The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-21
up TO The BOARD
Hockaday Rate Case Has Been
Closed.
Interior JObbers Force Admis-
sions From the Witnesses.
MISSOURI RIVER LINE.
MISSOURI RIVER LINE.
Mr.. Lincoln Admits That 1t Is
Arbitrary.
How Mr.. Swartz Kept Out of
AtwoOd's Trap.

With extended arguments by A. E.
Helm and Carr w. Taylor on behalf OF
the complainants and John H. Atwood
on behalf of the Missouri river jobbers,
the Hockaday hardware case closed at
| 6 O'Clock Wednesday afternoon. The
board took the case under advisement,
and a decision is not likely for week
or more.
| Charles s. Swartz of Salina was the
principal witness of the day for the IN
| terror Kansas jobbers. Mr.. Swartz mas
charge of the routing and freight tariffs
| for the Lee Hardware company and pre-
sented to the board a schedule of freight
rates to a long list of Kansas towns,
out of Salina, which he had secured
from the Santa Fe freight agent at Sa-
| lima.
This list, as it turned out on the cross
| examination was inaccurate, as the Sa-
| lima agent had used a cancelled tarir
! in it's preparation 1t was matter OF
| such great Importance that the error Is
! likely to make trouble for the Sal1na
/ agent. According to Mr.. Swartz's tes-
| timony, the list of rates which he pre-
sented were the rates upon which ms
company had been doing business, ana
the fact that it was furnished by the
Santa Fe agent put the railroad repre-
sentatives in a bad box.
! In repudiating the tariffs furnished by
their own agent, the railroad companies
/ were obliged to contend that he had
made mistake, and that the tar11 10
/ be properly qouted at the present time
is what is known as 1.-The adjustment OF
April 20.''
prominently in the hearing "Wednesday:
1t proved to be the chief bulWark OF
defense for the railroads and the mis-
souri, river jobbers. 1t was claimed that
A ,1,,sJO Il nj
tributing tariffs out of the Missouri r1v-
er points had been raised, and some OF
/ the distributing tariffs out OF interior
jobbing points lowered so. that all the
territory west of Hutchinson is reach
ed on exactly equal terms by Missouri
river and interior jobbers.
Even after Mr.. Swartz's schedule had
been corrected upon the basis of the
April 20 adjustment, 1T still showed thai
there is, against Salina, a differential in
favor of Missouri river jobbers, of
cents to Great Bend, 15 cents to Ellin-
! wood, and 16 cents to Chase, all points
| west of Salipa.
How far west can you reach on the
Union Pacific was asked, land be or
: a parity with Missouri river points?''
ITO Winona.''
t.And west of Winona what are the
differentialS against your
1--WE encounter dffferential of 1 cent
at Winona, of cents at Wallace, of
cents at Sharon Springs and cents al
| / Weskan.''
Mr. Swartz said he had not figured
the rates on the northern branch of the
| Union Pacific but believed that about
the same condition existed there.
Atwood Sets Trap.
Once during the testimony Mr.. At
wood the attorney for the Missouri riv-
er jobbers tried to trap Mr. Swartz by
clever questioning.
when you got that reduction some
time ago." he said, "of cents, vol
claim that you gave your customers the
. benefit?''
Yes, sir" replied Swartz.
r And if the board should order fur
ther reduction in your rates, you woult
give that also to your customers?"
Then said Mr.. Atwood triumphant
l ly why is it that you are asking for
reduction in freight rates if you are go
: ing to give it all to your customers, anC
! don't need it to protect yourself from
Missouri river competition?'
l 1T is necessary to get the reduction,
replied Mr.. SwartZ, "in order that W.
may reduce our price and get into ter
: ritory which belongs to us, and compel,
against the differentia1s which are nov
: against us. We are being kept out o
{ our own territory
To rebut Mr.. Swartz's testimony, the
: Missouri river jobbers recalled James
: c. Lincoln, general freight agent of the
Missouri Pacific the .'11-inch gum o
the railroads in all their freight fights
How Competition Is Controlled.
Mr. Lincoln's testimony brought ou
the fact clearly that the railroads force
: Wichita, Salina and Hutchinson no
q only to keep out of the territory to the
f east of them, but also force them t.
e keep out of each others territory.
j 1--WE maintain a parity between job
l. bing points, said Mr.. Lincoln, ''wher
the jobbers keep their goods in thu
S natural line of traffic.
: what do you mean by the natura
line of traffic?''
1.-The direct route from the point O
origin to the destination"
Then you mean that Wichita can
get its goods up n the Union Pacifi
main line and do business on a parit.
: with Salina?"
'I don't see how it could" admitted
the candid Mr.. Lincoln.
A. E. Helm, attorney for the interioi
jobbers, questioned Mr.. Lincoln abou
the differentials which had been shown
| to exist against Salina even in the ter
7 ritory west of it. Mr.. Lincoln said tina
e they were all explained by the ''bacl
: haul or by the fact that Salina wa
K trying to get out OF its natural line o
e traffic. the pen in which the railroads
/. have enclosed it,
r .sYou have back haul to reach Atchi
j son, haven't you?"
eyes"
e "And you don't add any to the freigh
rate on account of it t?''
mo. we can't; we have to meet th
rate out of the terminal point
3 I .aThen you charge the interior job
e bers with backhaul, do you?"
\ Eyes, sir
n but you don't charge Missouri rive
:. jobbers anything on the same account p
/ 1--WE can't do it and get the bust
: ness
Reveal Weakness of Own Case.
The weakness of the Missouri rive
q w eyf1f IN