The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-26
MERRY WAR is ON
Interior Kansas JObbers Start
Their Fight Today.
Discrimination of Railroads Is
Their Grievance.
FAVORS KANSAS CITY.
Ask to Have Missouri River Rates
Abolished.
Topeka Wholesalers Not Includ-
ed in Complaint.

Today the interior grocery jobbers
opened up their big fight on Missouri
river freight rates, as the State Jour
nal announced some days ago would be
done.
Ten of the leading wholesalers of
Wichita. Hutchinson and SaIina are
united in the case. and the Santa Fe,
Rock Island, Missouri Pacific, Union
Pacific and Frisco are the defendants.
Neither of the Topeka wholesale gro
GERS appear in the case, though the
! Gonder-Petro company, one of the
Hutchinson complainants, IS said to be
partially owned by Parkhurst-Davis of
this city.
Carr Taylor. attorney for the board
will appear for the wholesalers ih'their
fight for fair freight rates. He said to-
day:
II don't know why the Topeka whole
salers did not get into this case; they
did not seem to take much interest in
it, however. and apparently do not feel
in much need OF a change in present
conditions
There are five charges in the com
plant. The general object of the inter-
ior jobbers is to get q readjustment of
present rates so that interior jobbers
shall be given the benefit of the same
| proportional reductions that are enjoy
I ed by the Missouri river points. The
Missouri river jobbers fought the with
draWal of the Missouri river commodity
rate on the ground that it would bring
about a raise in the price of groceries
to consumers. There was so much op-
position to the withdrawal of this rate
that the railroads receded from their
request that it be withdrawn. The
present move by the interior jobbels
r,F-
by giving the interior Jobbers lower
freight rates.
A. E. Helm. of Wichita. who has
/ been the attorney for Wichita shippers
in number OF important htgatlohs'
was in Topeka today. He said:
TT is coming to be question OF
whether the state railroad board OF
Kansas is going to permit and en-
courage the crushing out OF Kansas
Wholesale houses for the benefit OF
Kansas City Mo. The present rate
determinations are all for Kansas city,
and there is no show to build up q
| big commercial or manufacturing CEN
/ ter. Kansas City should be compelled
to stand on the same basis with other
/ cities If Kansas City gets a special
/ favor, we want the railroad board to
! see to if that all Kansas JObbing towns
get the same faVOrs. We don't care
4 how many favOrs Kansas City gets,
provided we are put on an equal basis
with them. Then we can look out for
ourselves -
The Wichita petition was drawn up
! by Carr Taylor, attorney for the rail-
| road board, and the railroad attorneys
will have to answer within ten days.
! The case will then have hearing be-
fore the board. The interior jobbing
! houses involved, and the railroads
who must defend. are as follows:
| The Wichita Wholesale Grocery Co,
| Lehmann- -Higginson Grocery Co, Jett
& Wood, Oylesbury Mercantile Co of
/ Wichita, H. D. Lee Mercantile COM
/ pany, Watson, Durand, Kasper Gro
/ Gerry company of Salina; Hutchinson
/ Wholesale Grocery company, Sentney
/ Wholesale Grocery company, Gonder-
! Petro Mercantile company, Central
| Mercantile company of Hutchinson VS..
the Santa Fe. Rock Island. Missouri
Pacific Union Pacific and Frisco rail-
! roads.
1t is asked that distributing rates on
freight from the cities of Salina,
Hutchinson and Wichita be based upon
the same rate for like distance as
granted to Atchison, Leavenworth, Fort
Scott and Kansas City, Kas.
On the second ground of complaint
! it is asked that the distributing rates
on sugar from Salina, Hutchinson and
Wichita be reduced cents per 100
/ pounds in all directions.
The third count is concerning the
rates on syrup, in which it is claimed
the interior jobbers suffer from dis
Upon the fourth count the COM
plants ask that on all merchandise
I the board order commodity rates
( thereon to be applied to Salina, Hutch
/ insOn and Wichita on the same basis
per ton per mile that they reach the
Missouri river, and that the same ratio
of difference between the car load rate
and less than car load rate to the
Missouri river be maintained to Kan
sas jobbing points.
The fifth complaint is as follows:
/ "Complainants further pray that your
honorable board fully investigate the
allegations of said count and If in the
judgment of your board. said allega-
tions are sustained by the evidence
presented, that it be ordered that such
/ blanket rate be Withdrawn and the
usual graduated system of making
rates be applied in lieu thereof, but
that such graduated scale shall not
in the aggregate increase the general