The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-05-21
Creamery Rate Case Argued Be-
fore Railroad Board.
Question of What Will Be Charg-
ed for Transporting Cream.
Its TOPEKA FIRM.
Continental Creamery Fighting
for Old Schedules.
Z. f. DOran's Masterful Pre-
sentatiOn of the Situation.

The cream rate case hearing, which
has been before the state board of rail-
road commissioners ever since last
Tuesday morning, was concluded this
afternoon The board will take the
matter under advisement and hand
down a decision as soon as the tran
script of the evidence in the case can
be prepared and read. 1t will likely be
2 couple of weeks before a. decision is
reached in the matter as a vast lot
of evidence was placed before the board
during the hearing.
In a nutshell this case is the out
come of the effort of the express COM
panies to increase the rates for hauling
cream in this state. The express com
panies want the interstate commerce
commission rates to apply here. The
creameries want the present rates.
which are lower, to stand, and
there is also being considered the
question of whether or not 1t will be
best in view of the allegations that
creamery trust exists. to increase the
rate on the long haul in order to eaten
the big creameries and lower the rate
on the short haul in order to help the
little fellows and stimulate competi-
ton in the creamery business in this
state.
The evidence in the case was all sub
n1itted last evening and this morning
the board listened to argument of coun-
sell Attorneys O'Keith and Stockton
appeared for the express companies and
Thos F. Doran of this city for the
creameries.
1t would appear from the evidence
submitted at this hearing and the ar
Fument, that an effort is being made
direct to cripple or handicap the big
Continental creamery of Topeka in Its
future business operations by raising
the rates on the long haul and thus
make it impossible for the Continental
to ship cream here from a distance and
still be able to manufacture butter at
a profit.
The effort was made at this hearing
TO show the existence of a creamery
trust and also to show that the CEN
tralized creameries had put the little
Fellows out of business by invading
their territory through the advantage
of low rates on the long haul and by
manipulation of prices. The express
companies also appeared in the light
of the friends of the little creameries
in order it would seem, to promote fac
ton in the ranks of the creamery peo-
pie For the increase in rates asked
for by the companies would affect both
the big and little creameries.
In his argument before the board to-
day Mr.. Doran. attorney for the Con-
tinental Creamery company of this city,
made a masterful address. He present.
ed the case of his clients in part as
follows:
gument made by the express company
attorney who had preceded him before
the board Mr.. Doran said: Every cent
added to this rate will have to be paid
by the farmer who ships the cream.
"If the creamery company did not
keep their accounts in any better
shape or know any more about their
business, their profits, their revenues
and their expenses than the railroad
and express companies pretend to
know about their business we would
be in the hands of a receiver in less
than a month.
How did this controversy over
rates arise? The effort has been
made to show that the creamery
companies started the whole trouble,
But I want to tell you the facts in the
case. 1t was something like two
years ago that by some mysterious
chance all the railroad and express
companies in the west adopted the
same identical rates to go into effect
on exactly the same date. These
rates affected a territory as large as
Europe and a volume of freight traf-
fic as large as that of some of the
great nations of the world. The
rates proposed were so high as to be
prohibitive. The transportation COM
panies in this instance were not in
sane, but at the worst they were woe
fully ignorant. They had it figured
out that we could pay the freight.
Their theory was that the rate should