The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1896-10-30


for twelve months past. hut the xeeo-
! luton had been ignpred. ~
Sd. That this pa0podtion, however
It might be covered up In words was .
trade and that he was not 6athorixed
or willing to make any such txx7e In
favor of one community against others,
but that justice ought 20 Be done by
the Board to the railroads and the
people on consideration of the whole
schedule, and he refused TO be party
to any trade Whatever.
w. A. HxSDxRsox,
Chairman.
The trade between tie commission
and the railroads stripped Of alls its
verbiage is simply this: You work the
fertilizer rate whether IL is Just or not,
and we will raise rates to recoup you.
When you agreed to recoup the rail-
roads You acknowledge that you had
made for them an unjust and unrea-
sonable rate, else why agree to pay
the railroads to work it? The fertili-
Ter reduction precludes even the con-
sideration of reduction of the rate
on cotton, because the majority of this
Board under the terms Of the trade
with the railroads are committed in o
written agreement to q raise of rate.
ihus you exclude the farmer from q
reduced rate on cotton to which he is
Justly and legally entitled. On page
IL in Georgia's Railroad Commission
srs report, 1895, the Commission says:
''That the people do not read, think
and observe how this great octipus,
the Southern Railway, is getting ih
hold on our industries farming, man.
ufacturing, jobbing fruit-raising, mf
oing, etc., and sucking their life
blood"
This great corporation whose attor-
ney in suit with the State said that
Railway was larger than the whole
taxable property of South Carolina is
stretching Its tentacles into this State
and has pretty we'll gobbled up every
thing above Columbia.
If rates are to be made in this State
by the Railroad Commission trading
with this mouster corporation outside
OF the law, then God help the people.
Not only the farmer but every other
industry in this state will soon be
taught the rule put by Wordsworth
into the mouth of Rob Roy:
"The simple rule, the good old plan.
That he shall take who has the power,
Ane he shall keep who can"
Under what law have you gentlemen
authority to cut rates of any railroad
below the cost Of service and confiscate
the property? Under what law do you
find authority for trading away the in
terests Of the great fertilizer manufac-
turing centre Of South Carolina. and
turning 1T over to O few little interior
mills who can't supply the demands OF
even the Piedmont section. You
gentlemen have yourselves done that
( which the law instructs you to prevent,
that is the reason why have publish-
/ ed protest after protest against'a rste
which I know 10 be unjust, anreason.
! able. discriminative and illegal.
Fifty per cent. of the fertilizers in
this State are sold in the Piedmont
section. In oil that section there was
blanket rate of $50 per ton from
Oh ucston. which by agreement be-
tween tne commission, the railroads
ami fertilizer manufacturers, after
| days of discussion was supposed to
place Charleston and Columbia on q
parity in that territory. 1t was work
Ell for years without complaint until
tho Anderson and Columbia Mills got
So awful distressed about the poor
down-trodden farmer. The rate from
Charleston into the Piedmont territory
was cut about 8 per cent. and the
Columbia and Anderson rate about 25
per cent, thus giving the Columbia
and Anderson mills Z per cent. margin
of profit. The Columbia and Ander.
son mills sell all their goods on the
Charleston price and the II per cent.
profit goes into their pockets instead
OF into the pockets of the dear farmer.
On September 17th this Board is
sued the following instructions to the
railroads as regards the cut-rate war:
"That the same differential which OBJ.
tanned between the competitive and To-
cal points before the war began must
be preserved in any cut that is made.
If the instructions of the Board were
right in the cut rate war then why did
tho Board take exactly opposite
grounds in the fertilizer rate war. and
refuse to preserve the differential
which obtained between Charleston
and Columbia without assigning any
valid reason and without considering
| Inc comparative Cost VI PIouucsoh ~
the two points. arbitrarily created q
differential Of II per cent in favor Of
the interior mills. At one Of our con-
ferences the secretary Of our Board
stated that he sold $50. 900 or $50, 900
worth of fertilizers asked him from
what point. He replied, from Colum-
bia. / referred you to Section 1926
G.. s., which forbids railroad commits.
sioners from owning any stock or
bonds of any railroad and then make
rates for that road. stated that l saw