Birmingham age-herald., 1895-04-07
THEN GREEK MET GREEK. The eeaboard Air Line and the
 Southern
BEFORE THE I.-S. COMMISSION
Some of the Beauties of the Passenger Business Are
 Brought Out.

WASHINGTON, April 6.-Commissiouer Morrison. Knapp, Veasey and Clements of the inter- state commerce commission gave hearing this morning on the application of the Southern Railway company to charge less for longer than for shorter distances for the transportation of passengers, in order to meet the cut rate established in the passenger traffic by the Seaboard Air Line.
 Leslie Ryan appeared for the Southern railway and Lige Watts for the Air Line. E. 5. Goodman represented the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and number of officials of both railway companies were ia attendance.
 Sol Haas, assistant to the president of the Southern Railway company, was the first witness examined by Mir. Ryan. He ex- piained how the Seaboard Air Line had cut It's rates, giving by way of illustration the following examples: The rate under the old tariff between Rich mond and Atlanta via Weldon was S15 50. while under the new tariff it is S9. 80. Under the new tariff the rates between Richmond and Charlotte, Sollhern points, Sanford, Raleigh, Henderson, Durham, Warren Plains and Littleton, all in North Caro- lima, being less, under the old tariff, than s9. 80, are allowed to remain unchanged, while the rates to and from Abbevile, Green wood and Clinton, all in South Car oliua, being, under the old tariff, more than S9. 80, are reduced to exactly that sum.
 Examined by MT. Watts Mir. Haas said i he was positive that the Southern company had not asked the Pennsylvania railroad not to join lhe Air Line in disposing of it's tickets. It was common report that Air Line tickets were sold through scalpers in New York and elsewhere, but he bad DO personal knowledge of the matter. Mir. Haa6 said he could not say that the cause of the Southern petition was that the Air Line had taken from 1t the bulk of traffic between competitive points. He told Mir. Watts that he had understood that the Air Line people had stated that they could afford 10 carry passe ngers from New York to Portsmouth, Va., for 50 cents If 1t would make the Southern lose $1.
 heavily labeled .'Boycott, was shown by MT. Watts, and MT. Haas said the Southern company never resorted to such improper methods of advertising. He denied em- phatically that any Southern tickets had been sold with its knowledge to scalpers.
 ". A. Turk, general passenger agent of fhe Southern, also denied that his road had ever asked the Pennsylvania not to take charge ot Air Line tickets. When he concluded. MT. Ryan announced that the Southern submitted its case, believing 1t had proved it's allegations.
 T. J.. Anderson, general passenger agent of the Seaboard, testified that the PennsyI. vania road had withdrawn Seaboard Air Line tickets from sale, and in seif-defense the Seaboard was obliged to purchase tickets from the Pennsylvania in New York from that point to Weldon and then reouce rates from Weldon to Atlanta, sell ing Pennsylvania tickets aud it's own ticket as one through ticket. The tickets were purchased regularly and openly, and not through scalpers. Southern tickets, he said were for sale in Atlanta by scalpers. These tickets were sold originally in Mem phis for the through trip to Washington from that point, and were disposed of in Atlanta by he holders. The purchaser Of scalped ticA t had his purchase honored by the Soutber road from Atlanta to Wash ington.
 MT. Ryan, for the Southern, denied that this statement was fair. The Memphis and not by the Southern road. Witness said that General Passenger Agent Wood of the Pennsylvania railroad refused to allow tickets over the Seaboard from Wash ington south to be sold in New York in con nnection with Pennsylvania railroad tickets, but such an arrangement was effected with reference to Southern railroad tickets from Washington. II was this dis crimination that partly brought about the cut rates established by the Seaboard Air Line, and MT. Watts interjected that it was the gist of the whole controversy. The Louisville and Nashville road, said MT. Anderson, had also declined to enter into any such arrangement with the Seaboard on the ground that it would injure it's friendly relations with the Southern. 2 recess was then taken.
 When the com mission reconvened MT. Anderson was cross- examined by Or. Ryan. MT. Anderson produced a ticket from New York to New Orleans via the Pennsylvania railroad, Southern and other roads, and claimed that, as a piece of evil depce, it showed that Southern railway tickets were manipulated through scalpers, and that the sale of the Southern railway tickets really constituted 8 cut rate from advantage given the purchaser, although the rate was not reduced.
 This ticket, said MT. Anderson, had been purchased by him yesterday from scalper fh New York, who had purchased from the Southern railroad office there. MT. An derson said he did not know why Seaboard tickets had been withdrawn from sale in the Pennsylvania railroad offices, but fro m a long correspondence with General Pas senger Agent Wood of the Pennsylvania railroad the only reason he could discern Mir. Woods telegrams promptly. He de- nied that he had recently taken Q trip to place Seaboard tickets with scalpers in Mem phis, Montgomery, ,Birminghafn, New Orleans and Chattanooga, but MT. New man of his road hnd placed orders for tick cts with scalpers.s Commissions were paid the scalpers. T fE. H. Goodman, secretary of the Rich- mond Chamber of Commerce, presented the application of the Southern Railway compapy be refused and that the commis- sion issue an order to the Seaboard Air Line fo adjust all it's DaGeen ger rates on . reason-