The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-01-20
TALES TOLD BY
SAWMILL men
Commissioners Lane InveSti-
eating Lumber Car Short
age on Pacific Coast.
AGREE UPON MAIN FACTS
LOSS OF HUNDREDS OF THOU
SANDS.


tions into the lumber car shortage by
Interstate Commerce Commissioner
Franklin X. Lane today developed
facts showing the Northern Pacific
equipment TO be entirely inadequate 10
handle the lumber products of western
Washington. Sawmil owners told how
small mill concerns are gradually being
forced into bankruptcy. how the larger
concerns have sustained losses which
VIII reach into hundreds OF thousands
OF dollars and how thousands of me-
chanics have been thrown out Of en-
poyment by failure of the Northern
Pacific railway Ca furnish cars enough
20 enable the $50 woodworking plants
on their line TO market their product.
Calmly Gave the Details.
The proceedings were extremely
quiet. in that no marked manifestations
Of feeling were shown by either the
lumbermen or the railroad representa-
lives. Sawmill operators calmly de-
tailed how. through no fault of their
own. they have lost thousands oe dol
iars during the past eighteen months,
an because they have not been able
10 market their product. I'm the same
breath that they narrated their losses
they complimented the Strenuous ef-
forts Of local officials Of the Northern
Pacific 10 relieve the situation. and
men had done all they could TO aid
the mills. The fault lay I'm mismanage-
ment Of the higher officers in the east.
Great Interest Shown.
General James NJ. Ashton. Of Ia
coma, represented the lumber inter-
ests, assisted by Austin T. Griffith. of
Seattle. More tnan forty lumber man
ufacturers attended the hearing and all
showed intense interest I'm the proceed
ings. On the side Of the court room
occupied by the Northern Pacific Off
Gals were James 3. Kerr. assistant
general counsel of the railroad with
headquarters at St. Paul: r ]. Can
non, division counsel OF Spokane; J. D.
Woodwork, traffic manager, of St
Paul; and Third Vice President c. NJ
Levey, Assistant General Superntend-
ent h. L. Palmer. General Western
Freight Agent Henry Blakeley. Super-
intendent w. G. Albee. of the Pacific
division. and large array of minor
officials and clerks.
One Railroad Witness.
Mr.. Cannon conducted the cross<ex-
animation OF all the witnesses. present
ed by the lumber interests. Superin-
tendent Albee was the only witness
called upon as a representative of the
Northern Pacific. He was asked by
Commissioner Lane to explain how the
number OF foreign cars used by the
Northern Pacific were routed by the
railroad instead of by the shipper. At
torney Cannon objected. to Mr.. Albee
being called upon, stating that the rail-
road was not ready 10 present their
case
you have no case" was Commits
sioner Lanes answer. You are not de-
PENDANTS in this action. as this is sim
ply an inquiry instituted by the com
mi - I
Mr.. Albee TO be heard, because | de-
sire to get at the facts I'm the case"
Hearing in Seattle.
At the request of General Ashton. on
behalf OF leading lumber men owning
mills i'm the northwestern part of the
state, the Investigations were continued
by the commissioner. the inquiry being
resumed Tuesday at the county court
rooms in Seattle. The testimony pre-
scented by the mill operators examined
in the behalf of the lumber men was
alike in essential facts OF car short
age and in delayed delivery of ship
ments. Some of the mills have lost
more than others. owing to other con-
ditiOns. such as their ability to use
cargo transportation. their lumber
storage facilities, etc.
Details Of tho testimony in which
Commissioner Lane indicated that he
corning which he questioned witnesses
closely. related 10 the policy alleged
TO be fathered by James J. Hill, of al
lowing cars 10 accumulate on the side
tracks and then running long trains
across the continent at a very slow
ate Of speed The manufacturers
siated that this policy. shortsighted and
unjust TO the shippers. has caused the
car shortage to b felt much more than
would otherwise have been. Mr.
Lane was also sreatly interested in the
testimony relating to the enforced OBJ
servance by the lumber manufacturers
~ certain routings for their shipments
provided by the railroad. The millmen
said that eighty per cent of the cars
used by the Northern Pacific for the
transportation OF lumber traffic belong
to other railroads.
Demurrage Charges.
All Of these cars have to be returned
east by the same route whence they
came, and unless the millmen have
shipments going IN that direction they
have found il necessary to adopt the
policy Of holding the cars and paying
demurrage charges until they can Sc
cure an order for shipments going to
points along the line Of the railroad
owning the car. In other words. cars
were so scarce that IL has been better
20 receive cars at random. destined TO
all parts of the country, and make the
orders FIT the cars, even although large
demurrage charges were involved
than II would be to release the cars
and await the delivery of suitable
car. Certain witnesses charged discrim-
ination as TO the long anu short haul
on the part OF the Northern Pacific
All agreed that II now takes from sixty
10 ore hundred days for the delivery Of
a car from Puget Sound TO Minnesota
transfer points, while before the North
crn Pacific and other western lines
passed into the control Of Mr.. HILL
shipments were delivered IN an aver
age time OF three weeks.
The Northern Pacific railroad will
offer the testimony OF Third Vice Presi-
dent Levey. Traffic Manager Wood
worth and Assistant General Superin-
tendent Palmer and Superintendent Al
bee at the Seattle meeting Tuesday.
The lumber men Will present four or
five additional witnesses