The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-04-03

precisely Wnat is DelnS QOn unQer
similar conditions, in the transporta-
ton of certain kinds of domestic pro-
ducts. The industrial commission
found that cotton was carried from
Memphis to Lowell cheaper than for
a much shorter distance from Mem
phis into North Carolina. What is
the reason? Simply the commercial
necessity Of supplying cotton for the
mills at Lowell at prices that will
enable them to continue in business
and sell their product p%roftably in
competition with other mills having
the advantage Of nearness to the cot
ton fields and generally lower cost
of operation"
The Import Committee.
Several years ago the railroads es-
tablished what was known as al i'm
port committee" for the purpose of
simplifying the work of making rates
on imported articles from north At
lantic ports to interior points. 1t was
composed of a representative of each
of a number of the great lines. It's
rules and regulations have nothing
back of them but the good faith of
the carriers participating in the ar
rangement. At present the rail car
riers from the ports of Montreal and
Quebec appear to be working in har-
mony with the railroads tapping other
North American ports.
At the hearing in New York the
manager of the Vulcanite Cement COM
pany stated that the rates On his &C.
ment to various inland points were
higher than from Hamburg and Ant
werp. His coal and his labor cost
more than in those cities, and these
are the principal items of cost in this
industry. He believes that the differ
ence in rates in favor of the imported
article entirely offsets the benefit he
derives from the customs duty. A
similar complaint was made by rep
resentatives of the Pittsburg Plate
Glass company.
Ocean rates are constantly fluctuat-
ing, and for this reason whenever the
inland carrier wishes to name a
through rate he must have some de-
finite arrangement with the ocean car
| rier. But the way much of this i'm
port business is transacted leaves the
| carriers free to make such through
rates from time to time as they think
advantageous without reference to
how their action will affect dealers in
| domestic articles of the same kind.
Even where through rates are named
in bills of lading, the rates specified
may not correspond with the fact
Items are often included in the spe-
cited rate that are not, strictly speak
ing, a part of the transportation
| charges, and where the amount of
the rate is not mentioned, this infor-
nation is withheld to prevent n
agent from finding out what rates are
allowed by another.
AS the business is carried On at
present, Chairman Knapp of the inter
state commerce commission conclud-
es in his report, inland carriers are
free to make low rates on imported
| articles without the necessity of max
ing corresponding rates on domestic
articles CT the sarne kind. The traffic
manager CT the Pennsylvania railroad
stated that in his opinion, if congress
should enact IL law providing that the
rates must be the same on both classes
OF traffic, inland carriers would in
many instances make domestic rates
that would be lower than those now
in force. 1t often happens, he said,
that railroad carriers have to make
rates on imported articles where they
have no domestic articles of the same
class, and that under such a law these
carriers could make a low import rate
without suffering any diminution of
revenue from their domesticc traffic,
while other carriers having a domestic
traffic on that article would be COM
PEELED to choose between the loss of
the revenue derived from it or the
loss of the import traffic.
Mr.. Knapp's statement covers twelve
pages, tables covering twenty-five
pages are appended giving specific ex-
amples in convenient form. All stu
dents of the transportation problem
will wsnt this pamphlet. 1t Will De
Known as document No. 2O7, hfty-sev-
enth congress. second session.