The evening times., 1899-05-03
RAILROAD MEN TO
CONFER ON Rates
Agents to Meet in this City
Next Week.
Over Sixty Companies Invited to
Send Representatives.
Result of the Convention of Vital
Importance TO business Inter-
ests of the south.

Another railroad conference is to be held
in this city on May 10 under direction Of
| the Interstate Commerce Commission.
| Over sixty roads have been invited to
send representatives. embracing those
, south of the Ohio and east of the Missis
sippi River, and such of those west of the
Mississippi as are factors In the export
| trade of the Gulf. The conference prom
ises to be largely attended as nearly all
Of the roads invited will be represented
The subject to be considered at the
meeting is the adjustment of both passen-
ger and freight rates throughout the South
and Southwest. The business men Of the
Southern cities have long complained that
they were being Disseminated against in
the shipment Of products to Southern ports.
1t is claimed by the cotton producers of
Georgia. South Carolina, and other States
that they are charged more for short
haul to the Gulf than for shipments to the
Northern cities.
II possible. it is desired to have the
various roads interested form a schedule
| OF charges, which will be regulated ac-
cording to distance. The merchants of the
Middle States are also interested in the
| outcome of the conference as they claim
their business would be greatly increased
by proper adjustment of rates. AS the
matter now stands, the merchants of the
South are enabled 10 buy goods in New
| York and other cities and have them ship
| ped at the same rate as if they made their
purchases nearer home. In other words. a
merchant in Florida can have goods ship
! ped to him just as cheap from Boston as
| from Atlanta, Ga. The Southern whole
| salers claim that with reasonable ad-
| Iustment OF freight rates, they will be
able to compete with the Northern mer-
chants in supplying the local trade.
| With an adjustable rate. according to
distance, the Southern jobbers say that
they could sell on an equal footing with the
| Northern dealers and thus build up -four
isEing business in several Southern cities
The Southern steamship lines are also
. greatly interested in the result of the con-
ference as it will materially affect their
business. Heretofore nearly all of the
Southern products intended for foreign
trade have been shipped from Northern
markets. as tie freight to those ports has
cost no more than to the seaboard cities
| nearer home.
With a different State of affairs, It is
claimed that the export trade OF the South
ern cities will be greatly increased and
that they will become to a certain extent
commercial centers. The business men OF
| the South have long been agitating the
question of adjustable rates for that sec
| ton, and the calling of the present conven-
| tion is really the outcome of their interest
| in the matter.
As stated above, all OF the raiiroa Is Gpar-
ating in the South will have representa-
| tives at the coming convention. and il Is
expected that some understanding favor
able to the Southern shipper will be reach
ed. Southern merchant, in speaking Of
the matter to a Times reporter today, pre-
dicted that if the roads agreed to freight
| rate commensurate with distance. a new
impetus would be given to the Southern
| export trade and would result in building
up the seaboard cities on the Southern At
| lantic and Gulf coasts.