Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-02-01
FIRST RATE
 CONFERENCE Held in Little Rock by Rep resentative Shippers With Railway Officials to Op- pose Proposed Increase.
No Pine Bluffians Present at Meeting Nothing Accomplished but Ship pers of Arkansas Will Resist Pay. ment of Exorbitant Scale,

The proposed increase in freight rates for Arkansas points, an in- crease especially affecting Pine Bluff. Little Rock and Fort Smith, and to be affective from Mississippi river crossings, have resulted in a sys- tematic move on the part of the freight bureaus and boards of trade of the different cities along the lines most affected.
 The Merchants Freight Traffic Bureau of Little Rock held an inn portant meeting last niq IF tie same being th, third of series set for the purpose of confersihg wit. the freight traffic officials of the three roads, Fol Mountain. ko.1 Island and Cotton Belt, entering that city. There Wa.a prc.-E1 practically T 'lnanlmUus attendance of the mem. bers of the frc;yA: bureau t;gethe, with President i1amrton and Mr. Crockett { f ;1e Arkansas railroad commission. Invitations had been sent to the officials of the local Board of Trade and the Fort Smith bureau, but owing to various hin- drances they could not have repre- sentatives at the meeting. Also, un- fortunately, the railroad officials could not attend last evening. The bureau therefore decided not to set the next date for the 1 conference with the traffic officials of the different lines, but rather put it up to them to set date. Secretary Bragg of the Little Rock bureau, sent notices to the railway officials especially interested in keeping with the above decision of the members of the association, and reply from them will be awaited before any fur ther meeting is arranged. Should they refuse to set time, or signify their disinclination to a meeting for i conference, the members of the freight bureau will take such actiOI as. they deem wisest. However, ! such contingency is not looked for. 1 The Railroad Commission is standing with the merchants in their 1 fight, so far as can be determined | from tho oroup,opts ,,cod bxy <1,o ro;1
 roads for the proposed increase, 1t is not becauuse the freigrt rates in Ar kansas are not already renumerative, but the increase is proposed to avoid a decrease for Indian Territory. Kan sas and other points, such as Musko- i gee, Kansas City, Wichita, Oklahoma City, and so on. The shippers of Arkansas do not feel that they are in any sense responsible for the rates in Oklahoma, or anywhere else, and will accordingly resist to the last ditch the proposed increase.
 The increase is all the more ob- i jectionable to merchants and ship pers generally from the fact that it affects almost exclusively the sta pie articles, especially foodstuffs
 The general increase on articles af- fected will be about 15 per cent, and such an increase upon a product where the profit, as upon staple gro- ceries, is already shaved to the last notch, will materially affect the abii- ity of Arkansas jobbers to compete with those of surrounding jobbing centers, like Memphis, St. Louis, etc., all catering to the same territory.
 The increase becomes effective today, February 1, and unless some step Is taken whereby the increased rate may be avoided or annulled, To- cal jobbers and jobbers at every
 junction point throughout the state
 will immediately feel the effect of
 the raise. Pine Bluff and Fort
 Smith have notified Little Rock of
 their determination to oppose the in-
 crease, and some definite develop
 ments are soon to be expected.