The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-04-29
FOR PUBLIC NOT
STOCKHOLDERS
What Railroads are For,
Says GiImer.
Mr.. ]. H. POU'S REPLY
He Says Any Rate is an Unjust One
that Does not Make Some Profit
for ItseIf---More Experts,
Railroad Men Ex-
amined.

The monotony of examining wit
nesses in the Selma connection case
was broken yesterday by spirited ar
gument between Attorney General Gill
mer for the Corporation Commission
and Mr.. James H. Pou for the Atlantic
Coast Line. 1t was brought about by
! a question as to the net earnings of
the road, which was objected to by
counsel for the railroad.
General Gilmer showed where it had
| been ruled by the courts of other
| States that q railroad in it's public ca
pacity must furnish accommodation
for the public out of its surplus reve-
nue., if the local service i'm question was
not self-supporting. In other words
| the interests of the stockholders of the
! company were subsidiary to the rights
of the travelling public.
Mr. Pou contended that it was now
a well established fact that any rate
was an unjust one that did not make
some profit for itself, cover the expense
and make a little more besides. He
stated also that the Supreme Court of
| the United States had held that a SER
| vice cannot be required to the loss of
! that service and consequently involv-
| ing other branches of the whole sys-
| tenn.
Several more witnesses were exam
| Ined, all experts, railroad men called
by the Coast Line. Traffic Manager
| Emerson was further examined at
some length. Then Messrs. William
Moncure, ID. K. Wright, Dave King and
Tom Mcmillan, all locomotive engi-
| neers, testified as to the cost of operat-
ing the new train, and said it would be
impracticable to run the train from
| Rocky Mount to Selma between 1880
and 2:25 in the day.
1t was decided, in order to expedite
matters, for the attorneys on both
sides to get together and agree upon
certain facts about which there seemed
to be no dispute.
Judge Brown announced that This
morning he would announce his decis-
ion as to what issues would be sub
mitted to the jury.
Mr.. Emerson Again.
Mr.. Emerson, the Traffic Manager.
resumed the stand yesterday morning
when court convened at half-past nine
o'clock. Mr.. Davis first asked him as
| to the rate from Greenville via Selma
and via Weldon. 1t was $3.95 both
ways. The tickets are on sale both
| ways. If the agents allow themselves
to run out they are violating the
rules. and Mr.. Emerson said he had
| telegraphed to the Plymouth agent
| asking why he had no tickets via We'll
don. If all the passengers that had
come towards Raleigh by way of Sell
| ma. Weldon and Goldsboro, between
March 20 and April 20, had been
transported by the new train pro-
posed, what would have been the
daily receipts? $13.6S. If only the
passengers via Goldsboro and Selma
had come by the proposed train?
/ Then the receipts would have beesN
[ dow
could the company expect any addi-
/ tional revenue by the putting on of
that special train? None he thought,
| because there was practically no
movement of merchants between
eastern and Western North Carolina,
and the proposed schedule would not
suit the mountain resort points, for
the time of arrival in the mountains
would be at night. That left only
| the movement to conventions and
schools. and he had generally found
that delegates to conventions went,
even if they did have to wait over an
| hour or two. AS to the train on the
return trip, as there were two passen-
ger trains just ahead Of it, he could
not see how passengers could be kept
back to take the last train.
Col. Argo cross-examined Mr.. EN-
erson, and brought out that from sew
eral of those eastern points the road
did not sell round trip tickets via We'll
don to local points on the Southern.
but did so to Raleigh. Did not sell
through tickets to points on a foreign
road from small stations, whether via
Weldon, Selma or Goldsboro. That
record then does not show the true
number of passengers travelling from
points on the A. c. L. to points on
the Southern? Witness did not pre-
pare the record, but understood it in
cluded all the passengers delivered to
the Southern or Seaboard at all those
points of junction. What was the
proportion of the traffic via Goldsboro
and Selma combined and via Weldon?
1t was some rs to 80 per cent via
| Goldsboro and Selma.
Col. Argo asked what proportion of
! the 174,323 tickets sold during 1902
were for points on the Southern. Mr..
Emerson said he should give it as his
opinion that it was five per cent
What was the revenue? Witness could
not tell. What would be the revenue
from the sale of local tickets during
February on the whole line? $123,-
! 050.06. Mr.. Davis objected, and At
torney General Gilmer addressed the
court on this evidence.
Attorney General Gilmer.
! 1t was directed, he said, toward the
proposition to establish an independ-
ent train. The contention of the
| road was that it was a dead train.
There was already evidence that the
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