Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-12-27
SOLUTION OF
RATE AGITATION
Railroad Officials Hope They
Have at Last Hit Upon
A Good Scheme.
CONVENTION OF SHIPPERS.
Proposition IS 10 Get Together Com
niitccs From Al Cities In West
Aud Reach Agreement.

The traffic men Of the railroads have
at last found what they believe VIII
be a solution Of the prevailing COM
plants from competitive cities regard
Ing rates. II II SO simple and so old
that II is a wonder that 1t has not been
thought Of before. In brief, IL is a
proposition to get committees OF ship
pers, commercial organizations and
chambers OF commerce together at one
meeting and let them fight the matter
out among themselves on an equitable
basis.
1t is understood that already the
chamber OF commerce OF Portland, Or,
has been approached to participate in
the meeting. and that in the near
future the business men OF Boise, PO-
cateilo, Ogden and SAT- Lake VIII one
and all be invited TO meet at some CEN
tral point and discuss their needs and
their ideas OF equitable rates.
Just how this worked IN Il small way
was exempllfled last month when the
grain men OF salt Lake and ogden got
together. The railroad officials who
we're present, and who in the past have
stood between the two cities and re-
oeiyed the switching administered by
both sides on their own shoulders, en-
Joyed the meeting hugely
First a representative OF the CONNER
cial interests OF Ogden would arise and
state his case, and the traffic men
agreed with him that his requests We're
reasonable. Then a Salt Lake grain
shipper would take the floor and IN
turn state Salt Lakes side of the
question. He, also, wai Informed that
In the opinion of the rllroad officials.
salt Lakes claims we're also just
Then both sides We're asked to get to-
gether on the matter What followed
was very instructive, Of course
Z. IA. Harriman's recent speech bids
fair to become a classic. Mr. Hari-
man is quoted as saying In referring to
the railroads and the much-vexed rate
question. 1--WE do not make rates, we
equalize them"
This is what the railroad officials
claim to be conscientiously doing and
thereby giving equal justice to all cities
along their system. This. however
does not please the jobbers and ship
pers OF other cities
Under the equalization OF rates Port
land, which at one time used to ship
numerous commodities TO Salt Lake
has now been pushed back TO the Ore
gon state line at Huntington, thereby
giving the jobbers OF Boise and Poca-
tello q chance Portland is up In arms
at this, Just, as much as are the other
big points '6n' TIE Oregon Short Line
over similar equalization OF rates At
various meetings held recently the uni
versal reply TO all argument has been
I'VE do not care for Salt Lake, Poca-
tail nAfaa' n cuc h.
1--WE are working for our own town"
and so II goes
1t II now on the cards that the vari-
Gus cities on the Hartman system of
railroads IN the west will be called 10
send delegates to a rate convention.
II they ever arrive at an equitable con-
clusion the traffic officials have Utopl-
an dreams OF the time when they viii
cease to be the punching bag and I'm
dire disgrace with shippers large and
small.