The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-29

or shall It be the disruption OF all rates
l.llS.sn thousands OF mites OF territory
ana the consequent loss 10 il OF nniIiiors
- =. - =, eHue, win a more speedy necessity
III me feofsanlzation OF its ltht SOUTH
erns - SYSTEM The problem is theirs n
sOlEes not ours. We do not fear afrhs- 49,,
problem or the Southern. our cause Is
3Ist. I! ana sooner or later the right will
With this reply before them to their re-
quest Tor Information as To the caf,ses
Which had led the Seaboard Air Line 10
make this large and unexpecred reIr1,sti-,,
in freight rates, the represenrati,-e - ~
INES aHected thereby had TO decide llpon
their course. SO far as Mr.. ST. JOhn's a.
ter was an aid in arriving al a decision
lowing quotation:
shall 1t be the withdrawal Of these
stS-llets ana the making Of satisfactory
thIousn-car arrangements easily to b.
accomplished, and the saving Of rav-e
nue. thereby to the Southern and CO..
hhes' or snail It be the DISRUPTION of AN
rates through thousands Of miles of Ter
Ilt0ty, ana the consequent loss 20 II Of
mllnons OF revenue, with a moro snea5,-
necessity for the reorganization of its me
southern s. system2 The problem is
theirs to solve, not ours
heIe were the alternatives presented.
on the one hand. the withdrawal Of ire
Southern railway steamers from Chez
peake Day, and the making of satisfactory
through-car arrangements. With con-
sequent saving Of revenue to the Southern
and other lines. On the other hand tha al
ruption of all rates through thousands 81
miles OF territory, and the CONSEQUENT loss
of millions of revenue.
IN the alternatives here presented 10 the
southern Railway COmpanv the raDra
sentatives Of the other lines we're hut in
difectly interested. They knew but little
about the merits of the contest for The
franc &C. on the Chesapeake bay, and as to
the satisfactory throuab-car 49,
mentS," they inferred from cononouni,,
tlons from the management of the SEQ
board Air Line, which had appeared in tba
newspapers, that this meant sleeping cars
from Washington to New Yorl, ana fror,
Atlanta to New Orleans-adiuncts ~ ~
passenger service of that line which thew
would have been pleased for it 10 secure
furnish or obtain ~
But the alternative in Mr.. St Johns
letter which did interest them was tbs
threatened disruption of all rates througb
thousands of miles of territory and the
consequent loss of millions of revenue II
was plainly their duty to evert this i'm
penang blow, or at least to mitigate its
el4ects, so Tar as practicable They recou-
hlzeu, also, that the adjustment of rates
so unexpectedly disturbed was the result
OF years of contests and of agreements he
tween transportation lines between CEN
ters OF production and between centers of
dlstribution-an adjustment reaching even
TO remote points in the United States and
in many cases, beyond the control NJ the
=
lines Immediately interested They had
also, to consider the notice from your
honorable body, foreshadowing a reduct-
ion in the local rates wherever the
through rates were reduced
Ihey were Of the opinion that their own
welfare and of their patrons would he
best served by restricting such reductions,
if possible, to the rates already reduced
by the Seaboard Air Line, and by hasten
ing the termination of contest which
they had not instigated, and a return to
the rates upon which the commercial and
industrial interests of this section of the
country had been adjusted. 1t is true that
there would necessarily follow a reduction
in the rates to and from points not di-
rectly competitive between the Southern
railway and the Seaboard Air Line, but
so long as the other lines refused to par
ticipate with either of them in such re-
auctions, their representatives, felt that
neither of the contending parties could
fairly object to such neutrality. And, fur
Their, with the hope that the contest might
be sooner ended by making it improbable
to both, they determined to reduce the
rates in this restricted territory upon the
traffic for which these two lines competed,
to figures recognized as below the cost of
performing the service.
This policy has been adopted after care
full consideration as least injurious to
the interests involved. and, as they hope,
in accordance with the views expressed
in your letter. They recognize that 1t
does not meet the requirements of the
commercial and industrial interests of the
entire territory which they serve, but
they are powerless to make any salts
factory adjustment of rates so long as
the disturbing cause is beyond their con-
troll, either by agreements, by conces-
sions, or by conciliatory measures.
AS soon as rates can be prepared in
pursuance of this policy, they will be
submitted to your honorable body, with
the request that you will call my atten-
ton, as commissioner of the Southern
States Freight Association, to any inc
qualities in them for which you can pro-
pose a remedy, and that you will not take
any further action in them without CIV
ing the lines interested in them an op-
portunity for a hearing on the subject
Very truly yours, II. s. Haines,
Commissioner.