The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-15
Both Sea Coasts Fighting the In
terror J0bbers.
PACIFIC COAST RATES
PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE IN
TERsTATE COMMISSION.
Merchants Of the Middle West Com
plain That They Are Shut Out Of
- Pacific Coast Territory-Present
Rate Conditions Make Competi-
ton Impossible.

st. Louis, Mo-, Nov. 1.-THE inter
state commerce commission resumed
the hearing of the complaint of the st.
Louis Business Mems League and other
intervenors against the Atchi5on, To-
peka & Santa Fe railway system and
other transcontinental railroad lines to-
day.
The audience was considerably larger
than on the previous day. having been
augmented by a number of witnesses
who had come to testify for one side
or the other of the controversy.
Gardiner Lathrop of Kansas City,
general solicitor of the Atchison, To-
peka & Santa Fe system, was in court,
and entered his appearance for the road
he represents.
1t was manifest today that, while the
railway companies are the nominal de-
PENDANTS in the investigation, the real
fight is one between the jobbers of the
Pacific coast on the one side and those
of the middle west on the other In
deed, from the telegram sent by the
Philadelphia Hardware Merchants as
ISOLATION TO the members of the COM
mission on Monday, stating that that
body sustained the Pacific coast, and
the railroad side of the question, it may
be said that the two seacoast sections
united in the fight against the interior
country
All the witnesses thus far have teSti-
fed that it was not on account of an
excessive rate eXacted by the railroads
that their business on the Pacific coast
had been ruined. On the contrary, they
thought the rate very moderate. but
that by abolishing the mixed carload
feature, as was done at the Milwaukee
,frx-n ~. t.A lsel,
ing wide difference between carload
and less than carload shipments, the
railroads had effected a scheme which
effectually smut the st. Louis jobberS
out of the Pacific coast territory. In
der the conditions thereafter existent
it was absolutely impossible for them
to compete with the Pacific coast job
bers and manufacturers who bought in
New York and other Atlantic coast cit
les in carload lots, and saved. under the
present so-called postage stamp rate,
the amount of the freight rate from st.
Louis and other interior cities to the
same Atlantic seaboard markets.
a. ]. Vanlandingham resumed his tes-
timony and again stated it was his be-
lief that the difference between carload
and less than carload rates and between
the tariff and commodity rates was not
legitimately based on competition
either by land or water
On cross ton. Attorney Z.
S. Pillsbury of the Pacific Coast Mer-
chants & Manufacturers association
attempted to belittle the Importance of
the st. Louis protest. Mr.. Valanding-
ham replied that the complaint repre-
sents the view of 1900 merchants of st.
Louis. He explained the organization
of the traffic bureau and called atten-
ton to the fact that the bureau not be-
ing a corporation could not file a pro-
test under its own name. and hence it
had to be filed by the Business Mems
League, which had a membership of
215 merchants, representing all lines of
trade. Mr.. Vanlandingham filed as eX-
hibits all of the tariffs and documents
which he used in giving his lengthy tes-
timony. These included certified rec
ords of the st. Paul meeting. at which
references to a contract between the
railroads and Pacific coast jobbers were
made.
j. NJ. Allen, traffic manager of the
Meyer Bros. Drug company. testified
that in many instances the profits on
drugs shipped by his house to the west
were almost entirely eaten up by the
freight rates, the burden being especi-
ally heavy OH account of the differences
between carload and less than carload
rates.
Attorney Pillsbury endeavored TO
show that the complaint was based on
a mere selfish business interest and the
desire of ST. Louis jobbers to extend
their territory farther west.
Mr.. Allen said there was no such mo-
tive, and demonstrated that the rates
east from the coast were much lower
than those for the same distance west
of St. Louis.