The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-24
sEABOARD LINE OUT TO SLASH.
THE ROAD To WITHDRAW FROM
THE FREIGHT ASSOCIATION.

vice President st. John Claims the
southern Railway Dominates the
Association and Uses IL 10 Dis
criminate Against Rival Roads.
The Usual sixty-Day Notice of
Withdrawal Given.
Atlanta. Ca, Dec. 2s.-The rupture be-
tween the Seaboard Air Line and the
southern states Freight Association,
which has resulted in Vice President St.
Jobn of the Seaboard giving notice of the
withdrawal of that line from the assO-
citation, has set the railroad people TO
guessing.
Mr. St. Johns action in withdrawing
the Seaboard is taken to mean that there
will be a repetition of the rate slashing
that existed prior to the entrance of the
Seaboard into the association. The Sea-
hoard and the Southern railway have al
vvavs been at daggers' points and while
Vice President St. John does not say so
in his letter to Commissioner Ha-nes, in
so many words, yet it is made plain that
il is this feeling of antagonism between
the Southern and the Seaboard that is
behind the withdrawal. Mr.. St. John be-
ueves that the association is being dom
mated by the Southern and that the Sea-
board and other lines competing with the
Southern are unjustly Disseminated
against. where they should be protected
by the association.
The situation came to focus last week
when the executive board met here to
elect a board of arbitration. Mr. ST.
John wanted to put a new man on the
board but was not allowed to do so, and
he then gave notice of the withdrawal
of his line, the withdrawal to take effect
in sixty days under the rules.
Since the failure to elect board OF ar
bitration railroad men representing the
other lines say that Mr.. st. John never
really intended to have the Seaboard re-
main in the association and took the
first opportunity offered as an excuse to
kick out. 1t is not improbable that some
other roads will follow the Seaboard in
Withdrawing from the association and
there may be some rough sailing ahead
for it in order to hold together. At any
rate with the Seaboard out it is predicted
that there will be some lively rate cut
ting in the territory of that system, with
the Southern as the principal opponent
In his letter to Commissioner Haines
Mr.. st. Johns says: THE determination
seemed to be to force upon certain lines
who must always be in the minority
conditions not acceptable, and nndlng
that il was impossible to elect board
under such circumstance hasty motion
was made to adjourn, which received a
very small number of votes in the af-
firma tive with only one in the negative,
many, with evident disgust that such a
motion was made, not caring to vote,
and the work which not Few members
came hundreds of miles to endeavor to
perfect is yet incomplete. In view of this
action and the evident intention of GER
tain representatives not 10 deal fairly
with interests with which they are not
allied, we hereby give you the required
contract notice of our desire to withdraw
from the so-called Southern States
Freight Association, and in doing so 1
desire to express in behalf of the Sea-
board Air Line its great satisfaction with
a Tnn OH ~
were nominated in the committee in New
York, and unanimously elected TO the posi-
tions assigned them. They have performed
their duties in a manner most commend
able In conclusion l beg to express re-
gret that the organization which it was
supposed would be completed at New
intention is to delay its completion in
definitely"