Polk County news-gazette. (Benton, Tenn.) 190?-191?, 1910-11-10
RATE ADVANGES STAND
RAILROADS or THE sOUTH UP
AELD IN INCREASE oF RATES
ON FooDsTUFFs
s1,OOoOOO A YEAR BURDEN
The Interstate commeres coninission
Makes Decision Of Vast Import.
anee to Southern Shippers.

traffic. on many cases and commodi
ties as justified by the condition of
the railroads and the needed improved
facilities, the interstate commerce
commission in divided decision, dis
missed the cases instituted by the rail
road commissions OF Alabama and
Georgia and the A. p. Morgan Grain
company of Atlanta, Ca, and others.
The decision mag have an import.
ant bearing on otaer pending cases,
the Southwestern shippers case, which
was heard by the commission and
taken under advisement, anda the
wholesale increases in rates - the
railroads generally, now suspeaf@sd by
The commission pending investigation.
The decision involves the AAeRtc
Coast Line, the Louisville and W
vile and other roads as defer
The advances involved wed de
on August /, 1908, and the maj ~
opinion, written by Commisss Ger
Cockrell, held that they were enot
found to be unjust, unreasonable nor
unduly discriminatory. The decision
covered the advances generally to Ala
bama, Georgia, Florida and the Caro-
linas from Ohio and Mississippi river
crossings The majority opinion holds
that both the adjustment of rates be-
! tween Birmingham and Atlanta and
the advances made August l, 1908,
were based on increasing taxatioH and
in the prices of material and labor.
Tine condition of most of the rail
roads in this section of the country,
says the majority opinion, lis not yet
up to the highest standard, and IN or
der that their facilities may be i'm
proved and extended to the ultimate
lasting advantage of the people OF the
South, it is necessary that the carriers
! be permitted to charge rates that are
| fully compensatory for tue services
they perform, so long as such rates
have not been shown to be unjust, I'M
reasonable, or excessive, with respect
to the public We are unable tdNhold
that an advance is pnreasGga be-
.caaass sons paA of the MMdA tlsere-
from will accrue to "a carrier thRt dur
ing the period of the last teh~years
mas regularly aid interest on its total
bonded debt, and in addition thereto
has recently paid dividends upon It's
stock"
1t was alleged that these increases 4
were only part of general advance
made or to be made in the freighg
rates throughout the South. The de-
80, inn IN
ciic matters now in issue, and, the
commission says, is not to be con
strued as extending beyond them or
as indicating in any degree approval
of other or further advances IN rates.
The advances were in meats, flour,
grain, packing house products, etc,
mostly time freight that must be NOV
ed promptly, the wheat and corn mill
ed in transit without extra charge, and
the loss and damage claims, higher
than the average on all commodities.
Dissenting opinions were I1ed by
Commissioners Lane and Clements.
Mr.. Clements contended there was no
Justification for the threatened burden
upon the transportation OF this section
of the country, either in the needs OF
carriers, the history of rates or the
ability of the public to pay IL cents
per capita more for the staples az
fected.
A million dollars year more in
freight rates is what five states OF the
Southeast will have to continue to pay
as a result of the decision.
In fact, these FIVE states have been
paying this increase ever since Au-
gust /, 1903, when the advance OF z
cents a hundred on grain, grain prod
ucts, -four and packing house products
and cents hundred on fresh meats,
from Ohio river points into the South
east, was put into effect by the rail-
roads.
They have been paying it, and hop
ing that the interstate commerce COM
mission would relieve them from 1t by |
decision that the advance was unjust
But the commission thought other
wise
And this decision, too, evidently |
means that not only will the South
nave to continue to pay this million
year increase, but that other In
creases on other products will be put
into effect, just as soon as the rall-
roads get ready to issue the notices.
So, the million increase that these
five Southern states, North and South
Carolina, Georgia. Florida and Ala
bama, are now paying is, in all proba-
bility, only drop in the bucket com
pared with what is to come.
The interstate commerce commits
sions' decision is an end of the mat
ter so far as the shipper is concerned,
ne has no appeal
on the other hand, IL the decision
had been unfavorable to the railroads,
they would have had the right OF APP
peal to the courts.
When the new court Of commerce Is
organized the railroads may appeal
from the commission 20 that court,