The San Francisco call., 1895-08-02

montana rates were recently reduced
for the same reason, and that cut Will
make an important decreasein revenue.
1.-The Eastbound rates on seeding
oranges have been reduced 20 per cent.
1.-The adoption of class ratiI.g on
California wines in wood, thereby placing
that freight in lower and cheaper class
for transportation, has made many liberal
reductions"
'Could you not give approximate figures
on the total reductions?' was asked.
THAT would be exceedingly difficult,
was the reply. 1--WE should have to take up
every item and find the percentage in each
case and also estimate the tonnage In other
cases and then compare both with former
tariffs. These instances, however, give
fair idea of the reductions made up to the
present, and our latest cut is so cents per
loo pounds on canned goods from Califor-
mia common points to New Orleans and
New York, to take effect August s."
Frank S. Johnson of the Johnson-Locke
Company said:
1.-The only reduction we hear the South
ern Pacific has made is in the matter of
canned fruits. This rate was formerly rs
cents, but two weeks ago it was reduced to
so cents. We understand this change is
made to New York and New Orleans only,
and is not concurred in by the general
transeontinental lines reaching into the
great interior, where most OF the canned
goods are consumed
Mr.. Haswen of the same firm added:
"This cut rate does not affect US in any
way. What canned goods we can take in
August, September and October on our
ships we have already contracted for and
consequently could not take anv more If
we wanted to. Our rate is not affected by
the reduction of the Southern Pacific. The
only practical result we can see is that the
railroad company has succeeded in lower
ing its own rates, which unquestionably
will benefit California
Mr.. Williams, of Williams, Brown & Co.,
corroborated the statement of Mr.. John
son, adding that so far as he knew, there
had been no material reductions in freight
rates in California within the past twelve
months. In this connection it might be
well to state that any change in Eastern
freights, whether increase or decrease, is
not due to the efforts of the Railway Com
missioners of this State. ANY interstate
change of freight charges is due entirely TO
the railroad officials, or to the United
States Commissioners.
Mr.. Michaels of Langley & Michaels
said: 81 can state emphatically that there
have been no reductions in freight rates of
a character to benefit us. 1t is true there
have been some changes in which the
tariff on certain lines has been materially
lessened, but in every instance the article
this point. We have never asked for re-
duction simply because such procee ding
would be mere waste of time. Where
there is no competition the question of
rates on certain article, to given point,
is wholly within the province of the rail
road. The so-called reductions do not
benefit US l cent"
The firm of Baker & Hamilton seems to
have Jared a little better with the Southern
Pacific than most commercial houses OF
San Francisco. According to Mr.. Hamil-
ton the present rates are perfectly salts
factory to them, and further than this,
they say they have never made demand
on the Southern Pacific that was not re-
sponded to. Mr.. Hamilton said yesterday:
"We are perfectly satisfied with the
rates given US by the railroad and | think
every other firm in San Francisco is equally
well pleased Last fall Mr.. Smurr asked
US to send a competent man to Ogden to
look over the field and then make such
recommendations as we thought would
benefit the hardware trade of San Fran
cisco.
1--WE did this, and yesterday received a
revised tariff for Ogden and Salt Lake City,
in which reductions reaching as high as so
per cent are made. This enables us to
compete with st. Louis and other Eastern
points-something we have never been
able to do until now"
notably w. w. Montague and Dunham,
Carrigan & Co., have not noticed the
favorable change reported by Mr..
Hamilton. California rates are the same
to-day with them as they were twelve
months ago.
Carpy & Co., the wine merchants, have
not been the recipients of any favorable
change, local or Eastern, except slight
reduction made three weeks ago. The
wholesale grocers of New Orleans made a
bluff at putting on a steamship line be-
tween that city and San Francisco, by way
of Panama. The Southern Pacific imme-
diately met the proposed reduction with a
rate considerably lower than the steamship
company could afford, and. further agreed
to keep it there. The wine-dealers of Cali
fornia are benefited by thls, but it is in no
sense due to the work of the Railroad
Commls lssioners.
W. H. Roussel, assistant manager OF the
Dairymen's Union, said: 'The rates are
satisfactory to US at the present time, be-
cause We are not shipping anything. 1t is
not our season for doing business in trans
portation. If it were, l should say that
the rates would be quite unsatisfactory. 1t
is not alone the rates. The whole service
runs contrary to good business principles.
Take the refrigerator service, for instance,
between San Francisco and New Orleans,
or rather take the lack OF any such service
DIS du cAdIL pie vi HOH S1lppcIS dIc
treated. Our freight is mostly in butter.
Our annual shipment of this staple to New
York and Eastern points amounts to some
thing over 100000 pounds. To Los An
geles it is over 10000 pounds. In
common with other shippers of this
product we have asked for a refrigerator
service over the Sunset route, but could
get nothing. Once they gave US few
cars, on condition that we should attend
to hacking the ice etc.
"As to reduction in rates, will show
you how most Southern Pacific reductions
are made. All Southern Pacific sched-
ules announcing reduction contain
some sort of Joker 1t is never to be
found on the surface, and it often happens
that it is very skillfully concealed beneath
a mass of apparently favorable figures.
GA year ago last July the company re-
duced the rate on butter from 2 cents to
IL cents per pound. At the same time
the maximum weight of carload was in
creased from 10000 to 1900 pounds. The
benefit to the shipper was nil. He paid
practically the same rate as before. This
is the only reduction that has come under
my observation during the past year or so.
/ have heard nothing of general reduc-
ton either on Eastern or local points.
| The Railroad Commissioners, though
pledged to look into the freight situation