The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-04


by morse and mule teams and the wheat and
barley is taken to Stockton in the same way.
am also informed that so per cent of all the
people who would travel on this railroad if
passenger rates were not prohibitory now go
by the country roads. [ submit to your hon
orable board that the passenger rate charged,
cents per mile, is beyond reason. Mr.. Good
man may rest assured that so long as the rate
is maintained at that figure SO long will the
road want business.
believe that no evidence can be more con-
vincing that the freight and passenger rates
over this road are outrageously high than the
fact that the vast majority of this business is
done with teams.
Attention is then called by the writer to
the low cost of operating this road, and he
continues:
The people living on the line of the road be-
lieve that the passenger rate should be reduced
to 3 cents per mile, and that at this rate the
road would do four times the business 1t does
now l assert it as a fact that no one travels
by this railroad unless forced to.
Freight rates should be reduced so that teams
could not compete with the railroad. II is
sorry spectacle to see horse ana mule teams
hauling freight on roads paralleling this rail-
way. Comment is needless.
This was ordered filed for future action,
and letter from John Northup of Co
manche was read. The writer expresses
dissatisfaction with the rate of 81 per ton
by the carload on grapes from Comanche
to San Francisco, and in the course OF his
communication further says:
Their statement that their rates are already
as low as 81 per ton in carload lots don't do US
any good. We don't want any such rate for
this reason-we can't pick and pack 10 tons of
fruit in one day. A rate of So per ton in car
load lots-or for that matter, if they would
carry carload for nothing-would do US no
good. 1t would take an army of men to load a
car in one day. Then again you would swamp
the man you sent 1t to.
We have stopped shipping fruit to Oakland
and San Francisco on account of high rates
and low prices Our last weeks shipment of
grapes ran US in debt No. l Tokays only
brought Is cents box, and they cost US IL
cents to lay down in Oakland, aside from the
cost OF picking, packing, hauling to the rail-
road, cultivation and care of the vineyard,
taxes, etc.
1t is plain that the railroad is taking more
for freight than the traffic Will bear.
All ask is a fair show to live, and believe
that 81 40 ton would be q reasonable and fair
rate.
This took the same course as its prede-
cessor, and then came a letter that raised
two interes ting questions. 1t was from
E. e. Edwards of Los Angeles, and reads:
Your favor of the Goth inst. at hand, inclos-
ing copy of letter from Mr. Wade, general man.
ager of Santa Fe, to the Board of Railroad Com
missioners, and in reply beg to say that in
my letter of the Sd inst. to Mr. La Rue per-
haps did not state correctly the distance from
Los Angeles to the Needles, but gave the dis
lance from this city to Yuma. My object in
writing was to ascertain if the Board of Com
missioners had fixed q maximum rate for pas
senger travel in this State, and II so, what was
the limit?
The distance from Los Angeles to Yuma by
railroad is 249 miles. The fare is $40 70,
fraction over cents per mile. From Banning
which furnishes but little business or local
travel, and yet the rate charged by the South
ern Pacific is only fraction over 4 cents
mile.
For the luxury of living on Mojave desert,
the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad charges the
residents thereof over cents per mile, and
Mr. Wade in his letter says they have the right,
with the approval of your honorable body, OF
charging 10 cents per mile.
This is news to me as well as surprise.
Under the present rate it costs resident of
The Needles to go to his county seat to pay his
tax and return home by railroad $28 so. The
rate is exorbitant and unreasonable.
now charged by the Atlantic and Pacific Rail-
road, over cents per mile, is within the limit
fixed by the commission for railroads in this
State or whether there is any limit2
In the informal discussion which fol-
lowed the reading of Mr.. Edwards COM
munication it was learned from Secretary
Newman that there was nothing in the
records of the commission fixing maxi
mum passenger rate per mile, as the varied
topography OF the State would not permit
such action with any degree of fairness.
Then arose the question of the jurisdic-
ton of the commission relative to the
roads mentioned.in the letter of Mr.. Ed
last had occasion to write the Atlantic and
Pacific people requesting them to file
copy of the rates within the State with the
committee, reply had come in which it
was stated that the rates were forwarded,
but not as admitting the right of the COM
mission to demand them, but as
courtesy. The letter added that it was
considered that the California Board of
Railroad Commissioners had no jurisdic-
ton over any part of the lines of the At
lantic and Pacific Railroad Company; even
those portions of them operated within the
State.
This brought the discussion to a stand
still, till it was suggested by Chairman La
Rue that the matter be referred to Attor-
ney-General Fitzgerald for his opinion,
and the secretary was so instructed.
Next was considered the complaint of
the cattlemen of Salinas Valley. The
secretary was instructed to inform the
complainants that their charges of dis
elimination would come up for hearing on
next Wednesday and to invite them to be
present. He was also instructed to request
from the Southern Pacific Company the
schedule of livestock rates between Sole
| dad and San Luis Obispo, and between San
Francisco and Soledad, and the livestock
rates for similar distances over the COM
pany's lines in the San Joaquin and Sacra-
| mento valleys. These will be used for the
purpose of determining whether discrimi-
nations exist in the Salinas Valley and to
what extent.
| The San Diego Property-owners' Unions
appeal to the board to compel the Southern
California Railroad Company to restore its
washed-out road between Temecula and
Oceanside came up for consideration. The
| railroad people claim it would cost $500
| to reconstruct the damaged road, and that
there is not enough business in sight to
warrant the expense. The matter was left
| to Commissioner Clark to investigate, as
] he expects to be in that portion of the
| State in a few weeks.
On the suggestion of Chairman La Rue
a motion was adopted making a requisi-
| ton on the State Printer for 5000 railroad
maps of California, 1000 of them to be
| mounted. Every precaution is to be taken
to have every railroad and every station
shown on the new map, and the thorough
cooperation of the different railroads will