Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1905-08-11
The TRUTH or The MATER

when Is attracting attention OF
business men and wholesale dealer,
is south and Southwest Georgia.
Here are progress and develop
ment, attracting capital, and At
laDta, always alive to her interest,
has been eager for some time to
control the business of this rapidly |
growing Sc ton. To accomplish
this it was necessary to get lower
port rates from the sea.
Looking to this, the Alta ia |
freight bureau in September 1902 |
fled a petition with the Railroad |
Commission for specific port rates
for Atlanta.
The commission, under the long
and short haul clause, avoided
decision, as a favorable one would
iniure the trade of wholesale houses
south of Atlanta. But to placate
Atlanta the commission strained
it's conscience and gave to Atlanta
special rates on all goods manu-
featured in Atlanta, granting there
by protective tariff to Atlanta.
But this did not satisfy the well
known "Atlanta spirit She de-
manded specific rates for herself,
from the ports at Savannah and
Brunswick, which. if had been
granted, would have destroyed
the wholesale houses south of At
lanta. The Atlanta Journal said:
The freight bureau, is local
organization, made up of prac6-
cally all of the merchants and
manufactures of Atlanta Primarily
these gentlemen were moving for
the protection of their own bust
ness. They recognized the fact,
however, and SO stated upon many
occasions, that reduction of port
rates to Atlanta necessarily in
volyed a corresponding reduction
of port rates to and from all other
interior cities of Georgia"
This is misleading; Atlanta's
freight bureau were moving, not
for protection, but for extension"
of their business. What was the
language of the petition before the
commission?
eve ask this port rate SO At
lanta can extend her trade and
territory"
Extend it from Atlanta to the
sea, to the ports. How? By spec
ial rates to Atlanta.
Atlanta did not join in with Grit
fin for general reduction, a hori-
zontal cut; for corresponding re-
duction to other towns would have
left Atlanta relatively where she
was, with no advantage over other
towns.
Butfor two years or more At
lanta's freight bureau had pressed
for a rate so they could "extend
her trade and territory" Exten.
sion of trade into south and south
west Georgia depended on sex
elusive" rates for Atlanta, and the
language of the petition "to ex-
tend our trade and territory" tells
the story. No possibility of any
extension of her own trade under
horizontal cut.
To say that Atlanta's request in
volved a corresponding reduction
to other towns is an afterthought;
to hide from towns south of At
lanta the real intent of Atlanta's
freight bureau.
When the commission turned
down Atlanta's demand for spec.
ial port rates, Joseph M. Brown
said the request of Atlanta could
not be granted without destroying
the wholesale trade of Albany,
Americas, Cordele, Triton, Val
dosta, Fitzgerald, Dublin and
seriously affecting that of Macon
and Columbus.
But the freight bureau" of At
lanta got mad, and the Journal
demanded the resignation of the
railroad commissioners forrefusing
Atlanta's demand for special
port rates. Whyl Because Atlanta
was cut off from "extension of her
trade" at the fearful expense of
towns south of her.
1t took nerve for those COM
missiOners to stand for justice and
equity to Albany, Americas, Cor
dele, Triton and towns south of
Atlanta.
And yetourSouth Georgia towns