The Minneapolis journal., 1902-08-08
c. G. W s POSITION
Explained by President Stickney
in an Official Circular.
RATE LAWS LONG VIOLATED
The New Basis on Packing-House
" Products a Relief to the
Roads. 4#

President A. B.. Stickney Of the Great
Western road has issued a circular to
stockholders, in which he says that trafhc
officials Of western roads have been de-
liberately violating the law for the past
fifteen years and, in doing SO, have placed
themselves 'in the shadow Of the? peni-
-tentiary." The circular Sexplains the
stand taken by the Great Western with
reference to rates on packing-house
products between Kansas City and Chi
cago and, coming from Mr.. Stickney, is
Of great Importance. ' ~. ~. .s.. K
The circular goes into the methods or
the packers and then continues thus:
During all the, years the modus operandi
has been for the railway companies to bill
packing-house products at the published tariff
rates, and collect the full amount of such
rates, afterward making settlements by pay
ing back to the packers from. 25 to so per
cent Of the money collected. .@-. "5v1.
Both the payment and receipt of such re-
bates are made by the interstate commerce
law unlawful, punishable by fine and impris
orment.
The misery of making rates by paying and
receiving unlawful rebates, causing the agents
Of both the paying and receiving companies
to live continually in the shadow of the pen
itentiary, as we'll as the inequality and un-
certainty pertaining to such rates, has pro-
duced the disposition in both parties to adopt
lawful methods in making rates, and the
Injunction of the United States court issued
in March, 1902, against the future payment Of
rebates has furnished the opportunity.
AS soon as the injunction was granted by
the court it was evident to both parties that
the Old method of making the rates must be
permanetly abandoned-that, therefore, lawful
rates must be established by printing, filing
and publishing the rates which would there
after be actually collected. . =.
But no one seemed to know what uniform
rates, under the circumstances, it is believed
we're collected. rs:.>
No one but the packers themselves could
ascertain the average rate they had actually
paid during the years in which secret rates
had been made in the matter which has been
described. j.! 8 Ef * - -
The packers went through the records and
reported that, although sometimes they paid
| more and sometimes less, the average rate
which they had actually paid during more
| than fifteen years between the Missouri river
| and Chicago was fraction less than 16
| cents per hundredweight. - .5 --
| The railroads felt that the average rate had
| been too low, and the packers expressed a
Willingness to pay rate Is per cent higher,
| providing it could be made uniform and
| stable. ~
An advance of Is per cent on the 16-cent
rate is "a cents per hundredwelght, con-
siderable percentage of the packers net prof
! it's, and would make the rate which the
| packers offered 1874 cents.
Continuing, Mr.. Stickney says the rail-
roads would have accepted the packers
| proposition could they have done Sc
| without also reducing the tariff on live
| stock but, for this reason, finally decided
| to make the packers pay the full pub
| lished rate of 23zcents per hundredweight