El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-06
LOCAL DEALERS NOT Affected
FL paso Railroad Men Deny That
New Routing Arrangement Az
feCts Local Rates.


y THE statement that the new routing
arrangement over the Santa Fe ans
Southern Pacific could in any way at
feet Ell Paso fruit dealers Is simply
absurd" said I. E. Hunt, of the S. P
this morning. 81 don't see how it car
have any affect one way or the other
There are no big fruit dealers here
There are no citrus fruit producers
either in the Rio Grande or Mesills
valley, aud even II there were q thing
like the routing of through fruit cars
could have nothing to do with loca
rates that L can see.'
1.-The suggestion is idiotic,' said
Houghton, of the Santa Fe. "The
routing arrangementhasn nothing what
ever to do with local rates."
'tThis new arrangement has already
gone into effect" said Darbyshire, OF
the T. & P. And it makes little, it
any difference to Ell Paso or the L. &
P. Our shipments are just as large up
to the present. Two trains went east
over our road this moroing, and three
more 90 tonight"
A telegram has been received from
President Ripley, of the Santa Fe rail-
way company, in which he says the
action of the agents of the company In
the matter of the citrus fruit shipments
meets with approval. There are now
nearly a hundred car loads of oranges
awaiting shipment. Ell Paso's S. p.
office has received q statement of the
railroad side of the case for publica-
ton. The statement in part says:
Regarding the controversy between
the oil fds fruit shippers and railways
as to W no has the right to route the ship
ments, RAILROADS operating from the Pa
ci6c coast have always reserved the
right to route shipments when the
through rate was guaranteed and in
their bills of lading never contracted
lar route. However, the railways up to
this time have never exercised the
right to route shipments. Citrus fruit
shippers have been complaining for
several years about the oper alton OF
private car lines; that certain shippers
hal inside ARA 1gements made through
the car lines with railways by which
they got a commission or some
such other form of rebate great
be obtained by the average shipper.
Railroads were competing one with the
other for the citrus fruit shipments
and it has been claimed that arrange
ments via one connecting line with
California roads for rebates we're bet
ter than another and shippers were
constantly changing their shipments
from one route to another.
''All this time, the legitimate ship
per, who had no arrangements with the
railroads, was made to suffer. If he
could not get rebate he was COM
PEELED to quit the business. This re-
bate practice grew year by year and
was great demorslizer both In rail-
road rates and prices of oranges.
''There is nothing arbitrary In the
position taken by the railroads. The
routes used to reach destinations are
she same the shippers have been using
for years, with q very few exceptions,
and the exceptions are the roundabout
routes used for the purpose of obtain
ing little higher commission or re-
bate than was being paid by the direct
routes. The rate on oranges has not
been raised. and any Information
that in past has been given to the ship
pers as to the whereabouts of their
shipments has not curtailed it In any
Hay'