Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-07-11
lie Insists That Rates Are on Fair
and Equitable Basis.
He Places Whole Responsibility for
High Rates Against south Atlantic
Ports on the Shoulders of the
Southern Railway Lines.
soEthern Railway Lines.

| WASHINGTON. d. c., July 1O.-The In
terstate Commerce Commission to-day
/ began the hearing of the discriminating
! freight-rate case, in which the Charles
ton Is. c. bureau of freight transporta-
ton appears as complainant against the
various railway lines connecting Charles
/ ton, Norfolk, and Wilmington with points
west and south. There are about forty
| individual roads named as defendants,
! including the Southern railway, the At
! lantic-Coast Line Association the Sea
board Airline, and the Baltimore ond
Ohio road The charge is the long-stand-
| ing complaint of Charleston that dis
eliminating rates are made by the rail-
ways in favor of Norfolk and against
/ Charleston, on products from the West
both for foreign and coastwise shipment
and for railway distribution from Nor
folk to other southern points.
The hearing began to-day before Com
missioners Clements, Prouty and Cal
houn. There appeared for the complain
ants J. 2. X. Bryan, counsel and John
A. Smith. manager of the Charleston
Freight Bureau. Counsel for the defend
ant carriers was Edward Baxter
Among those present at the hearing
were William Campbell. general freight
agent Of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois
railway; J. NJ. CUP. traffic manager OF
the Southern railway, and VI. w. Il.
Glover traffic manager of the Seaboard.
SOUTHEASTERN ASSOCIATION.
The first witness was s F. Parrott
chairman Of the Southeastern Freight
Association. His examination developed
the fact that this association was the
successor Of the Southern States Freight
Association. and this in turn Of the old
Southern Railway and Steamship Assoc
citation. Mr.. Parrot said that a good
many arrangements Of the latter assoc
/ citation were still i'm force as to rates
from the West to southeastern points.
He was not fully conversant with the
way these rates had been made. Changes
in rates were usually discussed at meet
ings of the association, although the as
ISOLATION did not undertake to make and
enforce them.
W. H. Fitzgerald. commissioner Of the
Virginia Railway Association, was call
ed, but he added very little to the knowl>
edge Of how rates to the South Atlantic
ports were made. His association, ne
/ said. consisted Of the Atantic-COast
Line and the Southern railway, the Sea-
| board Airline having been a member
till about three years ago. His office,
however had nothing to do with west
ern through rates. merely publishing and
compiling the rates given it by the indi-
vidual roads.
Counsel for the Charleston Freight Bu-
reau endeavored to find on what principle
the rates into Charleston were made but
| Mr.. Fitzgerald, after an hours question
ing. could only say that they We're com
| piled by John a. Ryan. one OF the rate
clerks in his Office Witness said he gave
! no instructions as 10 how the cOmpi9-
! ton should be made, and did not review
/ the work after it was done If the work
! was not satisfactory to the individual
roads. they could call attention to IT;
! otherwise the clerks compilations stood.
LONG AND SHORT-HAUL CLAUSE.
! Mr.. Fitzgerald at first said that 1t would
| be impossible for the southern railways 10
| reduce western through rates TO South
| Atlantic ports without reducing the local
! rates 10 interior points, as ii would inter-
| fere with the long and short-haul clause
established by the Interstate Commerce
Commission. He afterward admitted,
however that the fact of water compe-
tition by the great lakes and the Allan
tic coast steamship lines applied TO
Charleston, Wilmington, and Savannah
as much as il did to Norfolk.
Mr. Bryan said he begged to call the
attention of the commission TO the fact
that none of the railway people would
give any explanation of the theory under
which rates were made to favor Norfolk
and discriminate against other southern
ports although the freight schedules
showed this state of things to exist
Mr.. Fitzgerald said that while he did
not know just how the rates were ar
ranged. he felt sure they were arranged
on a fair and equitable basis, and with
no view 10 injuiing Charleston.
SURPRISE OF THE DAY.
The last witness of the day was c. S
Fulton secretary of the Ohio River Cen
trail Traffic Association. He furnished
the surprise of the hearing by shifting the
whole responsibility for high discrim- |
mating rates against the South Atlantic |
ports TO the shoulders OF the southern |
railway lines. He said that the roads /
north and west Of the Ohio had for ten
or twelve years maintained a STANDING !
offer to prorate the through freisht |
charges to the South Atlantic ports with |
the railways south of the Ohio on strict
mileage basis.
MIR. Baxter, counsel for the defendant
carriers asked If 1t were not a TACT that |
the northern roads wanted TO maintain |
their own mileage rates and make all
the reduction on the lines south OF the (
Ohio.
Mr. Fulton said that this was not the |
case. and read letter OF his own. writ
ten in 1897, making the offer to prorate |
on a mileage basis. This offer, he said, |
had been ignored. The letter was placed
I'm evidence. He said. in reply to an in
ouiry from Commissioner Clements, that
the distance from Cincinnati 10 New |
York was very nearly the same as from
Cincinnati TO Charleston. and that tho |
roads OF the association had been quite
willing for n long time to turn part
of the Atlantic seaboard traffic through
the Ohio river gateways, hut that they
had received no announcement TO DO SO
from the roads south of the river
HEARING TO-DAY AGAIN
The hearing will probably continue