Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-06-17
RATES MAY
Be LOWERED
ILLINOIS RAILROADS FACE PROB
ABILITY OF NEW TARIFF
SCHEDULE.
HORIZONTAL REDUCTION

llOIO1AO1N1 AL lOIO OO11OAN
A General Cut Will Probably Be Made
by the State Commission and the
Question Now Being Asked is, "How
Deep Will 1t Coz"
Springfield, ILL.,, June 15.-That the
state board Of railway and warehouse
commissioners will make a general
and probably horizontal reduction in
freight rates is considerably better
than a good guess.
The main question now is how deep
the cut will be. The railroads are
fighting to make it as light a. posi-
BILE. Chairman Neville of the state
board expressed himself plainly twice
yesterday. The first time was when
General Freight Agent Han.olin, of
the Burlington. was a. witness, and
Commissioner Neville asked:
"If you made .Ae same rates to ev-
cry one you make to manufacturers
clOAS yOul you SOoto nv 49,
ut would use up all our profits,
answered the freight manager.
"Then it is necessary for other peo-
pie to pay profits to the road SO that
manufacturers can run their facto-
ries?" said the commissioner.
That will apply to certain extent,
but they d. not have the competition
manufacturers have" said the gener-
al freight agent
Roads or State Fix Rates?
The debate between the commits
sioner and Mr.. Hamblin opened up the
whole discussion as to whether the
railroads were to be allowed to fix
rates or whether the states must fix
them. Afterwards in reply to Mr..
Dawes, Chairman Neville said:
"I read the Nebraska decision diff
ferently from you. The Nebraska de-
cision was by the United States SUI
preme court in case where the leg
islature of that state fixed, by statute,
arbitrary freight rates, and 1T was ar
gued they were right because the
Iowa rates were lower. The supreme
court held that fair and reasonable
rates were test and what might be
true in one state was not true in an
other. The percentage of population
to a mile of road was an important
factor. Under this ruling the evil
dence of Henry G. Barlow, an expert
of the Chicago Shippers association,
purporting to show the rates from
Cleveland and Detroit to Illinois towns
within sixty miles of Chicago are less
than they are from Chicago, is per-
missible 1t il important evidence in
this case"
| Shows Commodity Rate.
| In the examination of Samuel j.
Cook, general freight agent of the Chi
cago and Eastern Illinois, it was shown
his company has commodity rate be-
tween Chicago and Mt Vernon on
almost everything that is offered for
shipment The figures submitted by
him showed that in every instance the
commodity rate was from 5 to 25 per
cent less than the maximum rates pre-.
scribed by the state commission.
| He also submitted figures showing
the Joint rates in effect upon the Mich
! igan Central and Chicago and Eastern
| Illinois between Detroit and Mt. Yer
non, longer haul by 200 miles than
| from Chicago to Mt. Vernon. These
rates were much less in proportion to
| the haul from Chicago, and the SO per
cent which the Chicago and Eastern
gets out of the haul is less than the
straight rate from Chicago by some
thing like 40 per cent.
| In the case of dry goods the Chicago
and Eastern Illinois gets SO cents a
| 100 pounds from Chicago to Mt. Yer
non. From Detroit to the same point
the joint rate is A cents. OF this
amount the initial line gets one-half
the Chicago and Eastern Illinois tax
ing the other half. In other words
from Chicago to Mt Vernon the road
in question gets SO cents 100 pounds
while on a joint shipment from De
troit. which is received by the Chicago
and Eastern Illinois at Chicago, 1t gets
but % cents a 100. Mr.. Cook was Of
the opinion that the maximum rates
of the commission are too high.
Rock Island Satisfied.
The substance Of the testimony OIL
Assistant Freight Traffic Manager
Cover of the Rock Island was that the
! joint rates from eastern point to Hi
nois towns were too low. He said the
Rock Island was a party to them, but
that his road had been forced into
agreeing to them or lose the business
altogether. He declared on his line
there is no fault finding with rates.
because the southern end of the
states is complaining, or rates from
Chicago to Bloomington may be toe
high is no reason why rates throughout
the entire state should be reduced, 'sait
MIR. Cover. He testified that his roaG
granted commodity rates on large
variety of merchandise that enters into
manufactured articles made on his
road. On the finished product his road
he said, charged about the Illinois tar
iff.
| oID SETTLERS To MEET