Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-12
But Discrimination and Transfer
Charges Shut 1t Out of the
GREAT SHIvERING NORTHWEST.
How the Inferior Ohio Product Gets to the
Market Cheaper.
WHY A SHIP CANAL SHOULD BE BUILT
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

| 1t is the regular annual gathering of these
| gentlemen and is more or less informal in
its character. Its object usually Is to dis
cuss matters Of common interest and ar
| range rates for the ensuing season.
But this year the meeting has special in
terest to Pittsburg. The coal operators
there for many years, ever since the inter-
| State commerce decision went into effect,
have been urging, beseeching and praying
| the railways for lower rates to the Western
markets. Petition ~after petition has been
laid before the railway managers showing
how the trade from Pittsburg to the lakes
was fast slipping out of their hands
and how the Hooking Valley operators
were suffocating their brethren of the Pan
handle But all pleadings thus far had
been of no avail. The Pennsylvania Com
pany officials, it is said, especially set their
faces against granting any reduction in
rates, and none of any consequence was
made As result partly of this and partly
of other causes Pittsburg coal has been for
the last few years steadily losing its hold on
| the Western markets. In Chicago it is only
| q small percentage of the whole amount con-
sumed. At Cleveland and other lake ports
through which the Northwest draws its
supply it is rapidly giving way to coal
| mined in Ohio.
Pittsburg Coal Not in 1t Now.
1t is said on good authority that where
coal used to form large proportion of all
the freight between Pittsburg and lake ports,
it low forms only about per cent Of the
total amount of freight carried. 1t is said
by those who have specially good means of
correct information that the Pennsylvania
Company has at last come to realization
that in keeping rates up to their present
| figures it has been making big railway
blunder, and it is believed that the meeting
next Tuesday may take action which will
result in decided change for the better.
Just now the rate from Pittsburg to
Cleveland and other lake ports is 80 cents
per ton, and an additional 90 cents per ton
is charged to cover the cost of
unloading the coal from the cars
into the vessels. The railways which
carry the Hooking Valley coal
to the same points charge 81 per ton, in
cluding in that figure the cost of placing it
upon lake vessels. The Ohioans have thus
the immense advantage Of 10 cents per ton
Pittsburg railways make a large profit at
the figures named, inasmuch as they take
ore to Pittsburg on their return trip, and
are at no expense in hauling empty cars.
The Pittsburg operators now want the
rate to Cleveland and other lake ports re-
duced to go cents per ton, which, they
figure, will make fair return to the rail-
ways for their work. They ask. also, for q
reduction in the cost of transfer from the
cars to the vessels from 20 to Is cents,per
ton. The total reduction asked for would
thus be 35 cents per ton, and, if
it is granted, Pittsburg coal can be
placed on board vessels at lake ports
at a total cost of Is cents per ton.
1t is argued that the inevitable result of
such change will be that Pittsburg coal
will take the place of Ohio coal to great
extent in the lake trade The Pittsburg
railways, it is said, can easily stand the cut,
because coal being only per cent of their
total freight carried, heavy reduction in
that one article cannot seriously hurt them
in any event. 1t is said that the railways
leading from the Ohio mines cannot meet it,
because coal is nearly 80 per cent of their
freight carriage, and a large reduction OF
rates would mean for some of them sus-
pension of dividends.
A Fight Over Transfer Charges.
A hard fight will doubtless be made
against that feature of the programme of
the Pittsburg coal men which contemplates
lowering of the charge for transferring
eral private interests may be Sc
riously affected by such a change.
Each one of the railways over which Pitts
burg coal is transported to the lakes has
given out to third parties the work of
transferring the coal from the cars to the
vessels, and the uniform rate for this work
has been fixed at 20 cents per ton, which is
or 8 cents per ton above the actual cost of
doing the work. Thus the Pittsburg, Ft
Wayne and Chicago has granted this privi-
leges with reference to its docks at Ashta-
bula harbor, to NJ. A. Hanna & Co., of
Cleveland. The Cleveland and Pittsburg
worth, Morris & Co., the Ohio and Penn
sylvania Coal Company, the New York and
Cleveland Gas Coal Company, and w. P.
Reno, under the style of the "Cleve-
land and Pittsburg Coal Transfer Company"
employs superintendent under whose charge
all the work is done. The Pittsburg and
Lake Erie's coal reaches the lakes over the
docks OF the New York, Pennsylvania and
Ohio and the Lake Shore at Ashtabula,
which are similarly managed. And the
P1ttsburg and Western and the Baltimore
and Ohio use docks at Fairport.
1t is said that the Fairport docks are now
under the control of Harry Oliver, of Pits
burg, formerly President of the Pittsburg
and Western, and if report is true that enter
prising Gas City iron man is making a very
good thing out of them. The story is that |
when the Pittsburg and Western was sold
to the Baltimore and Ohio Mr.. Oliver, BY |
some means or other, had reserved to him. |
self the transfer privileges at Fairport, and |
placed the docks there in charge of Frank |
L. Robbins. Perhaps 300, 900 tons Of coal |
were transferred there last summer, and if |
this is true, and the profit of transferring at |
20 cents per ton is cents per ton, as esti- !
mated, Mr. divers forethought must have |
N al him nearly &lS (C0
Practically Prohibitory Tax.
The Pittsburg coal operators are, so 70 |
speak, s'onto" this, and "with both feet"
They urge that profit Of transfer is practi-
cally prohibitory tax on Pittsburg coal
They insist that the transferring ought to
be done by the railroad companies, and done |
at cost, that nobody ought to be allowed to
make any money out of it. And perhaps |
they are more than half right.
The Ohio coal railways transfer their own
coal-the. Columbus, Hooking Valley and
Toledo, at Toledo; the Toledo and OHIO
Central, at Toledo the Wheeling and Lake
Erie, at Huron and Toledo; the Cleveland,
Lorraine and Wheeling, at Lorraine, and
that is how they are able, handicapped as
they are, to give specially low rates to their
shippers and keep out the coal of the Pitts
burg district.
Another reason why the Pittsburg opera
tors are said to desire to have the transfer
privileges at the docks abolished is that the
transfer man does not treat everybody
alike. For favorite shipper he can make
the transfer readily For one whom he
does not care for he can interpose innumer-
able delays and inconvenience by DENYING
him facilities to reach the vessels promptly.
Occasionally the transfer man has been
known to speculate on the misfortune of
l. 1