The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-06-03
|LUbIBERllIEN LOSE
one FIGHT
INTERSTATE COMMISSION DE-
cLiNEs TO CHANGE TRANSIT
SHIPPING RULES.
Admits Privilege Has Been Grossly
Abused, However, and win En-
deavor to see That Order Forbid.
ding Substitution Of Tonnage IL
Transit Is Compiled With.

ot"9 S0DeAsNsIosssO - oUua8e IN
Transit IL Complied With.
Pacific coast lumber and single
manufacturers have lost their fight
to compel the railroads to abolish the
transit shipment privileges. The IN
terstate Commerce Commission. after
careful investigation into the transit
shipment question as relating to lum-
Der, shingles, grain, cotton. sugar and
many other commodities, has just is
used report in which it states that
the commission will not interfere with
existing regulations and attempt to
frame code of transit rules.
| Copies of this report were received
in Seattle by F. D. Becker. secretary
of the Pacific Coast Shippers Assoc
citation.
commerce commission says:
| "The commission has been asked by
numerous shippers, including the
grain dealers along the Ohio river, the
grain dealers in intermountain terri
tory, and the lumber and shingle man
ufacturers of the Pacific coast, to con-
denim the transit privileges entirely as
illegal This the commission is not
prepared to do. the present order Of
the investigation affording no warrant
for such action"
Abuses Are Admitted.
While declining to condemn or at
tempt to regulate transit privileges,
the report states that the privilege
has been grossly abused. to the detri-
ment of honest shippers and that the
commission will endeavor to see that
its order of June 20, 1909. forbidding
the substitution of tonnage in transit,
is complied with.
| In its report, which is lengthy, the
commission declares that it does not
condemn the transit privileges as such,
but that the responsibility for safe
guarding and policing such privileges
to the end that the lawfully published
rates shall be collected, rests entirely
upon carriers. The report points out,
however, that shippers will not be ex-
cused in any cas- where they defeat
published rates by any Transit priyi-
lleges. IS
Discusses Effect.
Discussing the effect Of the elimina-
ton of transit privileges on the rail-
roads, the commission says:
| IF carriers will join in the cancel
lation of the arrangements which they
have built up for the purpose of with
holding business from each other they
will be relatively as well OF as they
are now, while the elimination of
these arrangements will decrease their
expenses of bookkeeping and super
vision and will be for the benefit Of all
the industries affected.
IF the carriers will yield somewhat
in the matter of local rates to and
from transit points, it will be possible
to make such rates equal to the pres
ent published transit rates in many
cases without serious loss Of income
to the carriers
Will Prosecute ABUSES.
Although holding that the existing
transit privileges are legal, the COM
mission states that IL the privilege is
abused, in violation Of its order of
June 20, criminal prosecution will be
resorted to against both carriers and
shippers to secure obedience to the
law.
Smarting under what they consid-
cred evils growing out of the practice
of putting unsold lumber and shingles
in transit, Northwest lumber and shin
gle manufacturers last winter held a
conference at Seattle with score or
more OF prominent railroad officials
and sought to solve the problem. The
upshot Of the conference was that
steps be taken to have the interstate
commerce commission pass on the
whole matter. n
Inasmuch as the commission was at
that time investigating, on its own &C
count, the transit question as it re-
ferred to grain. cotton and other COM
modities, capable Of being so shipped,
Lit took cognizance Of the complaints
OF the lumbermen and covered the en-
tire field in its decision.
LuMsERMEN WILL
BRING TEST SUIT
Seattle. May 81. Notwithstanding
the announcement made by the inter-
state commerce commission that it will
not attempt to abolish the transit ship
ment privileges extended by railroads