The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-08
Ruling of Supreme Court Starts
 the Row
MILLMEN CLAIM REFUND
Wholesale Lumber Shippers Take Is- sue With MilImen and VIII Take the Matter to the
 Federal Court.

Hattiesburg, Miss, July I-(Special)- There is reason to believe that the $2,0oO,- 0O0 of money to be refunded to lumber shippers of Mississippi under the recent ruling of the supreme court of the unit ed States in the famous rebate cases IS going to precpitate war between the mill men and the wholesalers in compari- son with which the original controversy with the railroads will seem very mild affair. The trouble arises over the ques- ton as to who should get the refund from the railroads. At first it would ap- pear that the person who made the ship ment. either mill man or wholesaler, and who holds the expense bill, should get the refund; but the mill men argue that the refund should come to them in any case, for they are the ones who suilereo the loss on account of the 2-cent over charge. and they present some strong ar guments in favor of their case
 A few days ago there was held at FL lisvlle a quiet meeting of the mill men, who adopted this view of the case, and agreed to proceed upon that line. They will present their claims against the rail- roads, and have arranged to sue for the same in the federal court at Meridian, having employed counsel for that pur- pose. They claim the money in all cases where they furnished the material in the shipment, whether the shipment was ac- tually made by them or whether is was an f. O. b. transaction. the wholesaler or buyer paying the freight They take the position that when this additional 2
 hn ket in the interior did not advance to eov- CT it, nor did the wholesalers Top off their profits to offset it, but lower prlce was paid to the manufacturers, so that the manufacturers in fact paid the excess charge and should therefore get the ben- eft of the refund.
 The wholesalers are by no means con- senting to this arrangement They main tain their claim for the refund in every case where they hold the expense bills, arguing that the expense bill is the evil dence that they paid the freight and are entitled to the refund. It is possible that they will not oppose the claims or the mill men with respect to the refund uh- til the point shall be reached when the roads are ready to pay over the money, when they will interpose injunction pro- ceedngs
 In the meantime the railroad companies are taking no part in this controversy. They rather enjoy it, for it makes no dit- ference to them in the end, While It de- laws the time when they will have to make restitution. It is learned also that A great many of the claims of the mill men have been bought up by spectators at a discount, the mill men taking the ready cash at a loss rather than Walt the tardy processes of the courts Tn max ing collection.
 If has been made known to the lumber men hereabouts that the prevalent opln- ion that all claims more than year old would have to be presented by June ~. under the terms of the Hepburn Dll' was a mistake. The Hepburn bill was amend- ed before it's passage In such a way as to extend the time for sixty days, and therefore the time for making the claims does not expire till Aug. @.
 The railroads have already issued their new tariffs, showing the removal of the 2-cent overcharge, and shipments are now making on the new basis. The opinion prevails that this will be good thing for the lumber trade. for the consumers Tn the interior will get the beneht Of the reduction, and consumption will be stim- ulated to that extent. Just now the mar ket is needing all the assistance it can get for the trade is very quiet so far as the interior is concerned. Manufacturers in the Hattiesburg territory ind prices low that no further uecilHe IS conSiu- cred possible. though no great improve ment is looked for till later in the season. However, all signs point to lively de- mand in the fall, and the mill men are quite cheerful over the situation. The ex- port demand is stiff and the market att tractive. with the result that many of the coast mills have been dsposing of their stocks in that direction, and indeed many of the mills up the line have been taking advantage of the firm foreign de- mand. In that way surplus stocks have been kept down.
 The car supply is once more factor In the lumber trade. For few weeks there was a relaxation in the stringency, and lumber went to the interior with rush, the result being that certain centers up north were oversupplied, and the market slumped to such an extent that 1t is not expected to fully recover till the end Of the season. But again the car supply has ahriveled and some of the mills have or fate shut down for this reason. This Is particularly unfortunate at this season. for the weather has been splendid TOT outdoor operations, and the mills have been in a position to do good work
 RORRFD.