The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-12-23
GRAIN COMMISSIONER REED DE-
CLARES HARDSHIP Is IN
FLIcTED ON FARMERS.
Shows That Shipments to Portland
Yield Less Than Those Sent to
Puget Sound.

state Grain Commissioner w. H.
Reed says a hardship is inflicted on
farmers of a considerable portion of
the grain growing area of the state
nv the refusal of the railroad commits
sion to include wheat in the joint
freight rate commodities. He also
takes positive issue with w. w. Cot
ton, who, speaking for the Oregan
Railroad & Navigation company. as
serts that shippers will not be in
jured by the absence of joint rate on
wheat The absence of this joint rate,
Mr. Reed says, will give Portland ex-
port men a great deal Of wheat that
is raised in Washington and which
naturally should come to Washington
ports for shipment. is the report that
comes from Tacoma.
81 don't know why" said Mr.. Reed
today. "the railroad commission did
not include wheat in the joint rate.
The relative Importance to the farmer
and to Puget sound of a joint rate on
wheat as against the granted joint rate
on oats and barley is shown by the
comparative receipts.
I'm Seattle in the month Of Septem-
Der, October and November there was
received 3O43 cars of wheat and 522
cars of oats and barley, or nearly six
times more wheat than the. other two
combined. In Tacoma during the same
period there was received 6O25 cars of
wheat and 345 cars of oats and barley.
or in the neighborhood Of twenty
times as much more wheat"
Quotes w. w. Cotton.
Referring to the report from Ore
gon that the commission decided not
to include wheat in the joint rate be-
cause Mr.. Cotton. of the Oregon Rail-
road & Navigation company, declared
that he would go into court and show
that shippers could obtain as high
a price for wheat in Portland as at
Puget sound points. Mr.. Reed said:
Il recall that Mr.. Cotton declared
before the legislative committee. which
had before it the question of estab-
fishing this railroad commission, that
the reason Oregon repealed its railroad
commission law was because, it gave
the commission too much power, was
too drastic. The Oregon law is in it
self Numerically opposed to such
statement
I'm a case heard in 1895 by the in
terstate commerce commission against
the receiver of the Oregon Railroad &
Navigation company, Mr.. Cotton rep
resenting the company, declared that
it had not paid rebates on wheat ship
ments over it's lines to anyone, while l.
as attorney for the petitioner in the
case, proved by this railroads own rec
ords that it had paid such rebates to
Peavey & Co., from July IA. 1894. to
April 20, 1895, in the sum of $88,932 IS.
TT is true that under the abnormal
condition this season of Portland
Puget sound grain buyers combine,
there was fixed the same buying price
each day for Portland, Seattle and Ia
coma But the question for the rail-
road commission to consider was,
could and would Puget sound points,
',nder normal conditions, pay more for
wheat than Portland? This is fully
and conclusively answered by the fol-
lowing extracts from a letter sent to
Mr.. j. P. O'Brien, general manager of
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation
company, on December 16, 1905, by
William D. Wheelwrignt, president of
the Portland chamber Of commerce.
PortIs1d's Disadvantages.
Mr. Wheelwright says:
1T is also to be noted that the dis
advantages of the port as compared
with those nearer the sea nave led to
the establishment by foreign ship own
ers of a differential against Portland,
as compared with Tacoma and Seattle,
of Is Sd. or, say 80 cents per ton, which
on a cargo of 1000 tons. amounts to
$1,000, and 1 may be permitted to re-
mind you that under the administra-
ton of the late Mayor M. c. Neil, for
eign shippers charged Is Cd more from
Portland than from Puget sound
points.
'The differential against Portland of
about l per cent per bushel has existed
for about two years and is we'll known
to farmers, who are aware that wheat
is thus worth about 1 cent per busnel
more at Tacoma than 1t is at Portland,
so that where they have choice they
haul it to Northern Pacific railroad
warehouses, rather than to those of
your line. I am credibly informed that
at all competitive points this year the
Northern Pacific has increased its
shipments from % to IS per cent. over
those of year ago, and an exporter
Of this city has stated that he has been