Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-26
railroads and so as to get the business

that they solicit business as far west as
Kansas City, st. Paul, Milwaukes, Pitts
burg and Chicago; that they solicit
freight for all parts OF California, Oregon
and Washington that they carry freight
constantly to Southe rn California, chiefly
to Los Angeles; that their ships take all
California freight to San Francisco and
If billed to Los Angeles it is re-shipped
TO San Pedro or Redondo in original
packages and then by rail to Los An
geles.
The witness Edwin Goodall testified,
among other things, that he represents
in San Francisco the Pacific Mail Steam
ship company, which connects at Pana-
ma by means OF the Panama railroad
with the line OF steamships from New
York to Aspinwall; that their chips 60
to San Pedro and Redondo, to which
ports within the last two years freights
from San Francisco have been as low as
81 ton, by reason of competition with
other water carriers and the railroads ;
that they are engaged in the transporta-
ton OF all kinds and characters of mer-
chandise; that goods shipped in New
York by steamers or clippers for Los
Angeles and San Bernardino are con-
stantly reshipped at San Francisco in
original packages to San Pedro and
Redondo, from which they are taken by
rail; that they sometimes run two or
three freight steamers week to those
ports, and, including their passenger
steamers, which also carry freight, they
would probably average one every other
day; that they endeavor to fix their
rates 80 as to successfully compete with
whatever opposition they may have.
whether from carriers by water or rail.
In the report and opinion of the COM
mission, in finding as it did, from the
evidence before it, that practically
there was no such thing as water COM
petition or water route from the Mis-
souri, and Mississippi rivers and interior
cities to the Pacific coast in the carriage
OF the articles named; it is said "manv
OF them. such as stoves, ranges, black
hollow ware, when carried over water
route, are liable to injury from rust"
In the case here. A. A. Watkins,
member of the firm of w. w. Montague
& Co., whose principal place of business
is in the city of San Francisco, with
branch house in Los Angeles, testified
that his firm deals largely in stoves,
ranges, registers, radiators, black iron
stove furniture and hollow ware, and
that of those commodities they ship
what would probably amount to about
seventy five carloads a year and that
about IS per cent of these they ship by
water to San Francisco and from there
reship by steamer to Redondo or San
Pedro what is intended for Los Angeles
and vicinity; that they ship by water
because it is cheaper to do so than by
rail, after deducting their estimate of 8
per cent for loss by rust, and that any
increase in the rail tariff would result
in their shipping still more largely by
water.
The testimony in the caseis altogether
too voluminOus to refer to in detail, but
l think it is safe to say generally. that
it shows that the water carriers men
toned are now, and that some of them
for years past have been, competing
with the overland railroads for the
carriage of general freight, including the
commodities mentioned in the petition,
from the cities and country east of the
Missouri river to the Pacific coast, in
Guiding the city of Los Angeles; that
they are, and have been actually en-
gagged in such transportation, soliciting
the freight and carrying what they can
get, and that they actually do carry an
important part of many of the COM
modities mentioned in the petition. The
fact that such means of transportation
actually exists, and is. actually and
actively seeking the traffic, constitutes
competition, and was doubtless one of
the most important factors in making
Los Angeles terminal point. Not
only does the evidence show that such
water competition exists, but it shows
that the shipments by water, and
number Of witnesses testify that in the
event the all-rail rates, should be in
creased from what they are now, it
would result in much larger shipments
by water, both in quantity and kind.
For the reasons stGsed l am OF the
opinion that the circumstances and con.
ditions attending the transportation of
the commodities in question to Los An
geles and San Bernar1ino are essentially
dissimilar, and therefore the long and.
short haul clause of the interstate COM
merce act does not apply to the case.
AS has been said, it is not claimed that
the rates to San Bernardino are othar-
wise unjust and unreasonable. If they
are, other provisions of the act will
afford relief. 1t results from these
views that petitioner is not entitled to
the relief it seeks in this court. It ia
accordingly ordered that the petition be
dismissed at its cost.
Found,
At the drug store a valuahlA rackaoa