The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-03-02
THE RAlLRO COMMISSION.

\ Defence of it's Coursr And n state.
mcnt OF the Benefits Which il Has
Conferred Upon nc People orthc
State.
The Columbia correspondent Of the
News and Courier makes The fUllowinr
statement in regard to the work Of the
railroad commission
There has been considerable recently
said relative TO the railroad commits
sion OF this State, even suggestions ~
TO It's being worthless. There is such
thing nS OVERRIDING thing and Of
leaving Il lHisc impression. II I9 well
to appreciate that the oil 'rr:' ANA rep
rcScntntlvCs Of the railroads rro far !
sighted men, and that H. w. l''~:2sAs"-.
been with their GNr2t.r ;, ,'',1 u, ,'rSSIy ~
has been dli. 'Ic'"''"'' S''V "',"'
NinM i'~ '.7'roo mas ooch accom-
With view to getting at the facts
Information and data have bcun
solicited.
70 begin with, the railroad cUnmis-
sion hy It's reports aud decisions has
contributed largely To II better know.
ledge OF the various railroad question )
that have arisen and has given diruc-
LiNn TO puNiic opinion, 80 aS TO cycrt Is
constant influence upon railroad man
ayers and make it Is force in securing
| rcfornis, white, at the same timc, 1t has
hrOug ht about Il better understanding =
Of the mutual relations OF the corpora
tiOns and the public.
Specifically, the commission has held
| the raiirUado in obrdirncc TO the raj =
road laws nf the State : Il has im"vati-
! gated accidents and fixed thr ruspOnsi =
| b!llty therefor, whGthcr ON the cor
! purALIOnS or their agents, and IL has
nustvucL the introduction Of il better
equipment and the adoption Of all the
! latest appliance, lur the safety Of trav-
cllcrs. IL has helped 10 secure better
accommodations and laciliLicS for many
places, and has mad rCdrcsscu man y
grievances Of individuals and communi
| ties.
In the matter OF the rates on fcrtili.
HsrS the following reductions have
| been made $l0cc the adoption OF the
| general railroad law, aud Is at illuStra-
| tiOn il Is wei to name certain points
| located in different sections OF the
| State AZ the time OF tho passage Of tn G
act. The rate on fertilizers from Cnar
| lesion 10 all the Piedmont section ol
the S.ntn vnrird from $3.50 to ~ per
ton. This territory IS now covered 10y
Is blanket rate Of $40 per ton. Fifty
cents Of this reduction has been re
Gently made. In the pGC-D q - CtiOI
the rate varied from - 20 to ~ 20 pen
per ton today this territory is covered
by straight mileage rate that doe:
not average over a rate OF ~ 20 pea
toh. The local rates on fertilizers or
all roads have been reduced ON Il,
average Of 80 cents per ton ON all shor,
distances. Very material rc!uction:
have been made in other articles.
Tho cultivation OF tobaccoo having
assuA ned very considerable proportion,
in this State it was found upon invcsti
| CATION OF the rates that were h4i..s
| charged that the railroads " r. .cturG
ing the development OF tho business .
ware housing Of tho tobacco, and tn..
| the rates used were very much higher
than those used in Virginia and Nortf
Carolina. The board reduced the rat, ,
on tobacco, giving the necessary relic
to this industry
Complaint WAS mndC by the Rock
Hill carriage aud buggy manufacturer
that they could 10! compete with .hy
western manufacturers for the bust
ness in this State with the rates from
Cincinnati made them by the railroaus
The commission took lh.SU rates mn
outi 81 lCuultu llCll Ulllll no" tutSJ,
home manufacturers are able to comc
in competition with all outside dealers
or manufacturers and control their
local territory.
On complaint OF the wood dealers oi
the cities OF Columbia, SpnrtanEurg
Rock Hill, Sumter and Charleston
that the wood rates were too high the
| board, after full Investigation OF the
matter, made reduction OF so per
cent. in tho wood rates and increased
the minimum carload from eight cords
to ten cords this reduction WAS made
in 1898. In 1897 the rate on shingles
was reduced 20 per cent %nd al classes
OF lumber wore shipped ~t what was
the rate on rough lumber, making con-
sideratiOn reduction In tn" rate.
On complaint Of Mr.. john A. Smith
manager OF the Charleston Freight Bu
rean, the rates on oil and sugar from