Evening star., 1909-04-21
FORMAL COMPLAINT MADE
Intermsunssin; Cities Cite Wide
Discrepancy in Freights.
SAN FRANCISCO is FAVORED
Hartman Spoken Of as Deriding Al
Power But Federal aovefnment
and Caring Little for That.

| Serious and formal complaint was made
| to President Taft today that western
railroads are discriminating against Salt
Lake. Ogden. Provo and other inter
| mountain cities of the west in freight
rates.
The President is asked to have the mat
ter taken up by the Department of Jus
tice for Investigations He has ordered
such an investigation started.
The charges were made by Senators
Smoot and Sutherland and Representa-
tive Howell of Utah. They presented a
formal array of papers to sustain them
A petition sets forth that these i'm
portant commercial cities In Utah "are
now and for many years have been SUBJ
jected to the oppressive. unjust, grossly
discriminative and unlawful practices of
the railway companies whose direct lines
of railway. together with the various
other lines connecting Herewith to form
through lines, constitute the principal
common carrier service of that section.
, to the great detrifiient of the peace, hap
piness and prosperity of the people,
Coast Cities Favored.
The petition recites that vastly higher
rates are charged for the transporta-
tion of freight from Chicago, Mississippi
river, Missouri river and Denver rate
territories to the three cities mentioned
than for the much longer haul to the
cities of the Pacific coast. These rates
1t is asserted. are without the warrant
OF any competent court or commission,
and are solely the 'despotie act Of cor
porate greed and under the arbitrary
power OF concentrated great wealth, APP
parently holding itself above the law
and exercised against law-abidfng COM
munfties relatively powerless to resist"
The charge Is made that the railroads
have entered inte an unlawful conspiracy
to establish uniform and steadily in
creasing freight transportation charkes
with the effect that competition is wholly
eliminated.
The petition declares that final and
just determination of the questions In
volved cannot be reached until the De-
partnient Of Justice has taken UP the
matter with d view OF determining
Mhethef " the reaas soained Of are not
lating the laws OF the country. The roads
mentioned by name are the Southern
and Union Pacific, Oregon Short Line.
Oregon Railroad and Navigation, San
Pedro. Los Angeles and Salt Lake Dem
yer and Rio Grande, Missouri Pacific.
Colorado Midland. Colorado and Southern,
O., b. q O., Rock Island and Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe.
Hartman Derides Power.
In several letters to the President it is
pointed out that the enormous earnings
Of the Hartman lines Of railroads, upon
which big dividends are paid on stocks
Indicate that the railroad rates COM
planned OF are enormously profitable. and
that Mfr Hartman derides power of any
less important than the. federal govern
At r~- hot
Examples OF the discriminatory rates
are cited in the papers submitted. On
cocoa beans per car from Chicago to
Utah the rate is 1894. while for the same
car to San Francisco. many miles farther.
the charge is only 1856, discrimination
against Utah of $3.50 per car. On q car of
nails, 1000 pounds the charge to Utah
from Chicago il $40 and to San Francis
CO. $3.50, a difference OF s1D. On print
ing paper per car of 10000 pounds. the
Utah rate is $40 and the San Francisco
rate $780, difference Of $120.
The same sort OF discrimination Is
shown on practically every other article,
including coffee, paint. paper. window
The railroads met similar charge in
what are known as the Spokane cases, re-
Gently decided by the interstate commerce
commission. The petition now presented
does not seek to have the matter referred
to the interstate commerce commission,
but to the Department OF Justice, which
indicates the belief that the roads have
entered into a combination In violation of
the provisions Of existing laws and are
subject to prosecution.
The contention OF the railroads in the
Spokane case was that water competi-
tion made the rates on the Pacific coast
lower than to interior points. The COM
mission practically sustained this conten-
tion. At the same time 1t declared the
rates to Spokane from eastern points ex-
cessive and directed that lower rates be
substituted.
| Pacific coast cities assert that there is
that Hartman owns the Pacific Mail
steamship line, which has been operating
from the city of Panama, on the Isthmus
of Panama. This line formerly received
Immense quantities Of freight shipped to
Colon from New York, and this lowered
rates to the Pacific coast.
The situation as to lack OF water COM
petition has grown so serious in San
Francisco and other coast points that a
| movement Is on foot to establish an in
dependent steamship line from San Fran
cisco to Panama. SO as to force the rail-
| roads to keep down their transcontinental
| rates to the coast. These rates. 1t is
declared. have been gradually raised.
California congressman have introduced
bills in the present Congress for the es-
tablishment by the government Of a
steamship line on the Pacific coast and
appropriating 10000, 600 for that purpose
Iney nOId tndt the government must do
this or the coast cities will be crushed by
the railroads.
Independent Oil Men to Gail.
Over one hundred Independent oil pro-
ducers and refiners are to meet President
Taft at 80 o'clock tomorrow afternoon,
after they have appeared before the Sen
ate committee on finance in an endeavor
to have duty placed on petroleum. The
visit was arranged today by Representa-
tive Vreeland of New York, who saw the
President with Representatives Payne and
Dwight Of the same state.
| Representative Vreeland says that he
knows nearly all the men personally and
can testify that they are not connected
with the Standard Oil Company, as has
| been charged.
| The oil men in the city held a meeting
| at the Willard Hotel today and outlined
the program Of their statement to the
Senate finance committee tomorrow. Their
main contention II that free petroleum
will seriously cripple their business.
| The Standard Oh Company owns the oil
| business In Mexico. II free oil is finally
made by COngreSS the Standard will be