The San Francisco call., 1908-07-12
MERCHANTS FIGHT
SWITCHING CHARGE
Tax of $3.50 a Car by Southern
Pacific and Santa Fe Is
Declared Illegal
COMPLAINT Sent to Commission
Tells OF Discrimination
Against This City

Against This City
The merchants Of San Francisco have
combined finally to fight the tax OF
$3.50 a car levied by the Southern Pa
cific and the Santa Fe for switching
a loaded car to a track before ware
house doors, which track is technically
called an industrial track. The South
ern Pacific and the Santa Fe also levy
an additional tax Of $3.50 TO remove the
car from the warehouse II loaded ana
consigned 10 some other point on their
line
The attention of the state railroad
commission has been called to this
charge through the medium of COM
plaint which was mailed to the board
Yesterday by Seth Mann, who represents
the Pacific Coast jobbers' and manu-
facturers' association.
VIOLATION OF CONTRACT
1t is asserted by the commercial
bodies that the tax imposed on the
merchants of this city is Illegal; that
1t is a violation of a contract; is IN
direct conflict with the provisions OF
the interstate commerce act, and furth-
ermore that in no other city IN the
United States. with the exception OF Los
Angeles, which is also TO take up the
fight, is the tax levied.
Tie excuse made by the transporta-
tion companies is somewhat weak. In
defense Of their position they say the
tax is imposed because Of the enor-
nous expense incurred in securing ter
minal facilities, and to this defense the
answer is made that terminal taclIlties
in Chicago are vastly more expensive
and yet no such tax is collected by the
different railroad companies centerlng
in that city
It is said that some of the traffic Of
fcials in this city are agreeable TO the
abolition Of the tax because they are
morally certain that when it comes to
q fight they Will be beaten, but that
some opposition may be expected be-
cause this special tax was one Of the
pet measures Of J. c. Stubbs, who dis
likes the idea Of being forced to aban-
don his arbitrary attitude.
NETS HALF A MILLION
1t is estimated that the collection Of
his tax nets the two railroad com
panies more than $4,000 annually
and defrays the expense of maintaining
the freight yards.
The railroads also contend that the
switching Of cars TO an Industrial
q time is so handled. This assertion is
denied by the merchants. who show
that the railroad companies switch
only one car at a time under the cranes
for nothing, while to move a car for
less distance to an industrial track
$3.50 is levied.
The warehouses Of the Pacific hard
ware and steel company are held up as
an example. This corporation gave
the Southern Pacific the land on which
to build its industrial track, and the
only expense of the railroad was for
rails, ties and spikes. The merchants
also insist that il is at the earnest
solicitation Of the railroad companies
that they build near their tracks, and
that instead Of fostering industries the
two railroad companies are placing
them at a disadvantage with other
cities.
The large houses in the city feed a
wide extent of territory, shipping in the
north as far as Washington, east into
Utah and southwest as far as the
boundary OF Texas. The imposition Of
this tax, small as it may seem, of $3.50
a car inbound and another $3.50 out
bound, means an addition Of 33 1-3 cents
a ton, figuring on Is tons to a car. San
Francisco is thus Disseminated against
in favor Of Portland, Salt Lake, Sac
ramento, St. Louis and almost every
other large city in the country.
AT THE FREIGHT YARDS
A visit TO China basin and the freight
yards Of the Southern Pacific proves
the truth Of the allegations of the com
plainant. The warehouse of Baker &
Hamilton is lesG than 100 yards from
the team track Of the Santa Fe, and IL
the firm unloaded its cars from the
team track it would get the service
free. But when the cars are hauled to
the switch and an engine kicks them
TO the industrial track a tax of
$3.50 is imposed.
The same condition exists in the
Southern Pacific yards, and in some in
stances the industrial tracks are only
q few feet away from the team tracks.
The railroads own these tracks abso-
lutely, and reserve the right to use
them for what purposes they list For
instance, during the period of conges-
ton, when every track of the two
companies was occupied, the railroad
companies did not hesitate to use the
Industrial tracks for the unloading of
freight not consigned to the ware
houses which the tracks were supposed
to serve, and did not collect for this
work.
The contention Of the merchants is
that when the railroad companies un-
dertake to deliver freight for a stipu-
lated sum at terminal point they have
no right to add to the charge by taxing
them with a switching charge. and
therefore the tax is illegal If the tax
were justifiable, why is it not imposed
at Salt Lake. Denver, Kansas City, ST.
Louis and Chicago?
ILLEGALITY OF TAX
The complaint, after enumerating
the advantages both to the city and to
the corporations of the Industrial track
states that If they were not built the
companies would be compelled to very
largely extend the limits of their ter
minal facilities and freight yards in or
der to transact the said business of re-
ceiving and delivering interstate
freight at San Francisco, and. further
more, would be unable to transact the
business Of the receipt and delivery of
interstate freight at San Francisco or
would be greatly hampered or hindered
Iaerein, to the resultant injury of the
defendants and of the San Francisco
public at large"
PLACED AT DISADVANTAGES
The fact that Oakland, Sacramento
and Richmond take fbe same fras,,,,4