The San Francisco call., 1896-09-11
ENEMIES OF THE
VALLEY ROAD.
Unfair Attempts Made to
Bring It Into Dis
favor.
PROTEST At STOCKTON.
Unfounded Charges of Discrimi-
nation Made Against
the Line.
ORIGIN OF THE OPPOSITION
The Conditions Complained of Brought
About by the Southern
Pacific.
ORIGIN OF THE OPPOSITION

Opposition of peculiar character, and
inspired solely by selfish motives, has
made itself manifest both in this City and
in Stockton against the San Francisco and
San Joaquin Valley Railroad. So far has
this already gone that protest vas filed
at a recent meeting of the City Council of
Stockton against granting certain addi-
tional privileges to the Valley road, and
petitions are being circulated in San Fran
cisco, in Stockton and in the country i'm
mediately adjacent to the latter city
pledging the signers to withhold their
business from the Valley road and to give
it to the Southern Pacific in preference.
The ostensible basis for this onset upon
the great monopoly's first and only gem
uine competitor is set forth in the petition
filed with the Stockton Council, which
reads as follows:
To the Honorable the City Council of the City Of
StOcktOH-GENTLEaEN; As property owners in
the City OF Stockton and engaged in business
therein, We respectfully protest against grant
ing any more privileges 10 the so-called Valley
Railway Company, unless the discrimination
in the schedule of rates OF freight against
Stockton shall be removed and not be re-estab-
hshed.
In this behalf we respectfully represent: In
wheat rates the Valley Railway Company dis
eliminates against Stockton by at least 10
cents per ton IN favor Of Port Costa; in fact,
they simply treat Stockton as way station.
Take, for instance. their rates of freight from
Merced to Stockton and Port Costa:
Rate from Merced to Port Costa, including
unloading and transferring to barge at Stock
ton and unloading barge al Port Costa, along
side ship or wharf, So 20.
Rate from Merced to Stockton, but not in
Guiding unloading and transferring to barge at
Stockton, 81 20.
Cost to receiver at Stockton OF unloading and
transferring to barge if wheat Is put into ware
house at Stockton, 10 cents.
Rate OF Ireignt by barge from Stockton to
alongside ship or wharf at Port Costa, 30 cents;
total 50 80.
Discrimination in flavor of Port Costa as
against Stockton receivers 10 cents.
You VIII note from the above that receivers,
like ourselves, OF grain at Stockton have to do
the unloading and transferring at their own
cost, whereas such service is comparatively
performed gratis by the Valley Railway Com
pany for receivers at Port Costa.
The Valley Railways excuse for so handi-
Gaping Stockton as grain center is that it
would be suicidal on the part of the Valley
Railway Company to increase the differentiaI
between Stockton and Port Costa, for if they
were to do SO the outhcrn Pacific Company
would Immediately follow suit by making a
reduction in the all-rail freight to Port Costa.
The Southern Pacific Company does not ask
the Valley Railway Company to grant them
the privilege of breaking rates. and certainly
the Valley Railway Company should, with all
their vauntei expressions of independence, be
able 10 break rates without the consent of the
Southern Pacific Company.
For some unaccountable reason the Valley
Railway prefers to foster .he Southern Paeific's
Stockton, the town which by its liberality to
the Valley Railway made the establishment of
Its road feasible. onsidering what Stockton
has done for the Valley Railway it appears
outrageous that this railway company should
have so arranged its rates of freight as 10 in
jure Stockton.
The Southern Pacific Company for great
many years has kept Stockton as wheat GEN.
ter on q parity with Port Costa and it has
been the action OF the Valley Railway that has
disturbed this parity. We consider that the
City Council before bestowing further priyi-
leges on the Valley Railway Company, should
provide that such privileges shall not be used
10 the detrlment OF stockton. az has been the
case with the other privileges granted to the
Wiley Railway.
We think that one of the first conditions to
be exacted by Stockton in giving away valu-
able rights OF way should be that there should
be no arrangement of freight rates as to dis
eriminate against Stockton in favor of another
locality. The Valley Railway, instead of bene-
fitting Stockton as a grain center, has taken
the initiative steps to destroy it as SUCH The
City Council, having the power, owes to Stock
ton the exercising OF that power to check and
remove such initiative steps. Before the
granting of any more privileges let it be pro-
vided that Stockton shall not be discrimnated
against in rates OF freight, and that the
present discrimination shall be removed.
1t may be that the Valley Railway repre-
sentative, by the muddling OF figures, will
demonstrate that the Valley Railway is not
dertake 10 prove to any intelligent man that
they are discriminating against Stockton as
regards grain.
We therefore respectfully but earnestly pro-
test against granting the additional franchises
and privil eyes sought or any other privilege
until assurance shall be given that the dis
elimination now existing against Stockton, Is
wheat-buyers and wheat receivers and other
business interests shall be removed and salts
factory contract made providing against any
such discrimination in the future. Very re-
SDectfully yOurS
STOCKTON WAREHOUSE COMPANY.
C. L. OTIs, Manager
As will be seen from the foregoing the
rub of the whole trouble lies in the charge
OF 10 cents a ton, made for handling the
wheat placed in storage at Stockton. This
means that wheat placed in warehouses at
Stockton and then exported pays a charge
OF lO cents ton more than that ware
housed at and exported from Port Costa
and warehouse pointss common to the
latter.
Those engaged in arousing opposition to
the Valley road are trying to saddle the
blame for this condition of things upon
the new road, when it IS notorious tact
that the discrimination which Stockton
suffers from is due to the action of the
Southern Pacific in abolisning the charge
Tor handling wheat at Port Costa, for the
purpose OF drawing the entire wheat ex.
port business from Stockton, and at the
S'NANN .AAHS HoiAulSd ppluR the Nailey TOdu
on this class of freight. The actual re-
suit has been that the Stockton ware
house men have suffered from this move
OF the Southern Pacific. but the Valley
road has managed to retain its full COM
petltlve power against its rival.
b fore the Valley road entered the field
the Southern Pacific charged 70 cents more
a ton to carry wheat to Port Costa from
the interior of the San JOAQUIN Valley
than it did to Stockton. When the Valley
road issued its schedule of grain rates.
,cuttinP those of the Southern Pacific from
% 10 1873 per cent, it made the difference
between Stockton and Port Costa so cents.
Up TO this time the Southern Pacific mad
been making charge for handling wheat
at Port Costa as well as at Stockton. but
when the Valley road cut the grain rates
the Southern Pacific not only met the cnt
but secretly abolished the charge for
handling wheat at Port Costa, thus Great
ing the discrimination against Stockton
by maintaining the charge for handling al
that point.
IN order to offset this discrimination.
the creation of the Southern Pacific, the
Valley road is now asked by the ware
housemen of Stockton 10 increase the diff
ference in the rates between Stockton and
Dorf Costa fo R0 canfs nor fnn So %,