Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-04
FREIGHT RATES
INJURING CITY
DISCRIMINATION DISGRACEFUL
SAYS FLEMING
HARBoR COMMISSION SECRETARY
COMPILING STATISTICS
Will Show Absolute Necessity of Gov
ernment Owned Line of Steam
ers for Los Angeles and
South Coast Ports

Secretary A. 2. Fleming of the Los
i Angeles harbor commission is busy
! compiling statistics to show the alb
solute necessity of government
owned steamship line for the relief OF
traffic conditions on the South Pacific
coast.
/ This work already has been carried
to a great extent and Mr. Fleming Is
enthusiastic in his statement that
every fact so far ascertained relative
to railroad and water carrier condi-
tions reveals further the disgraceful
discrimination to which the railroads
have resorted against Los Angeles, in
favor of San Francisco. and empha-
sizes the urgent need of action.
There is positively no argument
! that can be brought to bear against
the federal steamship project, and on
the other hand there are hundreds of
vital reasons why the project should be
successful" said Mr.. Fleming yester-
day.
Mr.. Fleming called special attention
to the fact that according to their own
figures, submitted to the interstate
commerce commission, the average
railroad freight rate per mile in the
United States is 7.54 mills. Yet the
rate per ton a mile on the Southern
Pacific railroad from Los Angeles har-
Dor to the city Is 1914 mills.
In its complaint to the state rail-
road board the harbor commission sub
mitted statistics, furnished by the
railroads, to show that the mile-ton
rate throughout the United States has
been steadily decreasing, due largely
to increased water carrier facilities in
the east, which have necessitated
general reduction to compete with the
water service. Yet in the west, and
particularly in Southern California,
rates have gone upward, especially in
the transportation of certain products,
citrus and mercantile, which affect
the larger portion of Southern Cali
fornias industries. This is directly
attributable to the fact that while
nearly every other port in the world
is a distributive center for a certain
radius, and a port of call for domestic
as we'll as foreign bottoms. Los Ange-
les harbor has been practically closed
to its own people.
AS indicating the result of the arbi-
trary discrimination and ruinous rail
road tactics, the harbor commission
calls attention to the fact that rail-
road rates per mile decreased from
7.s0 mills ton in 1904 to 7.54 mills in
190S and to a still lower but at present
incompatible rate since 1908.
On the other hand, the mile-ton rate
in Los Angeles county has steadily
increased, and to this fact a prominent
official of the Pacific Mail Steamship
attributes the refusal of his
to let its vessels touch at
Los Angeles harbor The exorbitant
railroad rates TO and from the city pre-
vent the traffic expansion which would
justify these vessels in touching here,
says this official.
The ton mile rate in Los Angeles
from the harbor to the business center
at present is given at S3.40 mills; be- |
tween the university and river sta |
tions at $3.50; and, on through business |
between Los Angeles and San Diego, |
at 1870, or about twice the prevailing |
eastern rate.
The high rate to the harbor cannot |
well be due to the short haul, because |
1t is cited that for a much shorter haul |
that between university and river |
rate is less than half that |
between Los Angeles and San Pedro. |