The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-16
A COSTLY DELAY.

4 COSTLY DELAY.
1t appears that in the matter of she complaint
of Richmond merchants against the discrimina-
tory charge Of railroad On switching schedules
somebody Ia the Chamber of Commerce has
bl,lndered.
The rates We're iiled by the railroads months
ago. The merchants had complained TO the
CHAMBER months before that The chamber was.
or ought TO have been. fully advised as 10 the
situation Yet it finally acted-too late. The
rates 70 into effect According to the contention
nf the merchants, and according To popular I'M
preston as to the meaning of the Hepburn rate
law the rates charged are not justified Their
Imposition places upon Richmond merchants
an extra burden of expense amounting To several
4 hundred thousand dollars year Yet with these
facts before it, the Chamber Of Commerce seems
III have DELAYED making protest 10 the interstate
4 commerce Commission until after the expiration
nf the period during which railroad must give
notice Of changes in lis tariffs
As a result what might have been prevented
has been permitted 10 be accomplished. a tight
which, made at the proper moment, might have
placed the burden the railroads has by beng
DELAYED in inception, placed the burden on the
shippers 4 fight that ought to have been SIM
I nle has been made complicated. A loss that
II might Rave been stopped when 1t was threatened
has been permitted 10 occur with the hope LETT
that 1t NAV sometime be minimized. 1t seems
clear that somebody. something, has pro
crasfinated until rights have been preJudlced
and business has been imposed upon.
The situation, in plain terms. we understand
10 be simply that the railroads have undertaken
Id add to their tariffs on shipments consigned to
I non-competitive points arbitrary charge for
removing freight from side tracks. When the
consignment is to point where the carrier comes
into competition with other roads, the charge
il not laid In substance, there two vita
and reasonable objections to this practice, tlrs
n the read Is common carrier making It's proht'
Il from freight charges 1t is custom and justice
y that within the bounds of reason, II should e
II after lis own freight Second, it is against thu
principle Of fair and non-dscriminatory treat
n nent assured in the Hepburn law that roat
should law tariff which will result in a highe
4 charge for a similar kind Of service than i
n charges for another service to another party un
der different circumstances. 1t is a straininl
at gnat to say that the principle OF meeting
competitive rates viii justify the imposition O
d d high rate to non-competitive point. In
the latter case the higher charge would appear
n To Le burden imposed apon interstate com
& snerce the very abuse against which The Hepburn
4 law is supposed To have particularly guarded
As il IS the fight of the merchants must nov
4 be directed against each specific rate Of every
road, whereas had action been prompt insteac
4 of slow. the complete situation could have beer
\ investigated by the Interstate Commerce Com
mission and the rates proposed suspended unit
decision was reached They must now b.
abroeated instead Of being held up. The ad
vantage is the practical one of fight on the par
4 pf the railroads 10 sustain policy already per
mitted whereas il should have been SO wage'
as to put upon them the duty of defending
policy contemplated, but not put into effect
Richmond has many wholesale houses shippin,
goods throughout the entire country. On ever.
II consignment over a road which alone reaches
particular point they must each and all pay thi
extra tariff In the of year the money
10 paid ont will amount to several hundre
thousand dollars, no matter what the result o
N The longer and more complicated legal protes
4 which will now probably be filed. The result i
Il that 20 much capital is taken from the commun
5fv never 10 return. 1t is commentary tn
NJ character Of which is fully suggested BY th
e facts That the Chamber Of Commerce, the sup
Il posedv alert body whose peculiar jurisdiction
81 is to handle and press just this sort of bushes
81 contingency should apparently have been tn
III chief cause of the contingency itself having
srisen.