The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-04
RAILROAD TRAFFIC MEN
 AGAIN ON THE RATE RACK

sion together at 1o:so o'clock yesterday | morning
 | s. c. Oliver. of Talladega. President or the Planters Chemical Company, was was heard heard on fertilizer rates. He Ialladega in favor of Birmingham and I other cities. He recited several in- stances of alleged determinations, giv- ,ng scale of rates which showed larger from Talladega to Southern points in the State than from Birming- ham.
 I He said that the rate on fertilizers rom iron Birmingham to opelika is sl.25 | Opelika the rate is $2.15. In all the | discriminations Mir. Oliver asked for relief His company furnished 3o,OO0 1 tons to the railroads last year. The company's plants were erected a little over a year ago.
 Mir Oliver showed also several inter state comparisons of rates from Talla- dega to given points with those of pointed out apparent discriminations in I these comparisons. He said the aver | age rates from Nashville to Alabama | consuming points are s1 cents per ton while from Talladega they are over $2. He charged the railroads with hold ing up some of the fertilizer factories in Alabama as common highwaymen does the wayfarer at the point of his pistoL' This. he said. Is done on the claim that they are losing money on l intra-state business in Alabama.
 The speaker told of determinations | against Talladega to outside points in that the rates from other points to | Talladega are greater considerably than in the opposite direction. MT. Compton Charged With Untruth.
 MT. Oliver made a peppery reply to the the statement of c. B. Compton of | the Louisville and Nashville Railroad | made at the April meeting that if lower l f~l Hclx tr Alabama the advantage would be seiz- ed not by the farmers, but by the manufacturers.
 This Is untrue said MT. Oliver. and the statement of MT. Compton Is either made purposely to mislead or out of | ignorance"
 The speaker spent some time refut- ing the arguments of various traffic of | ficials used at the last meeting of the | commission. He closed with an appeal l for relief not only for his own interest, but for the agricultural interests of | the whole State.
 He said there were a few people, In | the last race of the chairman for his position. who thought that he (Mr. | Comer) was guilty of playing to the galleries and making demagogic state ments.' He said the timc Is coming when these claims against MT. Conner will fall to the ground and the people | will cease to be hoodwinked" by the railroads who use their intricacies of traffic construction to confuse and per plex." He said the people are gradual ly learning more of these intracacies'
 Replies to Mir. Oliver. L. Green, of the Southern Railway, at the conclusion of MT. Oliver's argu- ment, denied that there are purposeful discriminations against Talladega and that he would analyze MT. Oliver's s figures as soon as possible with view of readjustment if 1t were justifiable.
 MT. Compton, of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, made a reply of like tenor. He said the rates from TaIladega are sealed the same as from Nashville. Birmingham and other cities and there Is no intention to discrimi- nate against fertilizer manufacturers In analyses of rates made by Mir. Oliver.
 G. T. McEldery, or Talladega. manu- facturer of fertilizers. was next heard. He told of how the laws of Alabama factories such as standard per cent age of plant food in every ton manu- factured. So, he said, the railroads are under regulation by the State.
 MT. McEldery made comparisons to practically the same effect as those of MT. Oliver. He characterized some of the rates of the railroads as dam nable robbery" He made an eloquent attack against the railroads for what he regarded as unfairness
 MT. Pope of the Seaboard Air Line, said he wished to examine the figures of MT, Oliver with view of making
 
 Mir. Conner Submits q Scale.
 Chairman Conner then said he would make the following motion as regards adjusting the fertilizer rates:
 That all railroads in Alabama adopt for this State the fertilizer rates that apply over the Mobile and Ohio Rail- road for all distances up to twenty-f five miles and on the railroads in Missis- sippi for from twenty-five to 1855 miles, and that from 135 miles and more the rates be further, taken up with the I nndC ind "
 The following are the rates of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad asked for:
 Per ton of 2,000 pounds:
 Five miles and under, 40c.
 Ten miles and over five miles, 40c
 Fifteen miles and over ten miles, soc | Twenty miles and over fifteen miles, 60c.,
 "The following are the Mississippi rates on the same basis:
 Twenty-Five miles and over twenty miles. 75c.
 Thirty miles and over twenty-five
 "Thirty-nve miles and over thirty
 "Forty miles and over thirty-flve
 "Fortx-fve miles and over forty miles, f6c.
 Fifty miles and over forty-five miles
 "Fifty-five miles and over fifty miles 75c.
 "sixty-fi five miles and over sixty miles, 75c.
 Seventy miles and over sixty-five miles. 75c.
 | Seventy miles and over seventy miles, soc.
 "Eighty miles and over seventy-five miles, soc.
 "Eighty-fve miles and over eighty miles, soc.
 Ninety miles and over eighty-five
 "Ninety-five miles and over ninety miles, $1.00.
 one hundred miles and over ninety five miles, $1.00.
 One hundred and five miles and over 100 miles. $1.10.
 "One hundred and ten miles and over 105 miles, $1.iO.
 "One hundred and fifteen miles and over no miles, $1.20.
 | One hundred and twenty miles and over 115 miles, $1.20. | One hundred and twenty-five miles l and over 12O miles, $1. 30. | One hundred and thirty miles and | over 125 miles, $1.30.
 | One hundred and thirty-five miles and over 130, S1.i0."
 MT. Conner asked for a second from one of the Associate Commissioners. Commissioner Sanders said that ne and Commissioner Tunstall preferred to discuss the question more at length before voting on it at all | J. M. Culp, of the Southern Railway, suggested that decision on the fer fer | tilizer rates be made at the same time as that on the general tariff of the State.
 1 wants Rate on Coal. G. A. Joiner, a cotton mill operator of Taliadega. arose to petition for low