The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-06
AN EYE ON THE RATE WAR.
savannnh's business Men Interested
in Its PrOoress

The Georgia railroad commission is go
ing to take a hand in the railroad rate
war, and the indications are that the re-
suit will be unpleasant to the railroads.
AS has been explained in the Morning
News before, business men generally have
regarded with apprehension the progress
Of the rate war, knowing that the dis
turbance of existing rates would result
unfavorably to the cities situated at some
distance from where the warfare was
raging, but whose territory would be in
vaded by other cities by reason of the re-
duced rates.
With the rates from Savannah to pojnts
in the interior unchanged and with the
rates from northern cities to points in
this section cut in half, freight could be
brought from northern ports through ga
vannah and delivered in Savannah's ter
rltory at lower rate than the local rate
from Savannah to the interior points. The
railroad commission has recognized the
fact that such consequences will
results from the manner in which the
present rate war between the. Seaboard
Air Line and the allied lines of the South
ern freight Association is being carried
on, and evidently intends to take steps
to prevent it.
The following circular letter. from
Chairman Tramrnel of the railroad COM
mission, was received last night by Capt.
ID. q. Purse, commissioner of the freight
bureau. Copies were also doubtless re-
ceived by the railroad officials here:
information having reached the rail-
road commission that the through rates
heretofore existing from eastern points to
certain points in this state have been re-
duced by the railroads 80 per cent, there
by destroying the relative proportion
heretofore existing between the said
through rates and the local rates in this
state, and which threatens to seriously
affect the commercial and industrial in
tereSts of the state of Georgia: therefore
1t becomes the duty of this commission to
take into consideration the question of
adjusting said local rates so as to estab-
lish the same relative proportion hereto
fore existing between the local and the
through rates, and thereby prevent the
unjust Determinations made by the re-
ductlon OF the through rates against
many localities and the commercial and
industrial interests of this state.
You are hereby notified that the rail-
road commission of Georgia, at 10 o'clock
a. m, of the 10th day of September, at
the office of the railroad commission, cap
itol building, city of Atlanta, state of
Georgia, will consider the necessity of ad-
justing said local rates to prevent such
unjust determinations and to take such
other and further action as may be deem
ed necessary. You are invited to be pres
ent on that occasion, if you so desire
and present such views TO the board as
you may wish to subit in the premises"
Capt. Purse informed a Morning News
reporter that he would accept. the invita-
ton of the commission and would attend
the meeting tomorrow in the interest of
the business men of Savannah. In an in
terview published in the Morning News,
several weeks ago, he announced that If
the rate war were extended into this sec
| ton he would demand that the rates from
Savannah to interior points be proportion
| ed to the rates to the same points from
| the north.
With a general reduction of local rates
| the rate war is likely to prove a very ex-
pensive luxury to the southern railroads.