New-York tribune., 1902-12-20
RAIL FREIGHT RATES ON IMPORTS.
Traffic Managers Tell Interstate Commerce
Commission There Is No Discrimination.

The Interstate Commerce Commission met in
the Federal building yesterday and heard testimony
about railroad rates import traffic. There were
present Commissioners Martin A Knapp chairman;
Charles A Prouty and J. d Yeomans. secretaries;
E. A. Moseey and NJ. s. Decker and Special Agent
J. 7. Marchand
G. :. White freight traffic manager OF the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad. admitted that the rate
charged by his road on imports between this city
and Chicago IS cents hundred pounds
whereas like goods originating here pay So cents a
hundred pounds freight to Chicago.
Tell US" said Commissioner Yeomans. the
son for the apparent discrimination
There is discrimination" Mr.. White replied
The Is cents is a proportion receive OF
through rate from some other place. while the 50
cents is the total cost of through carriage from
shipping point 10 destination
Your foreign agent works commission Mr..
Prouty asked. You give him your rate and ne
charges what he get? With the profit he
makes and .the commission you allow he has TO
protect his contracts?"
THAT fs how I understand IT" Mr. White repIied
He said the railroad company interested
In the charge made by the ocean carriers. The
railroad company charged by the weight. and pre-
sumab1y. the ocean carriers estimated that in chars
ing
Albert Meyer New-York manager Of the Vulcan
tie Cement Company. said the freight rate per
barrel from Vulcanite TO East St Louis for In
stance. &c 1-5 cents. while from Antwerp or
Hamburg the through rate was 65 cents a barrel
Mr.. Meyer found a like discrimination other
places IN the West and submitted table of figures
showing that in almost every instance the cost of
freight a barrel Of the domestic cement from New
York exceeds the through rats OF the
terial from q foreign port. By that system, Mr..
Meyer said. the effect of the protective tariff
almost entirely eliminated
Frank Harriott. commissioner OF the import com
mittee of the trunk lines said his committee had
nothing TO do with making the through rates from
foreign ports, and had no official knowledge OF
those rates. He attributed the reduction in the
through rate for imported goods to the competi-
ton of the ports for shipping.
What would be the result in the Port Of New
York If Congress should enact Il law Commission
er Prouty asked that railroad might carry i'm
ported goods less rate than II charges for do
mestiC gOods?'
In the long run Mr.. Harrott replied. 1T might
be a good thing Temporarily it would stop trade.
The Improvement would have to come by ad-
justment Of freghts by the steamship lines"
II. B. Chamberlain, of the Erie; Nathan Gull
ford. of the New-York Central and William II.
declared that the tariff rates as published were
strictly main tanned
DO you consider the difference in freight rates.
Commissioner Knapp asked E. D Caldwell, vice
president of the Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern the result of a commercial traffic cond-
tion7'
1T came about originally through the necessity Of
q ttracting shipping to the ports, and the easiest
way attract the shipping was making cheap
through rates for cargoes-
The commissioners returned to Washington last