The San Francisco call., 1898-03-24

sentatives of the leading roads that, though they had attended many con ferences, yet for a concise and at the same time thoroughly comprehensive presentation of a case they had never seen the equal of the one put up before them by the local men to-day. From these and a number of similar eXpres- sions of opinion by prominent railroad men if seems a foregone conclusion that the Western side will be the win ming side, and that, despite thelr shrewdness, tl, men from the East will soon have added to tnelr store oi wisdom the knowledge of defeat.
 When asked to define his position m the present controversy and to eXplaln the grounds on which he based hlS ar guments for the abOliShment or the dlI- ferentials between carload ana less than carload lots, A. J. Nanlandlng- ham. commissioner of the St. Louis Traffic Bureau, said:
 ''I notice some of our opponents quote the Traffic Bureau as an adjunct or the Simmons Hardware Company anu that I am here solely in it's interest. Such is not the fact. On the contrary, the St. Louis Traffic Bureau has among it's members the leading merchants ana manufacturers of St. Louis. It iT my business to look after the freight inter ests of St. Louis in every line or trade. It happens that the leading questions at issue in this meeting relate to the hardware trade. A few weeks ago was before another meeting or railroad men on a grain proposition. had grocery proposition at -tnls e5.iI,sS ileeli1,S, and I now have a number of questions other than hardware. propositions TOT consideration.
 Our principal reason for coming here, however, was to show the mus tice of the proposed advances Tn less than carload rates requested by the hardware iobberS of the Pacific Coast. We believe the present difference be- tween carload and less than carload rates great enough-in many instances too great. We believe to widen these differences would be injurious to our selves, the retail dealers of California, and to every one else other than the: few iobbers who presented the petition last April. We think the Beck & cor bett Iron Company, the N. c. Nelson Manufacturing Company, the summons Hardware Company and other J0DperS of St Louis and the Mississippi NaIley have as much right to sell goods m Cal ifornia as the fruit raiserS of California have to sell their products in St. Louis: We know that the protective tarlIL asked for by our rivals would make a greater difference between carload ana less than carload rates than the proIC on the goods We know no such d1fter-
  therefore should not exist in California;
 eve know the commodity rates com pIained of by our competitors were made to meet water competition ana that the movement by water is not in carload quantities. We know the re- quest made by our rivals is contrary to law, as shown in the noted Thurber case, decided by the Interstate Com merce Commission some years ago and never reversed. We know these gentle men by reason of their proximity to the trade, quickness with which goods can be delivered after ordered, and for various other reasons have many de- cided natural advantages over us which we cannot overcome, and we are therefore opposed toany increase in our disadvantages"
 Ralph s. Buck, representing the Bridge and Beach Manufacturing Com pany of St. Louis, and Cribben, Sexton & Go. of Chicago, arrived here this evening. He comes to take no part in the fight, but simply to acquaint him. self with any changes that may be made in rates affecting the goods he ! r.