Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-29

committee OF seven men was appointed
with power to employ legal talent and to
proceed at once against the railroads
who have made this change through one
of their subsidiary bodies, the Western
Car Service association whose representa-
tive Is A. c. Jones. Notice was given
Monday of a change from ave days to
forty-eight hours in which a car may be
unloaded, and the shippers claim this is
an impossibility as the time dates from
the illng Of a notice card and often the
car is not delivered to be unloaded until
the time is up and the demurrage charges
start to accumulate.
Call II n Hoid-up.
"The shippers do, not care IL they have
to pay a demurrage for cars which are
used as storage, but this new law is
regular hold-up game" said one of the
heaviest shippers of Omaha at 1.-THE meet
ing Tuesday.
THE lumbermen the coal men. the pack
ers and the smelters, all heavy shippers,
are hit hard by this new ruling. which was
put In by the railroads in hurry to make
It a part of the changes of the new rate
bill. The shippers cannot possibly operate
under the new conditions. This demurrage
bureau is now paying the railroads for
business in Omaha alone over $4,000 a
month. 1t would be all right IL the roads
would deliver the goods as they should, but
no firm can live and keep a force OF men
large enough to unload the stun in forty
eight hours after II lis handed to us In
punches, as is now the case The demur-
rage charge is 81 a day."
shippers VIII stand Firm.
Omaha shippers are unit and have
agreed to stand together against this dis
elimination. We will show the action is
unreasonable, illegal unfair and the roads
are operating as trust and discriminating
against Omaha in favor Of other cities 1t
affects all carload shipments. We will at
tack 1t as a trust and fight for our rights
The railroads have held to classification In
times past, but under the new ruling all
classes of shipments are treated alike and
a man must unload a car OF charcoal just
as quickly as a car Of lumber. although the
charcoal takes four times as long.
1T am satisfied this next ruling would
cost the Cudahy company 500 or $500 day
for which that company would get no re-
turns We will also insist upon some ar
rangement by which we can secure our
cars somewhere nearer the proper time
They hold cars back until they have "A
trainload and then expect US to unload the
bunch in forty-eight hours pay demur.
rage. This would break every heavy ship
per in Omaha II enforced and there is moth
ing for us to do but to fight, and fight we
will" 4
Nothing hut a Tie Pass.
A tie pass was the best anyone could
get from the railroads Tuesday unless he
were an employe of some other road or
came under the special sections of the new
law. Although the new law specifically
says the free transportation section Is not
operative until January L. 1907. the rail-
roads take up the last clause of the law,
which says all sections of the law shall
become operative sixty days after pas
sage. The time was up Tuesday.
Orders are positive there shall be no
more passes except to railroad employees
and members of their families. The gen.
eral public and all politicians who have
been riding on free transportation for years
have to pay fare or walk. The railroads
wifi now stand on the ground that they
are commercial propositions and will be
protected by the courts, consequently do
not have to give transportation to influence
public opinion.
| Some Of the roads have made q move
against granting free transportation to
| land agents who are engaged In the busi-
| ness of taking settlers to the west. The
| Illinois Central, the Wisconsin Central and
the Great Northern have chopped on this
| class OF free transportation altogether.
| Other roads are still giving passes to land
agents who have the required number Of
people with them. This Is an illustration
Of the dubious wording Of the new law.
Some attorneys maintain they have no
right to give this. while others take the
opposite position. All the roads doing
business out of Omaha, except the Illinois
Central took care of their land agents
on the regular homeseekers business Tues
day.
Promotions by the Burlington.
Several important promotions have been
made by the Burlington In the last few
| days. E. T. Bracken has been appointed
superintendent of the Wyoming division.
vice f. d. weidenhamer resigned. Mr..
Bracken was formerly superintendent Of
the Colorado division at Sterling. Colo,
and his new headquarters will be at
Sheridan, Wyo The Wyoming division Is
one OF the hardest divisions to handle in
the whole country on account OF It's en-
ormous traffie. The great trains loaded
with singles and lumber. which come from
the northwest and are sent over that line,
often make bloekades OF considerable
dimensions and this division Is looked upon
as one Of the hardest to keep clear In the
country.
r. T.. Kennedy has been appointed
master mechanic Of the Sheridan division.
vice q. c. Johnson. transferred. @. G.
Johnson has been appointed master
mechanic OF the Lincoln division. vice
J. Dietrich, promoted. J. Dietrich has been
appointed assistant superintendent OF
motive power at Lincoln. H. Z. culbertson
has been appointed as master mechanic
OF the McCook division.
No successor has yet been announced to
Mr.. Bracken for the Colorado division.
Lincoln Gets ConcSssiors.
The Burlington has cut the rate on
canned goods from Iowa packing points to
Lincoln, reducing the freight l TO cents
per Ia pounds from Shenandoah, Glenwood
and Hamburg. The rate becomes effsctive
August 30 The Burlington u said to have
acted Independently in this matter, for
though the RocA Island promised some time
ago to make the, reduction from certain
Iowa canning point; IL has never done
So The Lincoln joaNers say they will
keep hammering until the difference in
rate to Omaha and Lin ,ln Is reduced 70
cents from all Iowa poin T.