The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-08-24
UP-TO-DATE CREATING. "

ed by the Interstate Commerce Com
mission against the railroads and the
private refrigerating car companies.
charging collision between the two
branches of the freight transportation
business to exercise a monopoly and
to beat about the stump" in the mat
ter of giving freight rebates to favor
ed dealers, promises to disclose state
of affairs which will convict the roads
of an effort to evade the law and pos
sibly result in putting the private lines
cut of business.
If the devices adopted by the roads
and the car lines cen be shown to be
as they are charged by the commits
sion, the scheme whereby the law has
been violated is something like this:
The private car lines contract with
the railroads to haul their cars at
price certain; the car lines and the
railroads, Jointly, publish freight tar
iff; then, when it is desired, the car
companies make a private rate in ef-
feet by giving a rebate; the railroads,
having deducted the price paid for the
transportation of the cars of the pri-
vate company, remit the balance and
the officers can swear if need be, that
their roads have given no rebate.
AS a result, the car companies, hav-
ing a monopoly by virtue of their
agreement with the roads, obtain an
exhorbitant rate with the privilege of
falling back on the plea that they have
to pay the roads profit on the trans
po1tation Of the cars; while the rail
roads point to their contracts with the
private companies and the fact that
the rates are fixed not by them but by
the owners of the cars. 1t is a pretty
idea and that it has worked we'll to the
advantage of the parties interested can
be testified to by any Independent
shipper of fruit.
The proceeding against the COM
panies was begun on August 18th and
the date set for the answers to be filed
is September 5th. The complaint,
is directed against the Armour
Car Line, The American Refrigerator
Transportation Company, The Santa
Fee Refrigerator Dispatch, the st. Louis
and San Francisco Railroad. the At
kinson, Topeka and Santa Fe, the st.
Louis Iron Mountain and Southern,
the Central of Georgia, the Southern
Railway, the Atlantic Coast Line, the
Seaboard Air Line, the Pennsylvania.
the Southern Pacific and the Kansas
City Southern. The particular charges
are that by way of rebates and other
devices the refrigerator lines are act
ing as the authorized agents of the
railroads; and that the railroads, act
ing through the refrigerator lines,
have been collecting for the refrigera-
ton of fruit and vegetables lower
rates from some shippers than from
others; that the rates and charges
have not been filed with the commits
sion as required by law; and that the
published charges, notably in Missouri,
Araknsas, Indian Territory, Texas,
California, Louisiana, Georgia, Kansas,
South Carolina and North Carolina are
unjust and exhorbitant.
1t will be observed that the defend
ants include every car company and
every railroad which taps the fruit
growing section of any part of the
country. That there was the close
agreement which is charged by the
commission no one has doubted for
several years, but the evidence has
been next to impossible to obtain, oW-
irg to the battling nature of the sepa-
rate corporate existence of the parties
to the agreement. That the evidence
has been obtained would now seem to
be certain however, from the state
ment of Commissioner Cockrell, who is
quoted as saying:
II have no doubt that We will prove
our case, and that the private car
lines will be forced out of business.
Ii it is legitimate for the railroads to
permit private car lines to obtain
monopoly of fruit and vegetable trans
portation, and to charge for such
transportation the highest rate that
can be Wrung from the public they
can award to other concerns special
privileges for the transportation of
other classes of freight"
Whatever the result of the particu-
feet cannot but be of advantage to
growers in several ways. If, indeed,
the private lines go out of business,
they will be merged into the control
of the railroads which will thereby be
compelled to observe more strictly the
law against determinations and re-
bates; if the private lines continue. the
railroads will find it troublesome to
adopt a new method of doing business
and creating a monopoly; and, finally,
the investigation and it's disclosures
will serve as an object lesson to Con-
gress of the injustice in further de-
laying the passage of the bill giving
the Interstate Commission power to
regulate freight rates At any cost it
should be made impossible for these
two great interests working together
to again fail in their duty as they did
last spring and then make the operate
bluff of each party to the same mo-
ia Ill thn nfh n1s