New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1903-06-24
TARIFF NOT ExHORBITANT
So Say Railroad Lines Operating
in Minnesota.
Hearing Held Thursday Before
Warehouse Commission.
Attorney Clarke Defines Decision
in New Ulm Rate Case.

Freight rates upon coal and lumber
in this state are not unreas able. So
say the various lines Of railway by
whom the rates were established, and
at the hearing before the state railroad
and warehouse commission last Thurs
day they advanced many arguments to
strengthen their assertions. -.
Every road running between Duluth
and St. Paul and Minneapolis and
Chicago was represented at the hear
ing, Marvin Hughitt, Jr., freight
traffic manager, and l.. W. Bowers,
general counsel, appearing for the
Chicago & Northwestern, and A. b..
Clarke, general solicitor, for the
Minneapolis & St. Louis. Not all of
the officials were put upon the stand
but those who were subjected to the
inquisition were questioned closely by
Attorney General W. B. Douglas, the
railroad commissioners and the at
torneys for the roads. 49,"
Questions asked by the commits
sioners were intended to bring out the
relatives cost of operating railroads
and conducting traffic now as compared
with year ago and to determine the
methods used to adjust rates in this
state, Wisconsin and Iowa. It was
explained that traffic conditions were
affected by such things as density of
population and the character of a
country through which theroad passed;
therefore conditions in different states
were SO dissimilar that comparison
was absolutely valueless.
In shipping coal it was necessary to
take the competition of water trans
portation into consideration and the
difference in hard and soft coal rates
was explained by the fact that the
former is used solely for private con-
sumption and in demand only at
certain seasons, while soft coal is
burned by manufacturers and can be
hauled the year round. The railroad
men also explained that it was i'm
possible to charge as high a tariff
upon coal in a state which produced
coal as in one where there was no
productions: thus accounting for the
difference between rates in Minnesota
and Iowa. Their operating expenses
werehigher, they averred, theemployes
having been granted increases inwages
and more repairs and improvements
being required upon tracks and road
beds now than in former years.
A. E. Clarke, attorney for the Mime
apolis & St. Louis, spoke on some Of
the principles in the New Ulm coal rate
case, in which the district court Of
Ramsey county, the supreme court of
the United States decided against the
company, holding that as long as the
company made money from it's entire
business it did not make any difference
if the company was obliged to do some
business at loss. Mr.. Clarke, how
ever, pointed out that the supreme
court of the United States had never
rendered decision which settled the
New Ulm case. All the court had
decided was that if the state courts had
decided that the railway and ware
house commission had a right to order
the railway to carry on a certain part
of it's business at a loss, the supreme
court would not interfere. On the JUS
tice of the case the supreme court had
rendered no decision.
Mr.. Clarke promised to prepare a
statement showing certain phases of
the joint traffic to submit to the board.
When the investigation was completed
the railroad commissioners took their
decision under advisement.
Remains Taken to Indiana.
Jos Roedig, father of Fred Roedig,