The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-05-01

traue VIII ma Wnat naruSHlp IL
| operates against them. Probably an
| advance would follow on the car load
quantity, putting it up to the same
basis as that established for the less
than car load, and thus every mer-
| chant, as well as consumer, will be at
| a still greater disadvantage; they will
| all be making increased contributions
| to the Golfers of the railroad compa-
| MES. If it is clearly shown to the
railroads that the vast majority are
opposed to this increase, and will be
Disseminated against it is believed
| they will manifest a spirit of fairness
In this proposed increase in freight
rates there are larger considerations
| involved than the mere benefit of a
| few. There is scarcely a local market
| in North Carolina which will not un-
dergo hardship in the complete change
which will be necessitated by a diff
ferent control of price and credits and
variety of goods.
Several weeks ago n letter explain
ing this was sent out by the whole
sale merchants association of Nor
folk, and from this letter the follow
| ing gives the situation
1.-The associated railroads, which
comprise the Southern Railway, the
| Atlantic Coast Line and the Scapoard
| Air Line Railway, under date Of
March 8, 1904, issued an exception
sheet No. Al, which proposes to ad-
| vance the classification on provisions
grain and grain products in less than
car load from Virginia cities to Caro-
lima territory. This proposed advance
! in rates was to have been effective
April /, but has been postponed until
June, 1st, that the matter may be
given more consideration.
"At a meeting in Richmond Tues
day. March 30, at which meeting the
| Southern Railway was represented by
T. C. Powell, traffic manager; the At
| Iantic Coast Line by II. M. Emerson,
traffic manager; the Seaboard Air
Line by E. f. Cost, president,
there was assembled the principal
grain, corn meal millers of the State
of Virginia, various pork packers and
| the shippers of grain and grain pro-
ducts. 1t is proposed by the asso-
| ciated railroads to advance the rate
on provisions and lard, grain and
| grain products from three cents to
| four cents per hundred pounds on
every package of goods that is shipped
! into your State in less than car load
| lots.
'Mr. r. c. Powell, traffic manager
Southern Railway, who is particularly
active in this matter, quoted from a
| letter which appeared in the Columbia
State under date of March 23 as one
of the reasons for making this i'd
vance in freight rates, claiming that
the letter represented the commerc al
sentiment of the merchants, and thar
the people of North Carolina and
South Carolina We're demanding this
advance that the railroads under this
adjustment could not be benefited
from a revenue standpoint; that the
railroads were trying to help the q ear
people of the Caroliuas.
There are certain business condi-
tons peculiar to the States of North
and South Carolina; there are no cry
large cities or jobbing centres, but
these communities are made up of
prosperous, weil-to-do merchants of a
smaller volume of business, and who
owe their prosperity in some measure
| to the fact that they have been axle
| to buy their supplies in less than car
| load lots from the cheapest pon. OF
| supply and without any addition4l
| cost in freight. The value Of car
load Of meat on today = prices is from
twenty-five hundred to three tnouSan
| dollars: a minimum car OF flour is
two hundred barrels and means ali in
vestment of a thousand dollars. Prom
| these figures you will see at a gtdnC e
| how comparatively few merchants in
! your State will be benefited at The
| expense of all of the other merchants
| should this advance take place on less
than carload shipments. The mer-
| chant who has been buying his flour
| in twenty-five, fifty and one hundred
| barrel lots must either buy a car OF
| pay this prohibitive advance in freight
| i. e., cents per barrel on flour,
cents per hundred pounds on meat and
/ lard and cents per hundred pounds
/ on meal These commodities are not
being bought extensively from the Vir-
ginia wholesale grocer, but are princi-
pally purchased by your merchants
| from the manufacturer direct; from
the Virginia -four mills. from the flour
mills of Kentucky, from the branch
houses of the pork packing houses To-
Gated at jobbing centres; for, mark
you, that this advance in freight rates
does not simply apply to Virginia
cities, but applies from all points out
side the States of North Carolina and
South Carolina with few exceptions.
Destroys Competition.
"This proposed advance in freight
rates does not furnished increased ia
cilities to the jobber or distributor To-
Gated in the Carolinas, but deprives
the less than carload buyer of the ad-
vantages of trading in the most eco
nomical markets. hampering and re-
stricting his buying in the matter OF
prices. credits, variety of goods, dis
patch, etc.
Competition is the life of trade
| and the direct effect of this advance
will be to destroy this competition
| which has given your merchants and
your people the advantage of procur-
| ing the necessaries of life at the very
| lowest possible figures; and to concen-
| trate into the hands of a few of the
| large merchants this buying capacity
to make the rich richer, and the
| poor poorer. This is a solarpleXus
blow directly affecting those things
that go into every mans stomach; the
necessaries of life.
"And after all. who pays the
freight? The wholesalers and jobbers
| do not pay freights; the -four millers
do not pay the freights, but the mer-
chant pays the freight and adds it or
to the cost of the goods and the con-
sumner pays this freight in the in
creased cost. If the proposed rates
We're to be made effective, it would de-
prive some of our merchants and
manufacturers from doing business II
your State. but the people of North
! Carolina and South Carolina those
people that the associated railroads
tell us have asked for this advance in
freight, your own DeODle would con-