Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-06
SANTA BARBARA
ASKS FOR RATES
COMMISSIONER LANE HEARS
COMPLAINTS
Coast City Believes It Should Get
Same Terminal Tariffs as Los
Angeles and Other Sea-
port Cities
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
SANTA BARBARA. Feb. 5.-Frank-
lin K. Lane, interstate commerce COM
missioner, held a meeting in the rooms
of the Santa Barbara chamber of COM
merce today and heard testimony bear
ing upon the protest of Santa Barbara
merchants against the Southern Pacific
railway charging the railroad corpo-
ration with unjust and unlawful dis
elimination against the city of Santa
Barbara and its citizens in maintaining
local freight rates to this city on ship
ments from the east instead of making
this a terminal point.
The cities of Marysville San Jose,
Los Angeles and San Diego are pointed
out in the complaint as cities which
We're receiving terminal freight rates
and which were in no wise entitled to
them more than Santa Barbara.
The Southern Pacific resisted the
contention, claiming that Santa Bar
/ bara had no water competition such as
! the other points named enjoyed; hence
was not entitled to the terminal rates.
A crowd of about fifty Santa Barbara
citizens attended the hearing. About a
dozen witnesses. comprising wholesale
and retail dealers in produce, groceries,
hardware, furniture and general mer-
chandse, were called and testified to
the facts set forth in the complaint.
Both the railroad and the complain
ant citizens were represented by coun-
sci. Nearly the entire session was con-
sumed by the introduction of evidence
by the protestants, the railroad putting
on but one witness today.
The hearing was adjourned at 5: 80
p. M, to convene again at Ventura to-
morrow morning. At that time the rail-
road will put several witnesses on the
stand to support its defense.
Complaints Are Similar
The Santa Barbara and Ventura COM
plants are similar in character, and it
is likely that they will be decided to-
matter is finally submitted to it in
Washington.
The testimony offered by the business
men of Santa Barbara at today's hear
/ ing served to show that the merchants
of the city We're so Disseminated
against by the railroad that they We're
unable to deliver certain commodities
| to the local consumer at the same fig
ure quoted the consumer in Los Ange-
les and the three cities mentioned.
The local merchants pay the loca
rate from Los Angeles in addition tC
the terminal rate. AS an instance OF
another alleged injustice, it was also
established that the local freight rate
! from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara was
considerably higher than the rate from
Los Angeles to Lompoc, a point fifty
miles north of Santa Barbara, and that
much longer haul.
The railroad attorneys met this witt
the claim that eight or nine years age
there was water competition at LON
poe and that the rate had never beer
altered, although such a change was il
the course Of preparation.
1t was shown that because of the
terminal rates allowed Los Angeles
jobbers there We're enabled to entel
Santa Barbara territory and secure
business which otherwise the local mer
chants would secure. Also manufac
turers had been dissuaded from estab
fishing plants in Santa Barbara, anC
business of other sorts had been re
strained and crippled by the lack o
terminal rates here.
1t was shown that the freight charges
by water on certain commodities
brought from the east via Panama
San Diego and Los Angeles were thu
same at Santa Barbara as at Los An
for the defendant brought out by cross
examination of witnesses that tn
depth of the water at this port was no
sufficient to allow the steamship com
panies having larger vessels to max
this a port of call and therefore ther
was not actually any material waite
competition, hence no ground for claim
ing the right to terminal rates.