The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-25
RAILROAD FREIGHTS.

The Senate Committee on Constitutional
Amendments is settl Dg down to work on
the subjac. Of railroad charges. and in q few
days people VIII be ia a position 10 form an
opinion on the quality Of its members. It
las heard tie manager Of the Traffic Asso-
citation on several of the essential points In
tie case, and il now devolyes on the com
III tee either to show that his statements
are unreliable or to frame a measure based
On them
he has testified, for instance, that a rail
road cannot be run more cheaplE in tae
last than here, and that the popular notion
10 that effect is an error. Ia support of this
opinion he has laid before the committee
comparisons between the Southern Pacific
and the tchis0n-Topeka and the Missouri
Pacific IN regard to rates. price of labor,
cost Of fuel, grades empty cars moved and
density Of traffic. These are specific state
ments RI fact susceptible of rroof.
pr. Leeds has further testified that The
necessities OF shippers require a revision Of
classification from time TO time. as trade
changes its proportions and its channels.
1t is not Gear whether the committee agreed
with him Or net A telegraphic report rep
Iesen,s Senator Earl as being in favor Of IN
iHfexibe and rigid Classification, which
probably does him Injustice. 1t is well
known that the Classification adopted By the
Southern Pacific has not been based on the
cost Of service and the risk Of loss. but on
what the traffic would bear. This is on the
face Of it an unsouud method. and should
be changed. Classification should be regu-
lated not by the necessities Of shippers and
the probable profit Of shipments, but By the
q In I nd oi1 o-F al
for public carriar is a quasi public Official
who, in consideration Of the privileges he
enjoys, undertakes the business Of general
TRANSPORTATION for fair reward.
The necessity Of legislative interference
with the Southern Pacific was shown By
the figures laid before the committee by Mr..
Leeds. Whenever appeals are made to Mr.
Huntington "a reduce rates, his answer is
that he cannot afford il; that his railroad is
earning no money. But it appears that that
portion Of the Southern Pacific system
which is in the State Of California is earn
inE 5000 per mile, while the whole system
on the coast is only earning S4400 mile.
In other words, shippers in California are
paying money to railroads in Nevada, U tab
and ARENA. How unfair this is II is not
necessary to demonstrate. The Southern
J. atiIc J1Ih pdH1 ms no flGut 10 cdi upon
the people Of this State to pay the losses on
its Improbable enterprises in other States
Nj. Leeds figures that the Southern Pa
chc Company has bonded All miles Of road
for q sum equal to S144 0o0, something
over 5000 a mile. It is highly improbable
that lie average cost Of this mileage was
over half that sum- Nevertheless the terri
tory through which the road runs has to
provide interest on this bonded debt. In
other words, the people Of this State are
taxed n OF only to provide interest on the
actual cost Of railroads through adjacent
States, but to furnish twice that sum-half
to pay for the railroads and halfsas profit
to their builders to reward them for their
enterprise. It is high time that the Legis-
lature made some endeavor to effect jusier
redistribution Of the earnings of the rail-
road system