The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-10
THIS WILL AFFECT
utah SUGAR BEE1S
Serious Freight Rate War by
Eastern Roads Concerns
Farmers Here.

The Trunk lines, the great eastern
roads running from New York west TO
Chicago. st. Lonis and other Missis
sippi river points, have announced that
freight rates on sugar will he reduced
from New York and Philadelphia to
Cleveland and other western cities to
meet tho reductions which have beea
announced by the lines from New Or.
leans northward and which 90 into ef
feet November 81. The eastern roads
will put their new tariff into effect
December i.
How deeply this rate war my af
fco5 Utah beet raiscrs aud sugar re-
fluers need not be poIrted cut A
rerort received IN Jnis cry from New
Yori: that was written the day before
the fight was decided upol but that
gives some of the .leatatls OF the trou-
bic reads in part rs follows.
'' An important meeting of the trunk
line railroads tomorrow will decide
whether or not the sugar. rate war
against the New Orleans roads shall be
confined 10 the territory of the Cen
trail Freight association, or carried
further west and right into the terri
tory now reserved for the Illinois Cen
tral. AT least one OF the eastern roads,
is is said, and the one that occupies
a leading position IN the association,
is In favor Of such aggressive action.
II takes the ground that the quickest
way to show the offending roads that
the eastern lines will not submit is to
adopt retalintory measures.
"Tha decision made last Thursday TO
meet the New Orleans rates into the
C.. +. A. was considered at the time
entirely sufficient, but further thought
has apparently changed the minds of
some members Of the association.
"The new tariff adopted then, to 90
IN force December 4, would have TO
be filed today in Washington, to take
effect at that time, according to the
rules of the interstate commerce com
mission. which require q notice of
thirty davs. But those rates Will not
he filed today. In their place a new
tariff will, no doubt, be framed at the
meeting tomorrow, and filed within a
short time.
''The opinion prevails that il the
meeting does decide on radical action
it will take the form Of attacking the
Illinois Central differential on sugar III
the territory of the Missouri and Mis-
sissippi rivers. This will be u hard
blow to the Illinois Central, for its own
lines reach into that territory, which
has come to be considered as Its e1-
elusive field,
"a considerable cut in the differ.
entail now enjoyed by the Illinois Cen
traI on sugar in the Missouri aud Mis-
sissippi river valleys, it IS claimed
would prove of great advantage TO
eastern sugar refiners. Their product
undoubtedly would find its way there,
The trunk lines are fully determined,
they state, to protect the port OF New
York.
"Sugar forming such an important
item in freight traffic west, the situa-
tion is all the more serious. One rail
road official estimates that it today
makes up about - per cent Of west
bound freight,
"Present events in sugar rates have
been in measure duplicated III former
wears The settlement OF 1905 followed
hostilitics between the railroads on a
similar matter. That. with the agree
ment of 1907 formed the basis for
present relations.
"Tomorrow IS action will probably
lead TO n tariff that works east and
west from Chicago. Tho present lake
aud rail rate on sugar from New York
to Chicago is twenty-thrce cents n hun
dred. which is the same rs the New Or
leans rate. The all rail rate from New
To st. Louis the Illinois Central at
present has a dlfferential of twelve
cents. against the eastern lines.
OF the New Orleans lines do not
retreat after the action of the trunk
lines tomorrow, n situation will exist
in freight rateS more interesting than
any for some time past. Well in
formed observers cannot see how il can
be prevented from spreading 10 other
| commodities. Lower rates on sugar
from New Orleans will attract tho at-
tcntiou of other shippers, such as those
of import products ut that port.
Furthermore, any radical changes in
sugar rates by the trunk Ilnes VIII DC %,
as steel.
''Thc New Orleans tariff has been