The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-07-17
The Entire Tariff of Freights on
the Valley Road to Go
in Shortly.
BIG REDUCTIONS TO BE MADE
Shippers Will Be Taxed Twenty to
Twenty-Five Per Cent Less
Than at Present.

Within two weeks the Valley road will
be in the neld as an all-round com petitor
with the Southern Pacific for the trans
portation business of the lower portion of
the great San Joaquin Valley.
Two of its seven giant locomotives,
which were ordered few months ago, are
expected to arrive at Stockton any day
and as soon as they are ready for service
the new road will issue a tariff-sheet to
cover shipments of all kinds in carload
lots between Stockton and La Grande, two
stations south of MERGED.
This tariff is already prepared, but will
not be made public until the road is
thrown open for general business.
The first intimation of this contem-
plated move on the part of Traffic Man
ager John Moss came in communication
he sent TO the Railroad Commission yes
terday. 1t read as follows:
Ihave named q rate to-day of 81 50 per ton
of 1000 pounds for carriage of lime from Stock
ton TO MERGED in carload lots of twelve tons
and upward.
This is in advance of our regular tariff-sheet
which hope to issue ere long.
On the strength of the significant closing
sentence of this brief epistle an interview
was sought with Mr.. Moss. He made the
following statement:
Two of our locomotives are on the way
here and we expect 20 have them ready
for work by the end of this month, when
we shall endeavor to relieve the producers
and shippers of the valley as far as we are
now operating-that is, between Stockton
and little south of Incredibly handling
general freight in carload lots.
1--WE have no warehouses at present,
and therefore are not in a position to
handle miscellaneous merchandise until
our warehouses and sheds are complete.
But we shall be prepared to handle car
load lots of any kind of goods. Our
rolling-stock com prises $50 hatcars and
so boxcars."
Owing to the recent fire in MERGED there
is a considerable amount of rebuilding to
be done. and among other things lime is
largely in demand in that city. Many in
quiries for a rate on this article were re-
ceived by Traffic Manager Mess, and
finally aceeding to the demands of the
situation he yesterday quoted the rate
mentioned IN the communication ad-
dressed to the Railroad Commission.
This rate of 81 So is a reduction of 81 %,
or 40 per cent, from that at present
charged by the Southern Pacific Company.
Mr.. Moss, with his customary courtesy,
informed General Freight Agent Smurr
yesterday the new rate the Valley Road
had made effective, and there is every
probability that the Huntington line will
promptly meet the cut.
While the Valley Road tariff as whole
is not TO be made public till it becomes
operative, it is known it will make reduc-
tions on all classes of freight that will be
equivalent to an average cut of between 20
and 25 per cent. The heaviest pruning
will be done on the lower grade freight
The cut on this in some cases will be as
much as 10 or so per cent. On some arti-
cles, whose value is very small, the freight
charges are now so out of proportion to
their cost that they have virtually pro-
hibited any movement in them. Under
the Valley road schedule this policy of
strangling industry by trying to exact
more than the traffic will bear will be
rendered nugatory, and all the industries
of the San Joaquin Valley will receive q
new stimulus.
Traffic Manager Moss has already dis
covered that his path is to be more thorny
than rosy. He had visit yesterday from
w. B. Harrison of the Farmers Union
Warehouse of Stockton, and Mr.. ellis of
the Union Transportation Company of
the same city. The object of their visit
was to try and induce the Valley road to
increase the differential between Stockton
and San Francisco on grain. They claim
that the present rate of 80 cents between
the two cities tended to injure the ware
house business OF Stockton to the benefit
of San Francisco. They also represented
that where wheat is warehoused in Stock
ton before being shipped to San Francisco
or Port Costa the transportation COM
panies should stand the expense of the
double handling, which Is 10 cents per ton.
To comply with this demand would virtu-
ally mean to cut the rate 10 cents on the
regular through rate from interior points
to Port Costa or San Francisco.
Neither of these suggestions is likely to
be adopted, as, under the circum-
stances, to do so would be out of harmony
with all business principles.
This matter has attracted considerab BILE
attention at Stockton. 1t is said that the
trouble is really caused by the rivalry ex-
listing between the California Navigation
and Improvement Company and the
Union Transportation Company. The
former succeeded in making traffic. ar
rangement with the Valley road, thus Sc
curing large increase in the volume of
its business. ellis, who represents the
Union Transportion Company at Stockton,
is also interested in the Farmers Union
warehouse, and therefore, it is said, has g
double motive in advancing the idea that
Stockton is being treated fairly.
In a recent interview published in the
Stockton Record. H. J. Corcoran, manager
of the California Navigation and Improve
ment Company, explained the situation as
follows:
"The rates put out by the Valley road
on grain to Port Costa and San Francisco
will make no change at all in the grain
trade of Stockton. except to bring grain
through here which formerly went all Trail
to Port Costa.
''Mr. Moss of the Valley road is a
thorough transportation man, and realizes
that to get business for his road be must
meet com petition rates. This he has done,
and no more. No one not q fool would