The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-02-13

rztfors OF tire bfA vcr1.1 huxs the road
TIE principal customers OF TIE roat Tsre
a lot % View Torx rrEfioras-ez T1s -sys
Tot eA4EIozlEg fcs re1=11llcn- he iEo1ght
fae h~~s sssg oct 81 tire SixrxEty woElG -
20 grads fh@ ere ard charge the r1axs-
FIFTH rate fer th@ hsxhs- grade ore ard ire
Allen fn tire Joint Meeting
IRE folrs meeting OF TIRE hozss ans arr
ate eor1rnsffss wzs hasdaan tEe aftsr1oon
a. o'.se@k- with esn&tcr cFo~ Il tns
chair. IN. lo5BV -az fled Eith rail-oad
attorney. gsoer11 rnzEAxars a14 Others
Interested r. rzflros. seg4slztio1s
Or rngtsSn OF Sszator E&EEr. 2fr. n
Aisen q the SPOKANE Falls T. Northern,
waE tire f~st man hezr1. Mr. Afisa PRO-
daeed copy Of the last rspoTf 81 Ire
infefEfate conuleYes COMMITTEES O ths
5pokaDe Pa. e sSo-.ks-r. According %
this report tne earnings q the read were
xii. sE.u. From this nszst - ee1fzst~d ID
tsrest o. Dop1s, sIss u. ard 1zs.e9 On
taxes, aid this left Cro1t CO t3-e-iA- N
order 70 keep this road COT OF the nan1s
81 3 receiver &r. CoFbin and MS ascot
ofes had beer compelled "a. AaFaEhee sfSS.-
ase Therefore & woEzd plainly - seen
ina; tia road S@s rot g. condition 20
submit - a further reovctiou. Mr.. Allen
said that the Spokane Falls Northern
railroad bad BEEN subjected 20 the very
hardest kind Of competition at the hands
OF the Canadian Pacific railroad. He SAID:
'.ff TIE people OF ire Paiouse country
knew wnat se have been doing % nslp
them In Ihe way Of finding . market FOR
their products AZ RossiAnd ard else
WHARF. they would send in a UNANIMOUS
petition asking that 70 interference Be
made with our rates
Then ae said that the Spokane Falls &c
Northern contemplated building q branch
int9 ths Kettle creek. Boundary creek
ard 0&anosan countries. but Il the blu
Nsni into effect not dollar could be bar
rewea witb wslch 20 build them. lie
asxe1 THAT section = OF the bill bs amend
- 80 that It's provisions shall net apply
% roads Of less than 10 mixes IN
length when owned and operated BY
corporation under the laws OF TIE state
OF Washington nor "a those roads that
are ~ the hands OF rscesvsrs.
10 response 10 a question as TO how this
las woa.d affect o railroad which carried
freight in and out OF the state. he replied
that he did not know. Nr. Corbin had told
him that II this Iaw was passed no more
money could he raised for branches. II
esolad result Ia q stoppage Of raiarsad
balIdmg
In response TO a question BIZ DE Mattos.,
Mr.. Allen said that the average rate FOR
passengers was trine over "a cents per
mite The regular rate was cents per
nssle. but excursion rates had cut down
the rate 70 trire over "A cents per mile.
Chairman conine. OF the house commit
tee. ruled that each speaker should De lin
lted 10 rwsaty minutes.
Dorr said that twenty minutes was too
short time Ia whieh TO present 90 Inn
porfant a question. IL the house could
spend several hours In discussing 3 Bio 10
prevent the poisoning OF hoaey bees. IL
could well afford TO devote a longer time
20 the consideration OF the railroad qass-
tlon.
Hardships Caused by Legislation.
". W. Cotton, attorney 81 the oregon
Railway e. Navigation company. was the
next speaker. FIRST he tod the history
OF the oregon Railway s. Navigation Gem
paay. Then he told az the case OF Milton
Evans against the Oregon Railway a. Nav
ixation Company which reduced the rates
from b. to $40 ger ton. Next came the
Wssson bill which made the rate o. s. per
ton for the maxi um distance OF 90 miles.
The WATSON BIN was vetoed. Then the
Northern Pacific built It's branch across
the Cascade mountains This took away
half the o. r. e. ~. business Next was
the re-enactment OF the WATSON bill and
on top Of this came the Anderson bill,
which reduced the rate To a.7s for a maxi
mum haul OF 80 miles. Then the road
went into the hands Of receiver. from
which II had Just crnerged He said that
al the company Cow wanted 10 earn was
1 per cent. on yalua ton of $3.50 per
mile.
I'VE we're told" ne said. when the
WATSON bill was passed that 70 would be
satisfactory. When we made a voluntary
reduction OF 3 cents Per ton We were told
that t would be satisfactory. We are
charging $40 per ton for wheat from
WGlla WalIa. Wheat Il worth cents
per buShei more in Seattle. Tacoma ard
Portland than in Chicago. Hence the
farmer IN waila wana stands IN a better
position than the farmer Of Middle Iowa.
the most favored farming region OF the
Middle West
he submitted that, viewing the misfor-
tunes of the read snd the high price OF
farming products IA the Paioure and
Waila MatiH countries. the railroad COM
paay was being treated gufairiy-
IN regard 10 the passenger rates he said
that bat one train VAS operated on the
., X y. per aay. The service Was
prompt ard good lie said that the rate
IA the East Was cents per mile where
the population was oougested. and where
as Algh a. thirsy-one trains were run per
day. Therefore Il MAS mAaifestiy unjust
10 put into effect scent rate Ia thls
ceungry.
ons OF the results Of the Anderson bill
was 10 put the o Il & \ Co in the
hands OF a receiver. The Northern Pa
cifc read followed the q. Il & y. into the
hands Of that same individual, HE held
that the putting into effect OF the rates
ia the Miller bll woald be virtual confis-
cation Of The O. X. & y. read.
The speaker claimed "a result 81 the
reductions made Ia the.r rates. ana they
were not made ostentatiuusly. . r. s y.
stock. which used 10 sell for $l.l9 vas
now selling for Is cents, aud ceats OF
this represented an assessment. There
haa been no dlmlnution OF traffic ana
has the company been allowed 20 charge
tatss that would yield eyen al ordinarily
fair proaL as nnaneia! condition would
De much better. and the stock would be
WORTH much more than 81 s..
legislators shoald lie Fair.
WI II. Thompson. attorney Ter the
Great Northern railway company. was the
next speaker In his usual graceful ard
easy way NJ Thompson explained that
owing 70 rugged physical formation
Il cost more % build railways in Washing
ton than 81 any other state IN the Union.
except perhaps Colorado. The Hao % the
Great Northern in Washington had cost
as 90 eoe The main tine cost $4,000 pr mile
ard ths coast line hranch So 80 per mile.
The company had Just begun work on a
tunuei that wiu eOss 8. gso 90. lie tod The
committee That there was no money 20 30
made ia hauling humber east svon Wash
fnetea. hut tie hauling was tone that the
p,ate nalsbt prosper. When ire state pros
pared. the railroads did likewise.
Mr. Thompson scored Gre fellows servant