The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-01-11
CATTLE RATE UPHELD,
NO FIGURES GWEN
Burlington Official Declares In-
crease is Justified by the
Damages Paid.
CALLED DOWN BY PRoUTY
Commerce Commissioner Calls II Un.t
fair Not to Produce Books to
Support the Railroads.
Contention.

Chicago, Jan. 10.--The inquiry Of tha
Interstate Commerce commission into
the management and the methods OF
the Hartman railroads begun in New
York was resumed here yesterday.
The commission was occupied most
of the day with evidence relating to.
rates on cattle from Texas points, and
that the Hartman lines were brought
before the hoard.
! Only one witness was examined
President Ripley, of the Santa F'e rail-
road. Mr.. Ripleys testimony did not
bring out any startling information;
He declared that he did not know un-i
til he read it last week in the papers,
that the Union Pacific was the holder
of nearly $1O,OO0,000 of Santa Fe stock.
He asserted that when approached by
representatives of this stock for the
right to name members of the Santa Fe
directors he refused to consider the
proposition until it was distinctly un-
derstood that the directors to be named;
We're not officers of the Union Pacific
or of any other line competitive with
the Santa Fe.
Rogers and Frick Acceptable.
The directors named We're H. H.
Rogers and Henry G. Frick, both OF
,if1c at the time of their election to the
Santa Fe directorate. President Ripley,
testified that their connection with the
Onion Pacific had in no way impaired,
:heir usefulness to the Santa Fe.
President Ripley was examined and
as to whether the Union Pacific and the
Southern Pacific were competitors Of
each other and of the Santa Fe. The
substance of his testimony in this re-
spect was that while competitors in
some things they were not so on all
nj f,>gJ
the country.
Cattle Growers Are Heard.
Chicago, Jan. s.--Before the Inter-
state Commerce commission today, in
the inquiry into cattle rates and ter
minal charges in Chicago on stock
shipments, Chester M. Dawes, of the
Burlington, declared it Impossible to
furnish statistics regarding shipments,
requested by Attorney Cowan, repre-
senting the Texas Cattle Growers as
sociation. Cowan declared other roads
had furnished these figures and it
should be possible for the Burlington,
too.
Dawes contended the advance in cat
tie rates was justified by the excess
sive amounts of damages paid cattle
shippers.
Cowan asked for the amount of dam
ages paid by the Burlington.
Dawes said the Burlington had not
kept It's BOOKS in such manner as to
render the figures available.
You come here and justify an ad-
vance in rates." said Commissioner
Prouty, "by claiming payments of
damages, yet decline to say what those
damages are. That is hardly fair If
you have not kept your books as you
should, it does not alter the facts in
the case
The matter was finally settled by the
statement of Dawes that damages on
the Burlington line do not exceed those
on the Santa Fe and he would accept
the average figures given by that line
as being representative of conditions
on the Burlington
j. w. Kendrick, vice president of the
Santa Fe, considered present rates on
cattle from Texas unreasonabIy low.