Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-26
9.yEAR-0LD FIGURE
EXPERT TANCLES EN-,
Commissioners and Counsel in the Rate
Hearing Put to Rout and His State
ments Accepted ther Wit
neSSeS Shake Up the Roads.

washington, Nov. 25.-DiScuSSiOn of
millions of dollars as though the
amounts We're bagatelles, 19-year- old
Baltimore economist tangling up the
commission and the galaxy of railroad
counsel representing all the Eastern
trunk lines, and a maze Of figures de-
signed to show now wonderfully
profitable is the freight traffic now
ladayS, were among the features of to-
Lays session of the rate increase
hearing before the Interstate Com
mcrce Commission. Henry {. Barlow
| of Chicago, director of the Chicago
Association of Commerce. formerly
president of the Evansville & Terre
Haute Railroad and allied lines and
traffic manager of the Wisconsin Cen
trail, Ezra f. Williamson OF Cincin-
nau. commissioner of the Receivers
and Shippers Association of that city
and for Is years associated with the
Queen and Crescent route, and r. E.
Brrgunder of Baltimore, not vet out
of his teens, whose command of rail-
road stock statistics headed off any
attacks on his testimony by cross
examination were the days witnesses.
Mr.. BnrgunCnr was put on the stand
to testify - his own statistical COM
putation concerning the Rights of
stockholders" Within a minute he had
the members of the committee por-
! ing over copies of his tables and all
| the counsel listening to his analytical
Interpretation and deductions of the
| figures. The rapid fire calculation
made by the witness in response to
two or three inquiries We're sufficient
| 20 let him and his tables pass by UNI
challenged.
Mr.. Barlow believed in a horizontal
increase in rates in the event any
We're necessary which he was not
willing to conCede. He thought iron
and steel and coffee and sugar should
help bear the burden the carriers
proposed to place upon the public.
Cross-examined by Mr.. Butterfed,
for the New York Central Railroad.
Mr. Barlow denied that he took the
position that failure to increase rates
on coffee and sugar was one of the
reasons why the railroads should not
| be permitted to put the proposed in
creased tariff into effect.
Mr. Barlow said his position was that
the shippers felt that the increases
were unjust and unreasonable. that
they were discriminatory and that the
| shippers of those articles which We're
affected by the increase had ALREADY
paid their pound of flesh" He arraign-
ed the commodity rate system and dis
cussed its partial counter part. the old
rebate system now under legislative
ban. He said his direct connection
with rebate payments. while he was in
the railroad business extended from the
Atlantic to the Pacific and that his
policy then was to pay the largest
shippers the largest rebate and to
graduate the amounts of rebates down
to the smallest shippers.
| Mr. Williamson filed a mass of mem
oranda replete with figures intended
to show the immense strides the rail
roads have made in the direction of
Iflling the pocketbooks of those con-
trolling them He referred particular
liz to the two arms of the Pennsyl-
vania system, the Pittsburg. Fort
| Wavne & Chicago and the PittShurg,
Cincinnati, Chicago & st. Louis.
| He cited figures which he said show
| ed the excessive earnings of the Fort
! Wayne Road and said both roads re-
vealed a splendid condition of credits
quite up to the per cent, standard
fixed by President McCrea of the
PENNSYLVANIA and Willard of the Balti-
more & Ohio.
| Mr.. Williamson, like the previous
witnesses. declared emphatcally that
the railroads did not need any advance
in rates.
He showed how the Fort Wayne line,
according to his statements, had built
up a $2oOOO000 property to a $4,000
coo property, how after taking care of
fixed charges, the PENNSYLVANIA guar
anteeing I per cent, for virtually 10Oo
years. the Pennsylvania Railroad had
lS43.0Oo,000 of guaranteed stock Of the
Fort Wayne. which WAS Velvet" as
the witness suggested.
| The hearing will be resumed tomor-
row with Mr.. Williamson on the wit
ness stand.