The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-02-27
Hattiesburg Commercial Club
' Contending For Reduction in
Freight Rates Into This City

independent competing lines of rail-
road, while Jackson, which has five
railroads, has only three independent
competing lines, inasmuch as the I'll.
lnois Central owns and controls the
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley
branches TO Natehez and Memphis.
Meridian also has Ave railroads, hut
only three competing companies, since
the New Orleans and Northeastern
and the Alabama and Vicksburg are
operated as system and under ono
management, and the Southern owns
and controls the Mobile and Ohio
While the Alabama Great Southern
with rhe New Orleans and Northeast.
ern and the Alabama and Vicksburg
Railroads are called the Queen and
Crescent SYSTEM" there Is no proof
OF any joint control of these throe
roads in the matter of freight rates
1t thus appears that Hattiesburg has
equal competitive facilities in the mat.
ter of railroads as Meridian and jack
son.
90 IIattiesburg, in population,
number and character of Industries,
volume of business, tonnage, property
valuations, and in fact, in every re-
| spect. compares favorably with Me-
ridian and Jackson, and, despite the
unjust discrimination in freight rates,
has grown much more rapidly than
any city in South Mississippi. Per-
sons who moved to Hattiesburg and
! invested their capital in industries
| and in other business have done so in
the reasonable expectation that the
addition of two new railroads and the
extension of another and the conse-
quent connection by two lines with
the Mississippi River would naturally
and inevitably give Hattiesburg the
same advantages and consequently
the same freight rates as those en-
joyed by Meridian.
co. Notwithstanding the similarity
of conditions and the closer proximity
of Hattiesburg, over either one of two
lines, to the Mississippi River, and its
much closer proximity to the Gulf,
Hattiesburg has not been given by the
dc ha hannGf af he
joyed by Meridian and Jackson; but
freights on grain products and pack
ing-house products from the West to
Meridian, even when hauled through
Jackson, a longer distance, are 4 -
cents higher to Hattiesburg, and
freights from the East via the Gulf
ports of Mobile and New Orleans are
considerably higher to Hattiesburg
than to Jackson or Meridian, although
Hattiesburg is eigth-five miles nearer
to New Orleans than Meridian and
about the same distance nearer the
Gulf than Jackson. To illustrate:
The New Orleans and Northeastern
will carry ocean freights from the port
of New Orleans through Hattiesburg
on to Meridian, thence via the Ala
bama and Vicksburg to Jackson,
cheaper than to Hattiesburg. This is
fairly illustrative of the discrimination
being practiced.
CD Although Gulfport has not now
and never has had any line of water
transportation to New Orleans, and
although no freight has ever moved
down the Mississippi River and out
through the Gulf to Gulfport, the de-
PENDANT railroads have given Gulfport
the same rate as New Orleans and Mo-
bile. It fairly appears that this has
been due to the fayoritism shown to
Gulfport by the Gulf and Ship Island
Railroad. 1t is admitted by the ILL
nois Central, which is the dominant
factor in opposing this petition, that it
has given Gulfport the New Orleans
anu MUDlle IdlCb lIOIu OHlO hlNeT
points in return for some preferences
in the routing of lumber shipments,
the exact nature of this compact not
having as yet been disclosed. How
ever that may be, it is not seriously
contended that there is any actual or
substantial competition by water from
the West to Gulfport. Hattiesburg is
forced to see freight carried through
it on to Gulfport at much lower rate
than Hattiesburg itself enjoys. For
instance: The rate on grain and grain
products from st. Louis to Hatties-
burg is 10 cents. 1t goes from St.
Louis through Hattiesburg to Gulfport
for IL cents. The table illustrating
this is appended to the petition, and
its correctness has been established