The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-06
PREFER TO SHIP TO SAVANNAH
Continued From Eighth Page.


lost several sales. MIR. OBrien said he
had no rate to Savannah and the agent
would not quote him a rate. He did not
succeed in getting a rate, he said, until
he made a shipment to Savannah
Mr.. ". A. Baker of Cypress, Mr.. j. r.
Goodwin of Caryville. Mr.. ]. r. Shumake
of Cottondale and Mr.. ]. W. Williams of
Chipley gave testimony on the same line
as the preceding witnesses. MIR. Williams
said the rate on cotton per bale of 500
pounds was S1.75 from Chipley to River
Junction and $2.75 from Chipley to Savan-
nah. The rate from Chipley TO Mobile, he
said, was $2.75 Mr.. Gwaltney, former
agent of the Louisville and Nashville at
Bombay, also testified as TO the rates
The session took a recess at AS O'Clock
for lunch. The commissioners were evil
IDENTIFY not familiar with the customs of
Savannah, as the chairman announced an
lntermission of only one hour. He was
better Informed later however, and as a
result the commission did not meet again
until 4 O'clock
Capt. d. G.. Purse was the first witness
put on the stand in the afternoon. and
verified the statements made in his COM
plant to the commission.
| Mr.. S. p. Shooter of the s. P. Shotter
| Company, naval stores exporters, was the
next witness. Mr.. Gordon succeeded in
! extracting some very interesting informa-
ton from Mr. Shotter. The latter adj
mitted, under Mr.. Gordons questioning,
! that he was largely interested with the
| firm of NJ. A. Moses & Co, the only naval
| stores firm a. Pensacola. having advanced
| Mr.. Moses money to establish the business
| there, and that he bought all of the naval
stores brought to that market, paying
| one-half cent less per gallon for spirits
| and 1913 cents less per barrel for rosin
| than Savannah quotations. The differ
| ence he said, was based upon the extra
| cost of shipments from the Gulf ports as
| "a cd With he Aflo ITO nd III
extra cost of insurance for the longer
| voyage.
Mr.. Shotter was placed upon the stand
! by Judge Baxter as one of the witnesses
! for the Louisville and Nashville railroad
| Under the questioning of Judge Baxter he
| said that when the naval stores house was
| established at Pensacola he had asked the
| Louisville and Nashville to make rates on
| naval stores on the Pensacola and Atlantic
| division similar to the rates in Savannah's
| territory on railroads entering Savannah,
| which rates had been granted He did not
ask for rates that would exclude Savannah
| from that territory, he said. The naval
| stores industry along the line of the PEN
sacola and Atlantic had been stimulated,
he said but the firm of Moses & Co., which
| had advanced money to the operators and
| induced a number of them TO settle along
the line of the road. When the reduction of
! 10 per cent in naval stores rates had been
made by the Georgia railroad commission,
he said, he had requested a similar reduc-
ton by the Louisville and Nashville, which
| request had been refused.
| There is no difference, so far as he
| knew, Mr.. Shotter said between the grad
| ing of rosin and the gauging of spirits
in Savannah and Pensacola. The inter-
ests of Mr.. Moses and the operators were
the same, he said. Complaints OCCASION
ally arose at Savannah on account of the
gaugtng and grading. On account of the
dissa tisfaction of some of the operators,
Mr.. Shotter said, he had occasionally
found it to his interest to buy through
firms in the west. In this way he mad
bought through his house in Chicago
shipment of eghty-two barrels of rosin
by OBrien & Carter, which had been sold
by them as grading water white. On
examination the shipment was found TO
contain rosin of six different grades, in
stead of only one grade.
This was evidently Mr. Shelters IN
swer to Mr. O'Brien's statement about
grading and gauging at Pensacola. Mr..
Shotter said he took all the receipts Of
Moses & Co. at Pensacola at the market
quotations, less the difference stated. The
sellers were in the position of being ana
bic to unload upon him at any time he
said. @
In answer to further questions by the
commission, Mr.. Shotter said that fully
So per cent. of the receipts at Savannah go
70 foreign countries, being distributed
| broadcast over the world. There is no
foreign market as influential in controll-
ing the price of naval stores, he said.
Mr. Shotter defended the policy of the
Louisville and Nashville by saying that
no naval stores came to this port having
been turned over to a line entering Sa-
vannah by a line having port of its own.
If the naval stores produced along the
Pensacola and Atlantic should be shipped
to Savannah the Louisville and Nashville
would get but a short haul, with a very
} | small probability of getting any future
: | haul from the shipments, whereas when
the shipments went to Pensacola, the
Louisville and Nashville got the haul
there, and as so per cent. of the receipts
there were shipped to the interior and the
Louisville and Nashville owned all the
lines entering that port, It had the pros
pect of getting an additional haul on the
naval stores to the west.
Under the questioning of Mr.. Gordon.
Mr. Shotter admitted that the Standard
| Oil Company, which had formerly main
tanned a buyer al Pensacola, no longer
has one there since he began to buy the
receipts. He disclaimed any knowledge
of any efforts on the part of the Stan
dard Oil Company to prevent another
buyer being located at Pensacola by a
| large exporting house. The interests of
the buyer Mr.. Shooter admitted, were not
always harmonious with those OF the
seller. Mr.. Shotter demurred to answer
| ing some Of the questions with reference
| to his business transactions with the
Standard Oil Company and his interest
with the firm of Moses & Co.
you might well give us the full In
formation, Mr. Shotter," said Chairman
Morrison otherwise we might guess
the situation to be worse than II is"
. Acting upon this advice Mr.. Shooter
made the admissions stated with regard to
his interest with the firm of Moses & Co,
and hts dealings with the Standard Oil
Company The naval stores factors and
buyers present, with whom Mr.. Shotter
has frequently had sharp Tits, seemed to
! enjoy his revelations.
Mr.. Shepard, general freight agent of the
Louisville and Nashville for lines south OF
Decatur. Ala, testified as to the rates in
: force on cotton and naval stores These
rates had been in force for several years,
he said, and were not made with any in
tention OF discriminating against Savan-
. nah On the contrary, he considered the
, rates favorable TO Savannah. Very strong
complaints had been preferred from New
orleans that the rates were too favorable