The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-12-13

The Wilmington Tariff Association
Petitions the Interstate Railroad
Commission for Relief Against I'm
Just and Unreasonable Rates as Com.
pared With Norfolk-The Facts Set
Forth In the Petition
The official Railway Guide. published
| at New York, in it's issue for December
contains the following concerning an
important matter which has been
| brought to the attention of the Inter-
State Railroad Commission by the
Wilmington Tariff Association:
Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Virginia
Railroad:
The Wilmington Tariff Association.
composed of business men in the city
of Wilmington, N. c., and created for
the purpose of securing reasonable,
| just and lawful transportation charges
| for freight and passengers" to and
from that city, has filed a complaint
against this carrier and other railroads
forming various through lines from
Chicago, st. Louis, Cincinnati, Louis
vile and other western points to Will
mington, N. c.. Norfolk and Richmond.
Va The complaint sets forth the
routes and the short line distances TO
Wilmington and Norfolk and says that
AN
of Wilmington with reference to dis
lance from said Ohio river points or
gateways, the rates charged therefrom
by defendants operating the above
mentioned routes by all the defendant
lines are greatly higher to Wilmington
than to Norfolk, and SO much so that
on numerous articles of freight the
transportation cost to Wilmington is
as great by the direct routes to Will
mingtOn as the sum or combination Of
rates to Norfolk and the local charge
from Norfolk to Wilmington. The COM
| plant also sets forth that the rates
from st. Louis and Chicago to Will
mington are certain arbitraries of per-
| centages above the rates from Louis
Vile or Cincinnati, while the rates from
| st. Louis and Chicago to Norfolk are
through and are not made by combi-
nation or basing upOn rates from
Louisville or Cincinnati. Another al
legation is that combinations of rates
| from western points to New York with
steamship rates from New York TO
Wilmington may also be made on num-
| erous articles which are less than or
as low as the rates by the direct all
rail lines from the same points to Will
mington, while on the other hand the
rates to Norfolk are in every case low
! er than those from the same point of
| shipment to New York. Such an ad-
III ioNNS 40 l. ~
in damage to the interests of Whining
ton merchant in the following partic-
ularS:
THAT under the aforesaid rates
merchants at Norfolk, Richmond and
other Virginia cities, taking the same
rates, have and exercise a controlling
advantage over Wilmington dealers in
Reconsideration drought North Caro-
lima and South Carolina and other
states of products and merchandise
originating at and west and north of
Cincinnati, Louisville, and other points
on the Ohio River; and on various ar
t%icles, as indicated in the foregoing
statement of rates. That practically
the same tierS participate over
many route. 1 the carriage of traffic
from the west to Norfolk and Whining
| ton, with the exception that the deliv-
! ering carrier at Wilmington is general
ly different from the carrier delivering
at Norfolk. That under the same rates
to Wilmington and Norfolk the deliv-
erirg carriers and others in the through
lines to Wilmington would benefit
largely by the increased local or dis
tributed traffic from Wilmington 10
points in North Carolina, South Caro-
lima, Georgia and other southeastern
states. That Wilmington, like Nor
folw, is an important Atlantic seaport
for ocean going steamers of large tom
mage, and is well equipped in all ways
to compete for it's share of the import
and export traffic of the country, as we'll
as for the wholesale trade in domestic
goods, except in the vital matter of
properly adjusted transportation
charges from western points of ship
ment. That the traffic and transporter
tons conditions under which the car
riers from the west to Norfolk have
been induced to apply the same rates
to Norfolk as those in effect to Balti-
more are substantially duplicated at
Wilmington, including through aQ-rail
lines and the competition of fast coast
wise steamships; but the defendant
carriers engaged in transportation to
Wilmington from the west lave pre-
ferred to withhold from Wilmington
the rate facilities which nave mainly
prompted the greater development of
business at Norfolk, and which upon
| consideration of distance, favorable To-
cation, competition between the two
cities, and cost Of cervice to the CARR
ers are due to Wilmington to the full
extent of their application at Norfolk.
1.-The rates to Wilmington are al
lodged to be unjust and unreasonable
under the first section and to result in
wrongful prejudices and preferences
under the third section of the
statute"
We learn that the Tariff Association
has employed eminent railroad counsel
to argue this matter before the Inter
State Commission The case will be
heard in January, and as all the rail-
roads from Chicago to Charleston are
interested, there will be a host OF coun-
sci to be heard.