Evening star., 1902-09-11
Two Roads Handling Ali Business.

30 Tar as is known, tneSe rOdOS nave al!
been living up to the provisions of the
courts injunction. Soon after they were
eEjoned they began to lose their business
In the hauling of grain, and particularly
wheat and -four When the officials of the
road began to look around for the reason
1t was discovered incidentally that the busl-
ness of the Wisconsin Central and Ann Ar
Dor roads was greatly increasing in these
very lines of traffic Matters went steadily
from bad to worse. In very short time
these two roads were handling practically
all of the business in this line and could not
get anything like enough cars to handle the
traffic offered them. III the case of one of
the roads its traffic increased more than
2jo per cent per month, while the gross
monthly earnings of both jumped TO an
enormous figure.
Every freight traffic manager in the west
knew what was happening. He knew
that these two roads. taking advantage of
the fact that all the other roads were tied
up by the injunction, were giving secret re
bates in order to monOpoliZe the business.
The temptation to the other roads to get
into the game themselves and regain their
business was very great. yet not a single
one of the enjoined roads dared attempt it.
because it would be a violation on their
part of the order of the United States court
and would make every official from the
president of the road down in contempt of
court and liable to fine and imprisonment.
In this predicament the roads appealed to
the interstate commerce commission for
mission of course at once took up the mat
ter, and the amountSbf evidence presented
to the Minneapolis grand jury and the in
dictments obtained indicate that its path
was much easier one than it has ever
been before in its efforts to prevent rate
discrimination. Indictments We're obtained
against the presidents and traffic managers
of both the Wisconsin Central and the Ann
ArbCr roads. With d single exception this
also is a record the part of the
commission. as no railroad president, with
the exceptions of the late Coils P. Hunting
ton, who was once indicted for giving a
pass, has ever before been indicted.
Indictments Returned
In the present cases indictments were re-
turned against H F. Whitcomb, president
of the Wisconsin Central; B. Johnson, traf-
fic manager of the Wisconsin Central; W.
NJ. Burt president of the Ann Arbor road,
and w. H. Bennett general freight agent
of the Ann Arbor road. Capiases were at
once issued for the arrest of the indicted
men and placed in the hands of the proper
officials for service. Judge Munger of the
United States district court, before whom
the indictments We're returned, fixed the
bail of each defendant at 50 800. The act
under which the bills were voted prescribes
fine IN each case of not to exceed So 0U0
or Imprisonment in the pententiary for a
term not to exceed two years, or both, in
the discretion of the court.
The specific charge in the documents is
understood to be Unlawful manipulation of
rates with respect to flour and feed trans
ported to eastern destinations. The evi-
Gencc, it is said, shows that secret rates
We're given to certain big miers, and tuat
domestic -four was handled on the export
rate. The bills are also said to contain d
clause charging false billing as means
whereby traffic was procured for the Two
roads involved.
Thirty prominent railroad officials and
millers Of the northwest were summoned
before the grand jury witnesses. How
ever. only three witnesses were heard.
These are said to have been a Lake Shore
agent at North Amherst, Ohio, flour and
feed dealer at the same place. and Mr.
Smith. the auditor of the interstate com
merce commission. The dismissal without
testimony of such large number of wit
Tt sses leads to the belief that a special
grand jury will be summoned to take up
the matter OF cut rates and preferences to
shippers with a view Of furnishing not only
all the railroad officials involved, but also
these shippers who accepted the prefer