The San Francisco call., 1895-10-10
FIGHT FOR UTAH'S TRADE,
The Traffic Association Pre-.
pairing for a Great
Struggle.
Traffic Manager Curtis Outlines
His Course on Behalf of
Local Shippers.

The Traffic Association has taken up one
specific feature of the freight problem, and
in another week or ten days will place
itself on record regarding it. After taking
a comprehensive view of the situation of
freight rates as they affect San Francisco
and the State at large, this one division of
the question has been selected from among
the rest, as 1t has called for immediate
action. This is the fight now being car
ried on by various railroad companies for
Utah's business-a matter of deep concern
to San Francisco, if not, indeed, to all Cali
fornia.
Traffic Manager Curtis stated yesterday
that he meant business in going to the
bottom of the Utah trouble, and he was
working with full Office staff under gen.
eral directions from the associations ex-
ecutive committee toward that end. His
desk was covered with large sheets of fig
ures containing commodity rates on all
classes of freight between California COM
mon points and Utah common points.
which he had in preparation for submis-
sion to the railway meeting in Salt Lake
City at the end of this month. The rates
in every instance were what the Traffic
Association considered equitable on freight
between those points.
"The Chicago papers," Mr.. Curtis re-
marked incidentally, always stand up for
Chicago, and they are down upon the
Southern Pacific because the present trans
continental rare adjustment, as engineered
by the Southern Pacific, has virtually side
tracked Chicago. That is, the rates from
Chicago to California are no cheaper than
those from New York, and the Chicago
merchant, though SO much nearer the
West, has no better chance than the East
ern seaboard shipper for our business
"a story has been going the rounds
about Southern Pacific influence in the
Traffic Association" Mr.. Curtis was told.
absolutely without any cause" he re-
pied. Il am not Southern Pacific man;
IN out for the merchant of San Francisco
first, last and all the time. That is exactly
where | stand.
about rates to Utah, which are now en-
gaging our attention, almost to the ex-
clusion of other details. The Southern
Pacific Company Is the only line out of
California that can do anything in Utah
for San Francisco, and, naturally, we have
to look to it for better rates. Our argu-
ment is that if the Southern Pacific would
do something Utah could do great deal
for San Francisco"
How can the railway company ac-
complish this end?"
"By lowering rates out of here, and thus
putting San Francisco on an equal footing
for the Utah business in fighting against
the Eastern competitors. The rate from
San Francisco to the common points
might be trifie less than from Chicago or
New York to the same points. In many
cases the same goods go back over the line,
that is, merchandise comes from the East
TO San Francisco, and Is distributed in
Utah from here.
"On the other hand, the San Francisco
manufacturer is not IN position to turn
out his product so cheaply as the Eastern
man. He pays more for his material,
more for his labor. Then again, San Fran
cisco Is nearer Utah than any one of the
competing centers in the East. These are
ample reasons why rates from here to
Utah should be reduced. The Southern
Paclflc Company expresses its determine
ton to stanu with the merchants of San
francisco and California in the endeavor
to reduce rates into Utah, and if possible
assure the stability of these rates.
The present situation is disturbed in
Utah, ana the Southern Pacific is practi-
cally making rates to Ogden only.
We are trying TO bring the other COM
panies In the coveted territory into line to
view the proposition in the same light as
the Southern Pacific does. Those are the
Union Pacific, Rio Grande Western and
other Missouri River lines leading into
Utah in connection with them.
There will be a meeting of those lines
in Salt Lake City the latter part of this
month.
We are preparing a tariff such as we
would like to see adopted by them. Our
tariff reads from common California points
TO Utah common points, and it calls for
considerable reduction, though l cannot
say exactly how much Being a COM
modify tariff the rates vary considerable.
1t is our object to present this tariff to the
railroad representatives at their meeting
in Salt Lake and urge them to give Calf
fornia fair show by adopting the tariff
"Utah's business with California is quite
large. Utah is a great field, a growing
country; it is well worth fighting for, and
is first-class market"
Mr.. Curtis having exhausted his subject
talked upon various topics bearing upon
the railroad question. "If the Valley road
could only make connection with
some som overland competing railway it would
lift hoodoo from San Francisco that has
been upon us for too long time"