Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-03-16
HILL CARVES
HARTMAN MELON
CLOSING PORTLAND GATEWAY
AND NORTH BANK COMPETE
TON WILL. FORCE ACTIVITY
FROM HARTMAN,

POkl LAND, March 1.-two
ways only are open for Hartman to
recover the business DIST, and that
will be lost in the future, as a result
Of the closing of the Portland gate
way, says the Telegram. One is to
force a revocation of the interstate
commerce commission act closing the
gateway to the Sound, which is
hardly possible, and the other is to
rush with all possible speed the com
pletion of the Hartman extension
from Portland to the Sound. The
latter being the easter to accomplish
and the more satisfactory in results,
will no doubt be resorted to.
The present state of railroad af-
fairs has placed a most distressing
handicap on the Hartman system
in the Northwest. Not only has the
closed gateway meant a loss of an
immense amount of business, esti-
mated by Seattle papers to be at
least 100000 a year, but the re-
cent completion of the North Bank
road will make another enormous
cut in the Hartman melon.
Both these problems will have to
the map and continue to declare 70
per cent dividends. The closed
gateway here gives the Hill lines,
the Great Northern and the North
ern Pacific, almost complete mo-
Dopoly on the colonist and tourist,
as we'll as regular passenger bust
ness terminating in Washington.
And the reported decision of North
ern Pacific officials to refuse to sell
local tickets good between Seattle
and Portland to the Hartman lines
is another way Hill has had of throt-
Ting anything like Hartman COM
petition. The only competition Hill
lines have left now is the little bus
mess diverted to Washington points
by the Canadian Pacific from Van
couver, B. G.
The seriousness of the situation Is
believed to be the primary reason
for Harriman's traffic director, j. G.
Stubs, coming to Portland this
week, and also the two days visit
here of E. E. Ellis, passenger agent
for the Hartman lines at Seattle,
who was in conference with Mr..
Stubs while here.
At the local Hartman offices nc
| information to the effect that the
Hill agents will sell no more tickets
to the Hartman people has been re-
ceived, and it was stated this morn.
ing that the Seattle Office would not
be abandoned for the present, al
| least.
1t is known that the Hartman
corporation has repeatedly made
cvertures to the Hill people to es
| tablish concurrent rates for through
passenger traffic, but Hill has refus
ed to assent to the arrangement, 81
! the commerce commission had nj
other recourse, legally than t
enforce the law preventing the sail
of joint through rates by any rail
road over any other line with which
il has not a concurrent traffic agree
ment.
Up to the present time the Harri
man lines have been able to Absorb
the local charge of $500 between
Seattle and Portland. on the Eastern
end of its haul, and in that way the,
have been able to compete with tn
] through Great Northern and North
ern Pacific rates. But the closing o
the Portland gateway and the rep
uted order from Northern Pacif1
headquarters absolutely Forbiddini
] the selling of local tickets TO tn
Hartman people after this wee
puts the Hill rival completely out o
the running.
As an instance of whist The Harrl
man lines are losing in the way q
oolonist business through to Port
land, more than goo homeseeker
the slightest chance for the o. R
which arrived here thif morning a
Umatilla Junction shortly after mid
night. and all of them were route
for Seattle and only a few came Of
to Portland
Railroad gossip has 1t that tn
sudden resumption Of work on tn
Seattle and Tacoma ends of the Ore
eon & Washington line last week /
the first step in the Hartman plal
to rush the Sound extension to com
pletion with the least possible delay