Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1909-10-04
SAUCE For THE GANDER

In the course of the rehearing of
the celebrated Spokane rate case, -
Saturday, as published in The Re
publican's dispatches yesterday. Com
missioner Prouty made this signifi-
cant statement:
i do not think the commission
will give much weight to the effect
this decision will have on altering
jobbing territory. 1t does not matter
a great deal to the people of Spokane
whether they purchase their goods
through Spokane jobbers or through
jobbers from other points but it does
concern them whether they are COM
PEELED to pay more for these COM
modities on account of the rates
charged.
1t appears plain that Spokane does
have to pay more for the things
purchased here on account of the
freight rates charged by the railroads.
1t may be possible that this is justi-
fled by peculiar conditions. This is
the point at issue"
If. in reaching its final decision, the
interstate commerce commission ad-
heres to the principle announced by
Judge Prouty, and applies to the
coast gander the same sauce it ad-
ministers to the inter-mountain goose,
there will be no occasion for COM
plant. In other words, if the ques-
ton of building up or retarding the
jobbing business of the interior cities,
Phoenix, Spokane, Salt Lake City.
Reno, and so on, is to have little
weight with the commission, justice
requires that the jobbers of San
Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Los
Grafton. The people of the inter-
mountain country will be quite con-
tent to have the question of inter-
mountain freight rates decided upon
the merits. AS Judge Prouty well
said, it does concern them whether
they are compelled to pay more than
the people of the coast cities pay.
ON account of the rates charged.
We have spoken of this statement
full significance will be better appre-
ciated, perhaps, if we state briefly the
status of the Spokane case and its
obvious bearings upon the freight
rate question as applied to the entire
mountain country between Spokane
and the Mexican line.
The case is the result of a COM
plant by the business men of Spo-
kane to the interstate commerce
commission In this complaint it was
set forth that goods shipped from
the "east'-Chicago-S Paul terri
tory. for example-to Spokane, paid
a higher freight rate than goods ship
ped from the same territory, through
Spokane, to the coast cities, some
200 miles further west; that generally
the schedules were made up by
charging Spokane the through rate to
the coast, plus the local rate back"
In passing it may be remarked that
the railways have always insisted
that they were justified in making
this discrimination against Spokane
because of the ocean competition
which compelled them to make a low
rate to the coast. A decision was
rendered by the commission last
spring. While all the relief asked
was not granted, and while inferen-
TALLY UNFOLDING the right of the car
riers to make a lower rate to the
coast, the commission ruled that the
rates to Spokane were inherently too
high, and ordered reductions. Many
of the reductions were large, and the
whole averaged some 16 per cent.
Spurred by the menace to their
trade. the jobbers of the coast cities
urged the railways to apply for a
rehearing. which was done. The job
bers of the coast had been quick to
apprehend that if the ordered reduc-
tions went into effect one of the re-
suits would be the building UP of a
jobbing business by Spokane houses
in territory heretofore controlled
by coast houses. This rehearing is
now on, and it is a well known fact
that the coast jobbers are most active
in trying to secure a reversal, or at
least a modification, of the original
order.
The Spokane case has, as we have
already indicated, a direct bearing
upon the rate situation throughout
the intermountain country. Phoe-