The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-02
PULLMAN COMPANY
 OFFERS GUT RATES Twenty Per Gen: Reduction Is
 Now Proposed
OBJECTIONS ARE RAISED
Attorneys Representing Four States Before Commerce Commission and. Representatives of Two Rail-
 roads do Not Accept Cut

Chicago. December 1.-An offer of the Pullman company to reduce the rates charged for upper berths in sleeping cars <o per cent where lower berths were priced more than s1 30: to make the price of uppers s1.25 as minimum, and reduce lower berth rates was opposed before the interstate commerce commission here to- day by attorneys representing four states and by two railroads. The Pullman com pany's offer left unchanged Pullman seat rates and was to become effective upon approval and acceptance by the eommis- sion.
 The opposition to the plan was offered on the part of the railroads on the ale gation that they would have to stand a part Of the brunt of the lessened prices and by the attorneys general on the claim that the reduction was not sufficient
 I don't think the 20 per cent reduction represents the difference in service value Of all upper and lower berth said Attor- neS James Bingham of Indiana Commits slanefs Franklin k. Lane and E. l. 1larkc, therefore, were confronted by an Gifer of voluntary reductions of rates for uppers Gas well as a number of material reductions on lower berth rates) which the railroads said were too much, and ii6 Sidlt OuiGldiS td1l6u LOO small. The whole matter came on a combining of all complaints against sleeper rates in one hearing by the commission, following an order from the federal circuit court that previous cuts ordered by the commission were not justified
 The Pullman company's reduction schedule included the following cuts on lower berth rates. the effort being, accord- ing 10 the eompany's representatives to charge pp nf mills Ia
 Route Reduction Chicago to New York. unchanged New York to Tampa ............... sl. co Poughkeepsie to Elkhart and South
 Bend ..........,,..,............. 1.30 New York to St. Augustine, Fla, or
 oaNahnah, Ga .,..................,... 1oO New York to East St Louis. .-... O.75 include:
 New rate. New York to New Orleans............ $500 Chicago 10 San Francisco ............ 1900
 The former Chicago-San Francisco rate was s14.00.
 The commission will hear further argu- ment, and If held advisable will receive in the one hearing In addition to h. diana. states represented were:
 Kansas by Attorney General G. S. Dawson.
 Arkansas, by Attorney Luther Walters.
 Oklahoma. by Attorney General Charles West
 oday's hearing. at Which the promise of reduction was made was 8 rehearing of the petition. of George S. Loftus against the Pullman company, the point being at issue being the upper berth rates between Chicago and the Pacific coast. Last March the interstate commerce [ commission ordered a reduction in the rates for both upper and lower berths and the United States circuit court en- l joined the enforcement of this order and directed that & rehearing be held. l The offer of the Pullman Car company, proving satisfactory to the plaintiff no 1 testimony in the hearing was heard. Thereafter the minimum rate for upper berths will be SIPS instead of $.50," said Mir Fernald who is assistant general so- lictor of the Pullman company.
 We have not prepared all our tables establishing the new rates," explained MT Fernall but i've are working on them as fast as possible. We decided that al though the upper berths cost more to build, furnish and maintain than the low CTS, public discrimination against the upr pers required a reduction in their price,
 Not a rate, has been raised by this new schedule but we are endeavoring to ad= iust all charges to correspond with the eastern standard of 6 mills a mile.