The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-04-29
MERGER HEARING
FULL OF INTEREST
Stephen H. Love, Z. G. NJ. |.
Traffic Manager, Important
Witness.
TELLS OF PASSAGE OF
LAW BY LEGISLATURE
He Also Goes Into Freight Rate
Discrimination Against
Salt Lake.

The continuation of the hearing OF
the suit brought by the United States
against the Hartman system and others
began Wednesday morning at il o'clock
before Special Examiner Sylvester Il.
Williams in the circuit court
The first witness called by the gov
crnment WAS Stephen H. Love, traffic
manager for Il. c, NJ. l., whose testi-
mony caused somewhat OF sensation.
Mr. Loves testimony tended 10 show
that the rate on certain commodities IN
carload lots from New York City TO
Portland, Or. was Sl.50 per hundred,
plus a local rate to Huntington, Or..
which is about half way between Port
land and Salt Lake. of $l.iO: making
total Of $3.50 per hundredweight from
the Atlantic scaboard to huntington
Or.
If the freich, were shipped from the
same point III the east to Salt Lake
CITY. n rate of s.. il per hundredweight
would be charged. plus a local rate to
Huntington of $50, making the total
rate Si6l per hundrcdweight. This
made the merchant of Salt Lake City
nav 81 "A per hundrcdwcight more than
the Portland merchant would pay Tor the
same weight and class of goods shipped
to Portland,
Mr. Love gave other figures based
upon actual tariff tables. which were
quite as astonishing TO the spectators
in the courtroom. The entire forenoon
was taken up by the testimony of Mr..
Love, who appeared perfectly self.pos,,
sesscd while on the stand and wItbstood
the searching cross-cS3mlnatIon OF
Judge Lovett, chief counsel for the Har-
rimaG system, seemingly without the
slightest embarrassment.
During 1901 Mr.. Love was remember
of the senate. and he testified to the
method and tho legislation which were
really the means whereby the railroads
were enabled TO effect the present all
legged combine. The name of L. c. Glib
hons. an attorney of Los Angeles. was
continually before the court, and his
methods of railroad lobbying were gone
into and discussed at length. Mr. Glib
bons was al that time connected with
the Clark road aud held many coufer-
ences with parties opposed TO the pas
sage of the bill providing for the grant.
ing of Pioneer square 10 the Clark road
for terminal purposes.
Talked to Pierce.
Mr. Love also testified TO having heen
approached by Wiuslow 5. Pierce on
the matter of legislation for the Union
Pacific. who predicted all manner of
good things for the people of Salt Lake
City. in the event of the passage OF
certain laws relative to the railroads.
Mr.. Love said that the speed with which
the legislation was enacted was, 10
say the least. remarkable, iuasmuch d.
III only required four DAYS to draft the
bill and have it signed b. the gov
crnor.
Mr.. Love declared that the present
rates were very much against the Salt
f-r-
OF Portland, Los Angeles and San Fran
cisco jobbers. Upon being questioned
by c. A. Severance, the attorney for
the government. Mr.. Love stated that
taking the tariff rates of five railroads
as basis he had found that within
a radius of 200 miles OF Salt Lake
the rates were 30 per cent higher.
discrimination against the Salt Lake
merchant.
The first witness to be examined In
the afternoon was Joseph West, a civil
engineer of Ogden. who had been in the
railroad building business since 1850.
His testimony was in regard To the
Utah Pacific, which was built by David
Eccles and associates. from Milford into
Nevada and was finally bought by the
Oregon Short Line
Mr.. Love was then recalled hv The
government for the purpose Of submit
ting certain figures in regard 10 the
rates of the railroads that were at the
present time handling freight out or and
into Salt Lake. During the morning
session Judge Lovett had asked Mr..
Love if tbc radius of 200 miles had
not been unfair 10 the railroads III fig
uring out the present tariff rates, and
asked for Il tabulated account with loo
miles AS the radius. Mr., Love IS tabu-
lated account in the afternoon showed
the same discrimination with Il radius
Of 100 miles as the basis He stated
that in making the comparison he had
taken the Union Pacific, the Southern
Pacific. the Salt Lake Route. the Orc,
gou Short Line and the Denver 6 Rio
Grande. and that he had used the latest
tariffs published,
According to Mr.. Love. prior TO 1901.
tho Southern Pacific and the Union
Pacific had solicitors for business in
Salt Lake, aud The competition was
very keen between these two roads,
Kenneth Kerr Called.
When Kenneth Kerr. district passen-
ger agent for the Salt Lake Route,
was called the attorneys for the gov
crnmcnt brought into the court the files
of Tho Tribune during the years of 1900
and 1901, which procedure created a stir
of awakening interest on the part of
the spectators and the attorneys for
The railroads. Mr.. Kerr testified that
for about fourteen years he had beell
the railroad editor of The Tribune and
had met Mr.. Gibbons during Septcm-
Der of 1900. Senator Clark he Ind
known since 1890 and j, Ross Clark
since 1900.
When Attorney Severance, for the
government, asked Mr., Kerr ii he had
written certain articles that appeared
in The Tribune during the years OF
1900 and 1901. said TO be interviews.
with certain railroad men, he answered
yes. and when further questioned re-
garding the truth Of the articles he
stated that they were truthful TO the
best of his knowledge and belief. At
this point. Judge Lovett said that iu
rn ON rlim1t ihr trni b fnlncss nf npwsnann.