Omaha daily bee., 1900-01-23
SHIPPERS SUBMIT A PROTEST
Feasons Advanced for Return to 0!d Freight
Classification.
RAILROADS DOING WELL ENOUGH BEFORE
Reports of Earnings Demonstrate
This-Discriminates AGAINST
small shippers and
Merchants.

NEW YORK. Jan. 22.-The board rooms
OF the Trunk Line association were crowded
today with 100 western shippers who came
as representatives OF the various traffic bu-
reaus throughout the country to confer with
the trunk line executive committee and the
classification committee and to present their
respective grievances against the new
freight rate schedule which went into effect
on January 1 last.
Chairman GODDARD OF the trunk line execu-
tive committee called the meeting to order,
saying they would be glad to hear all COM
plants that anyone present had to make.
William r Corwine, representing the Mer-
chants association Of New York, read a
technical paper reviewing the difficulties be-
tween the shippers and the railway and
trunk line companies as existing under he
present classification.
4 summary of the paper follows:
First-We believe that the reports of earn
ings made by the railroads in the financial
statements in which ii IS shown that they
have increased their annual dividends ami
otheiS. for the first time in Years, If not in
their history, have declared dividends upon
their common stock Cthe directors setting
forth that the outlook for the future is
sufficient to Justify th!sD show that the rail-
roads are earning sutiCient money to en-
able them to realize largely increased earn
ings, gross and net, for the immediate flu
prosperity may continue, which we hope
VIII be indefinitely
Second-1lat the decreased cost of oper-
alton cf railroads, as set forth in their re-
ports and in the reports of the Interstate
commerce commission and the tendency to
lower the cost of transportation rather than
to increase II, is sufficient to overcome a
claim of the necessity for moro money due
to the advanced prices of articles entering
railroads. and that the reasonable pros
poets Of future decreased costs of operation
of railroad properties will place railroads
In st.ll better position financially without
any increase in freight charges being made
necessary to add to their incomes.
Hurts Small Dealers.
Third-That the theory which has re-
tween carload lots and less than carload
lots is wrong in that 1t lessons the area of
distribution, hurts the small shipper and the
small buyer and should not be allowed to
Fourth-That the method of reclass!fying
dry goods is unjust in that It tends to a
discrimination and to complications and
that If it be found necessary thus to sim
plify classification in, these lines, instead
dry goods should be placed in the second
class
Fifth-That the new schedule works an
injustice to the shippers in practically pro-
hibiting the use Of wood pulp packing boxes
by a large class of shippers to whom they
are of great benefit and Thus adds to the
burden and expense of such shippers and
therefore should not be allowed to stand
Sixth-That the rule of the new classif-
cation, which read as follows: Shipments
of property combined into packages by for
warding agents claiming to act as ship
pers will only be accepted when the
names of Individual shippers and final con-
slgnees, as well as the character and con
! tents of each package, are declared to the
receiving agents and such properly will
be waybilled as separate shipments and
freight charged accordingly" will work a
great hardship to jobbers and packing
houses as well as to small merchants and
should be rescinded altogether
Schedule of Complaints Filed.
F. G. Langley then filed a schedule o.
| complaints against classification No o.
relative to carload and less than carload lots
saying that he represented the grocery trade
and that they did not object TO the in.
crease of rates providing they were made
uniform. AS it was, the less than car.
! load" classification took from the loca
| johbing trade a heretofore profitable terri.
tory.
! Colonel f. P. Wilson of Cincinnati rep.
resenting the National Association of Man.
| ufacturers, suggested the board listen to tn,
complaint of individual shippers.
| A NJ. Cooper Compton, representing tn,
! National Association of Chicago, took W
| the classification as affecting the dry good
! business and endeavored TO show that III,
present classification would drive the piec
goods trade to the west and south and ava,
from the mills of New England and New
| York.
Thomas Morris, representing the porI
packers and provision dealers OF Cincinnati
endeavored TO show the injustice done t
the smaller class Of packers and proteste
against the classification.
Simon Stern of the Board OF Trade an
transportation of New York City followe
with a protest, in which he declared tn
present classification gave the larger ship
per undue advantages over the smalle
merchant.
j. Jones Fernly of Philadelphia. secretar
and treasurer of the National Hardware as
sociation, thought that hardware, as
occupied small space, should bc rated fourt
class instead Of third class, as now exist.
C. A. Jennings OF the American Cotto
OIL company, who represents the soap in
dustry OF the United States, asked that tn
old classification OF 1899 be restored.