The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-20
Difference in favor of Rfru,iuphapo

rel so the difference in favor of Bir- mingham was after 1888 and until Feb- ruary 1, 1905, 4 cents per 100 pounds from Memphis and cents per 100 pounds from Cincinnati. After February l. 1905, the l difference was 2 cents per 100 pounds | from Memphis and cents per 100 pounds | from Cincinnati.
 Now, why did the railroads thus in 1905 reduce rates to Atlanta, Chattanooga, Rome, Ga., Columbus, Ga., cities sharply competing with Birmingham and Mont | gomery and not reduce the rates to these Alabama cities?
 The files of the Atlanta papers during the autumn of 1904; published record of conference in December. 1904. between | railroad officials and citizens commit ] tee of Atlanta; the record of meeting of traffic officials of the railroads held at , the Waldorf hotel in New York in De- 1 cember, 1904, and the evidence before the | interstate commerce commission sitting in Atlanta, September 21 to October l, 1908, answers this question as follows: In 1904 the railroads entering Atlanta had outgrown their terminals and needed certain franchises over streets in order to approach enlarged facilities.
 They applied to the city council of Atlanta for such permits. About this time the Atlanta freight bureau, tho
 
 papers started a most vigorous campaign for a reduction of rates Into Atlanta from
 both the west and the east
 | The city council could not possibly see It's way to the granting of the franchise. | The files of the Atlanta papers about 1 that time are quite instructive to students of ''team worfk." Finally joint confer ence between citizens and the railroad officials was brought to pass. Atlantas 8 | ror 1rla int haf hal fno | high as compared with Montgomery and Birmingham. A traffic official who was evidently a nimble financier, asked if 1 this could not be cured by advancing ] rates to Birmingham and Montgomery. Atlanta modestly replied yes, but that [ she was not asking that anybody's rates 1 be raised.
 | Following this conference came meet ing in New York of railroad traffic off cials and there again one of the roads advocated the raising of Alabama rates rather than reducing Georgfa's. I It was finally decided, however, to, at that time, reduce the Atlanta rates and the railroads so reported to the Atlanta citizens committee on December S. 1904. Somebody then suggested to the Atlanta council that 1t would be 8 good idea to grant the franchises and this was promptly done; the Georgia railroad com mission ceased its troubling and in raid road parlance became Conservatives" the papers said Great Is Atlanta" paid the freight.
 Now in 1908 comes the final act. The idea suggested by the official that At lanta's troubles could be cured by raising Alabamas rate was too good one to be forgotten and action was only de- ferred to a more convenient season. In 1904 Alabama freight rates were oc- cupying the center of the spotlight and to have made raises at that time would likely have caused the Morris avenue soreheads'' and the ''demagogues'' to have suggested that such raises were. unrea- sonable and unfair So the thought was filed in unfinished business and was not acted upon until August l. 1908, when Birmingham rates were raised on classes B, c. D, F. flour ins sacks and fresh meats to a higher basis than they had been in H years and Atlanta's were re- stored to what they were prior to Febru- ary 1, 1905. So the Atlanta trouble was cured by raising Alabama rates. A let ter from an official of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis railroad. writ ten last spring, uses this language: we understand that proposed increase in rates from Ohio and Mississippi river crossings to the southeast is to restore reductions made in 1905. Nashville had no reduction at that time. It is mani festly unfair. therefore, that her rates i should be raised at this time."
 It is painful to learn from the evil dence introduced that at one of the many railroad conferences on the subject of raising rates in 1908 was it suggested that 1 Birmingham and Montgomery had no re- | auctions in 1905 and, therefore, it would be unfair to raise their rates at this l time.
 Now to summarize briefly the effect on ] the business of Birmingham, Montgom- cry and related Alabama towns of this joint action of the railroads. By glanc- | ing at the rate tables we find that the i reduction on class from New York ! to Atlanta was g cents per pound, or 1 s1 30 per ton. Taking an average of the 1 per ton mile rate on this class, S1.30 will | pay the freight for 30 to 40 miles, so that Atlanta dry goods merchants can now sell 30 to 40 miles nearer to Mont 1 gomery and Birmingham than before their freight reductions and to that ex- | tent commercially take Alabama terri story into Georgia. In the same way 1 the wholesale grocers and grain dealers of Atlanta have been given 20 to 30 miles of territory formerly sold by Ala i bama dealers.
 So we learn that in 1s4 the railroads wanted franchises in Atlanta and traded to that city 30 miles of Alabama in ex- i change for them.
 It appears that 1t takes a big slice of Alabama to get small bite of Geor- 1 gia.
 Some one unthinkingly might ask, too. where did the railroads get their title to
 that 30 miles of Alabama.
 It does look like Poor Peters pence