East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-06-07

Baker City is to make an organized
fight for reduction of railroad
freight rates and with this purpose in
view an association of business men
is now being formed to secure
hearing before the interstate COM
merce commission.
The Baker City Herald reviews the
matter as follows in a recent issue:
As a means of securing more equ
table and just freight rates for Baker
City from the o. R. & n. railroad 1t
is proposed to organize the business
interests of the city into an associa-
tion, employ attorneys and take the
matter to the interstate commerce
commission Immediately upon the pas,
sage Of the new rate regulation bill
now pending before the house for final
adjudication.
This is considered to be the only
effective means of securing what the
business interests of Baker City hold
they are entitled to, that is. freight
rates which are reasonable and in
proportion to the rates given Spokane.
Walla Walla. Peudleton and Boise.
Under the new law the interstate
commerce commission can compel
the railroad company to adjust the
rates and If the company refuses so to
do the commission can substitute
rates which are reasonable and which,
the railroad viii be forced to grant.
BY making a showing that there
are Determinations against Baker City
shipping interests the interstate COM
merce commission will take the mat
ter up. give the shippers and railroads
hearing and then If it is found that
the rates are now proportionate with
other localities Baker will be given a
better freight tariff. "~
! Anxious to Test Rate Bill.
! ~ addition to securing the better
| freight rates which this action would
assure Baker would secure consider
able prominence as being one of the
| first cities to take advantage of the
new law and go before the commits
sion.
Spokane secured a reduction In
freight rates couple of years ago by
organizing and standing pat. The rail-
roads were forced to come to terms
and reduction was readily granted
which enabled Spokane to supply the
adjacent territory. Boise has dis
tributive rate and Pendleton supplies
very nearly as much to the interior
tributary to Baker as does Baker City.
This is on account of better freight
rates.
Just an instance of what the freight
rates are doing for Baker City: A few
= DAYS ago a local manufacturer pur-
chased a carload of material in. Wis
consin. The goods in Wisconsin cost
him. for the carload, about $125 T. o.
b. To get the goods to Baker City he
- was forced to pay about s400 for
freight, or more than three times the
original value of the goods in Wis
consin.
The minimum rate on small ship
ments from Portland to Baker Is S1.2C
per 100 and the rate from Pendletor
to Baker is "a cents per 100. The
rate for stock east from Ontario is
about sS car less than it is from
Baker city. The distributiog rate from
y Baker City is nil. The Baker mer
:, chant who would ship goods to Hunt
D ington Haines or North Powder mus
- pay the regular local rates.
The Boise merchant can sci
: goods just as cheap in Hunt
- can while for Weiser and Ontario th'
- Boise merchant can shut the Bake
\ merchant out because Boise has a dis
- tributing rate which reaches as ia
= west as Huntington.
. IF Baker would supply the interio
= country it must do so by stage ant
III freight rates from this point, the Ba
T. ker merchant cannot ship to Hunting
ton or ontario and then sell to tn
y interior for If he ships to Ontario h
T. must pay a higher freight rate tha'
!, the Roise merchapt pays to get t
Ontario.