILL.,. 90 cents per cwt.
Mahoning valley points to Chicago. ILL.,, Is
Mahoning valley points to Detroit, Mich,
1lM cents per cwt
Mahoning valley points to Cleveland, O..
Pittsburg to Selma, Ala, 81 cents per cwt.
Pittsburg to Cincinnati, o., Is cents per
cwt.
Pittsburg to East St. Louis, ILL.,, q cents
per cwt.
Pittspurg TO Chicago, ILL.,. 171f cents per
cwt.
Pittsburg to Detroit. Mich, Il cents per
cwt.
Pittsburg to Cleveland, O., 9 cents per cwt.
'In other words, we are at disadvant-
age of cents to Az cents per
hundred to all points Southeast, South,
Southwest, West, Northwest and North,
territory in which we should sell 80 per
cent of our product. As against this we
have an advantage of cents per hundred
over the Mahoning valley shippers to
New York and Baltimore, and 2T
cents per hundred to the territory in and
around Boston. which, however, is largely
supplied by mills located near those
markets.
ITO show the inequality of rates to the
South we may say that although Pittsburg
has the advantage of shipping via either of
the two great gateways to the South, Balti-
more and Cincinnati, she has to pay 2
oo,,to 70
all southern points than competitors in
Youngstown.
Pittsburg Gets the Worst of It
'These southern rates are made up of the
sum of local rate to either Cincinnati and
Baltimore and the differential beyond Now
the local rate from Pittsburg to Cincinnati
is cents per hundred higher than from
Youngstown, and Pittsburg has to pav this
. cents per hundred more to all points South,
but on the other hand the local rate from
Youngstown to Baltimore ia 2 cents per
hundred more than it is from Pittsburg to
but Youngstown never pays this
3 cents extra to any point southwest of the
Carolinas, but on the contrary gets, as has
been stated, cents per hundred better than
US.
eff we had some advantage via the east
ern lines, as Youngstown has via the west
ern lines, we WOulu nave d rate Ol lTelSnC =
cents per hundred better than theirs, ID
stead of theirs being 2 cents better than
ours
Mr.. Scott then went into q discussion
with Mr.. Painter as to who was to blame
tor the discrimination and how it came the
of the Mahoning valley had
concessions made them that Pittsburg man |
nfacturers could not get.
MIR. Painter was of the opinion that it |
was due to the united pressure brought |
lpon the railroads by all the manufact- |
lrers of the Mahoning valley and the lack |
If energy showed by the Pittsburg manu- |
acturera They went into a lengthy dis |
,ussion of freight rates over the country, |
me definite place.
Blaming the Local Railroads.
Mr.. William Hirsch, who has charge of |
he shipping of Shoenberger & Co., cor |
oborated Mr.. Painters figures as to freight |
ates and was inclined to lay the blame on |
ocal roads, as they charge Is cents per hun |
Ired for carrying iron to Cincinnati, dis
ance of $50 miles, while southern roads |
AIRY freight from Cincinnati to Nashville, |
distance of over 600 miles, for 16 cents per
hundred. Mr.. Scott remarked that the
outhern roads might be pursuing ruin
us policy.
Mr.. Scott also expressed surprise that
My three firms, Oliver Bros. & Co., Shoen-
'erger & Co. and j. Painter & Sons, had
AIKEN interest enough in the matter to
ONE before the committee. Mr.. Painter
that he believed large firms like
he Carnegies and Jones & Laughlins had
pecial rates with the railroads.
Mr.. W. c. Quincy took objection to the
tatement, and said that Carnegie and Jones
/ Laughlins were paying the same freight
ate as any person else. Mr.. Hirsch upheld
Ir. Quincy in this claim
Mr. Scott said that the committee was
7orking hard, and would like every person
nth reliable data to come before them and
i've them such information as they could
urnish.