Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-05-07
Hearing Is Begun of Famous
Rate Question, Which Has
Been Agitsted for ys--.-
THROUGHOUT State.
LOCAL COMPANIES ASH
FOR PORT REDUCTIONS
ON IRON AND COFFEE
Petitioners Say That Atlanta Is Tn
able to Meet Competitions Because
of Lower Port Rates tn Otlae=
Cities. -.,

~.
Preliminary maneuvers in the port
rate battle, which has been agitateu IN
Georgia for so long, were begun before
the state railroad commission Wednes
day morning, when the first hearing touk
place before the entire commission. 4
number OF shippers and strong array vi
counsel for the petitioners and tina attor-
neys representing the railroads.
The entire morning session. which was
not adjourned until O'Clock, was ocssu-
pied with the presentation of the petitions
of the McCord-Stewart Grocery company
and the Beck & Gregg Hardware com
pany, the answers of the railroads AMI
the protests of the Atlanta Steel com
pany, and the Merchants and Manufac
turers association and. the Folwer-SuIil-
van company, Of Rome, Ga.
The petitions of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Grocery company and the Beck & Gregg
Hardware company were presented b.
Attorney w. A. Wimbtsh, of Wimbsh.
Watkins & Ellis. In the petition filed with
the railroad commission, the McCord
Stewart Grocery company asked for a
revision of rates on coffee from BEuns-
wick to Atlanta and other interior
Georgia points. The company asked that
the port rate be reduced to Is cents per
one hundred pounds. 1t was stated that
the rate from Brunswick to Nashville
was now considerably lower than that 10
Atlanta; so low, in fact, that the Nash
Vile shippers were able to receive cot
fee shipments from Brunswick and re-
ship back to Atlanta and sell at price
lower than Atlanta coffee merchants
could do.
1t was pointed out that the average
rate on coffee to Atlanta within an aver
age rate of $50 miles was "a cents. while
Nashville enjoyed an average rate of IL
cents per one hundred pounds for an
average 400 miles.
These facts were brought out by The
testimony of c. E. Hudson. of the Me-
fCord-Stewart company the first witness
used for the petitioners.
The answer of the railroads ID this eson
tention was that the rate used from
South Atlantic points was practically usa
less as no business came through this
channel but was routed via New Or
leans.
The lines interested said mat the
rate TO Nashville was in reality based
upon the New York to New Orleans
rate. A revision of the port rates to
Atlanta would mean the reimbursement
OF the general rate schedule to and
from the east, so the roads stated.
Beck and Gregg's Petition
pCAANAOh VI tie BECK q Gregg
Hardware company asked for the reduce
tion of iron product rates from savan-
nah to Atlanta from twenty-three cents
to thirteen cents per one hundred
pounds, it being the contention that the
precent rates to Atlanta were far in ex-
cess of those granted to competitive
points. The petition asked that the
rate from Savannah to Atlanta tfir-
teen cents, be the same as that OF from
Atlanta to Savannah.
The railroads, through their counsel,
stated that the rate from Savannah TO
Atlanta had been made so that it would
give the atlanta steel manufacturers
chance to live" 1t was stated that
a the rate was reduced from Savannah
to Atlanta it would give the manufac-
turers an opportunity to exploit the
Atlanta market at a market price that
would unde-sell the Atlanta manufac-
II 3.
protest to the proposed revision was
entered at this point of the hearing
by ]. Carroll Payne. representative the
Atlanta Steel company. Mr.. Payne said
that If the rate was reduced the Atlanta
Steel company would lose It's differential
rate of $3.50 a ton and that the Pittsblr1
and eastern manufacturers would sell
goods in Atlanta at the same price that
it cost the Atlanta Steel company to mar
ket its output. He stated that the cfpn1-
pany had invested 81. 50o.000 in Atlanta.
and that when working in its full capac-
ity, had an annual pay roll of S4Se.C0o. He
stated that under the reduction proposed
the compary's profits would be SO reduc-
ed that dividends could not be paid.
Wimbish Files Brief 81.
In his brief presented to the commission
Attorney Wimbish contended that Atlanta
is entitled to lower rates from Georgia
ports on the commodities affected as
the proximity to the sea entities Atlanta
to the benefits of ocean competition from
eastern cities to Georgia ports, which Is
now greatly restrained because of the
dominating influence of rail carriers
Attorney Wimbish s.&teSr that Nash
vile. Lynchburg, Roanoke. Knoxville
Chattanooga and other points. have rela-
lively lower rail anu water rates from
the east than Atlanta has. He further
stated that a result of the high rates
from the ports Atlanta and other Ge0r-
gia cities are deprived of the ability to
compete with other markets of supply.
which receive the benefits of reasonable
rates.
LOWER PORT RATES
WOULD CURB TRUSTS
The hearing upon the petitions for a re-
vision of port rates in Georgia. which
seemed to have narrowed down into