The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-13
RATES ON COTTON
COMMISSION TAKES UP THE FIX.
 PORT TARIFF.
Experts arc Against the Thirty Day Feature and Give Reasons Why 1t Should Not He
 Euforeed.

export cotton upon less than thirty days notice
 It was the first time that the full Commission had sat since the member spectator at the hearing was Repre- sentativs John sharp Williams of Mis- sIssippi.
 T. J. Freeman. General Counsel for the Texas Pacific Railroad. was the first witness. He explained the old system in vogue, under which he said there was no published export rate to the port of export but the lowest com bination of water and rail rate through any port from any point In the fixed rate.
 His contention was that If his road filed the inland proportion to the port of export and added to that each day the water rate to the foreign destina- ton, the law would be fully compiled with.
 But he said in order to make this plan effective and to meet commercial conditions the railroads should be al- lowed to issue a through bill of lading from original destination to the for eign port of export.
 l. Green. Freight Traffic Manager of the Southern Railway and chair man of committee representing lines south of the Ohio and Potomac and east of the Mississippi. urged the res toration of the practice, which before the passage of the railroad rate law obtained for many years. because, he said, 1t stimulates competition and gives the cotton shippers the widest range or competition as it opens up to him the facilities of every carrier and every pert on an equal basis.
 He was emphatically in favor of waiving the requirement. of the thirty AF at port cotton because. he said, from the very nature of things the rates on ex- port cotton could not be guaranteed that long by reason of the frequent changes In ocean rates which added to inland rates, make up through rates.
 He said further that if required to Keep given through rate in effect for thirty days the carrier could not possi- ply protect himself as to the positive cotton which shippers would be allowed to book because their inability to en- gage cotton for export Is absolutely limited by their ability to ocean tom mage.
 In reply to questions by the commits sion, Mir. Green said that the existing rates on cotton to the American ports are today very much lower than they would be but for the force of competi- tion which the old system compelled.
 
 Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad. a member of the commission Of which Mir. Green Is chairman. cor roborated his testimony.
 Representative Williams inquired of the commission if 1t was not their position that carriers are compelled to publish q rate to Liverpool, Hamburg or Havre, because of the fact that the ocean steamships, which form part of I, aNF.Fa fv, r.E -.rfk rlsdiction of the commission. and that, therefore. the carriers are not compelled to furnish the true rate to foreign points.
 Speaking for the commission. Chair nan Knapp said that they had held that where there is joint through rate established between an inland rail line and the ocean line. the carriers may fis that entire through rate, or may file the Inland proportion.
 MT. Williams remarked that he wanted to have proper understanding of the attitude of the Committee on that question. recess was then ta- ken for luncheon.
 Samuel Browne of Albany, Ga. bank CT. cotton dealer and cotton ginner. opposed the thirty-day notice provision of the law. Its enforcement, he de- clared. would not only throw the ship brokers out of business, but the old line steamers would soon have charge of the trade. and. he said they, being comparatively few, would increase the rates and cause congestion at the ports They would also, he added, be unable to handle the large cotton crop when its movement was at It's height and thereby the handlers of cotton would suffer great loss. He enter tained toward the railroads, he said, a friendly feeling because they dealt fairly with the shippers.
 E. W. Porter, Chairman of a Com mittee representing the Memphis Cot ton Exchange. urged that the thirty day notice not be enforced.
 good deal of satisfaction was man ifested when Chairman Knapp in re- sponse to a query by Mir. Porter. said he saw no reason why road which carried from the interior may not pub fish it's export rate to the seaboard. adhere to that rate and change 1t only upon such notice as the law permits or the Committee may decide and at the same time be perfectly free as now, to give through bills of lading to foreign destinations.
 MT. Porter iu support of his argu- ment against the thirty day require ment declared that If there was any
  ment of the cotton crop 1t would ar- feet other lines of business and the banks would restrict their loans He said that the commercial life of Mem phis was involved in the question. Any change in the system of equalization of rates that will result in congestion in any way in Memphis, Mir. Porter said, inevitably would fall on the far mer, who would have to pay extra storage, interest and insurance charg- es These three items combined, he said. would more than offset anything that might accrue from the difference in freight rates.
 Mir Porter expressed the belief that he could do business in Memphis on one days notice.
 J. S. Davant, of the Memphis Cot ton Exchange and E. N. Terry of Memphis, representing the National Lumber Exporters Association. A. K. Smith of Louisville. representing the cotton department of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad; W. D. Nesbitt of Birmingham, Ala. and F. C. Stra- chan, Brunswick, Ga, also spoke in favor of the abolishment of the thir- ty day notice.
 Freight Traffic Manager Hale, of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Rail- road argued for the application of new provision maintaining that the interests of the railroads would best be served by a stable rate requiring legal notice of change of rates to the ports The hearing adjourned until tomorrow.