The San Francisco call., 1910-06-21
rate Fight Will
open HERE TODAY
San Francisco to Oppose Los
Angeles in San Joaquin
Valley Jobbing Battle
South Is Trying to Level Nouns
tains, Declares Attorney
Seth Mann

gin their battle today for the protec-
tion of their jobbing trade in the San
Joaquin valley. The associated job
bers of Los Angeles have been pressing
case before the state railroad COM
mission in which they ask that the
rates into the San Joaquin valley be
readjusted on a mileage basis. The
San Francisco shippers will present
their testimony this morning at the
commissions Office in the ferry build
ing.
Francisco can ship farther into the
valley than Los Angeles for the same
cost. For instance, to Goshen, which is
equidistant from both places, the San
Francisco rate is GO cents per 100
pounds, against 70 cents from Los An
geles. This differential has been long
in existence and now the Los Angeles
shippers demand fiat mileage rate.
The case of San Francisco will be
presented by the traffic bureau of the
Merchants exchange through William
r. Wheeler, the manager. and Seth
Mann, the attorney. They will show
that the lower rates from San Fran
cisco are the natural consequences of
geographical conditions From San
Francisco into the valley the railroads
face water competition on the San Joa-
quin river, which tends to compel a
lower rate. On the other hand, from
Los Angeles into the valley the rail-
roads must cross two ranges of noun
tains the Tehachapis and the san Fer
nandos, which increase the cost of op-
Grafton and force a higher rate
San F'rancisco's case was thus
summed up by William r. Wheeler in
n Iatfar to IN nenabarS of thA bureau.
This bureaus testimony will be
confined substantially to that of
merchants having branch houses in
Los Angeles We wish to show
that such branches were. not es-
tablished for supplying the San
Joaquin valley but for the pur-
pose of supplying trade south of
the Tehachapi mountains; that the
San Joaquin valley in its entirety,
owing to the floor level haul from
San Francisco. the density of popu-
compared with the sparse popula-
tion in the mountainous section
between Los Angeles and the head
of the valley, also the influence of
water ompetition-actual between
San Francisco and Stockton and
potential as far as Firebaugh-
Justify and compel materially lower
rates per ton per mile from San
Francisco than from Los Angeles,
thus making the San Joaquin val
ley naturally tributary to San
If the Los Angeles houses wish
to do business in the San Joaquin
valley they should overcome their
disabilities by making freight al
lowances and not by calling upon
the railroad companies to equalize
freight rates. Furthermore. we wish
to bring out the fact that. the pres
ent rates per ton per mile enable
Los Angeles TO reach further north
and upon lower freight allowances,
or no freight allowance at all, than
al I, Iron 1rn1l lct r.~n f1d
conditions she is justly entitled to
reach.
Seth Mann epitomized the whole situ-
alton with the declaration: Los An
geles is trying to fiatten out the noun
tains."
The San Franciscans will be strength
ened in the presentation by the evil
dence adduced in what is known the
Reno case" In this case the cost of
the haul over the Sierra Nevadas was
under consideration. During that hear
ing G. W. Luce, general freight agent
of the Southern Pacific testified that a
mountain haul of this character, was
practically three times as costly as a
level haul.
The Tehachapi grades are similar to
those of the Sierra Nevadas and the
ratio therefore is almost the same. 1t
may be figured at any rate with full
safety that the cost over the Tehachapis
is twice that of the level haul from San
Francisco for the same distance. In
other words it costs no more to haul
200 miles southwark from San Fran
cisco than 100 miles over the noun
tains near Los Angeles.
The grade on the Sierras and the Te-
hachapis is the same-2.2 per cent.
Luce testified in the Reno case that a
haul of 154 miles over the Sierras was
equivalent to a haul of 444 miles of
level country. In his brief in the same
case Attorney Seth Mann made this
comparison:
The actual elevation surmounted
between Los Angeles and the sum
~mit of the Tehachapis is 4.946.70,
distances eoveres Instead hsfe eof Of being s
rs or "a miles, which is the
distance on gradient over the Sier
miles. The difference, therefore, in
the actual elevation over the Te-
hachapis and over the Sierras does
not exceed 1000 feet, while the
distance run on grades is some 30
miles further over this line than
over the Sierra line. The reason
of this is because two principal
elevations must be surmounted--
first, the San Fernando mountains,
after which there is a descent to
the Mojave. desert. and then sec
ond chief rise to the summit of the
Tehachapis.
The local Shippers are comment OF
their position; the cost of operating
into the valley from Los Angeles being
far greater than from San Francisco.
The lower rates suothward are, there
fore, but natural.
Tt was further adduced in the Reno
case that the wear and tear on noun
tain line greatly exceeds that on a
| level haul. 1t was brought out that a
rail on a mountain grade. such as the
Sierra or Tehachapi. lasts but one
twelfth as long as on flat run.