The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-11-28
ADVANCE
IN RA TES
Which Is in Response
to Long and Short
Haul Clause

CmcaSO, Nov 2S,-Trau6.contlnent-
al railroad officials. in session in Chi
cago. are planning an advance In
freight rates between Chicago. New
York, Boston and other eastern
points and the Pacific coast The ad-
vance contemplateS increases amount
Ing to % and 53 per cent, according
10 news article published here to-
day.
A plan Is contemplated which will
increase the rate between Chicago
and the Pacific coast but also Will
cut down materially the advantage
over Chicago which New York and
Atlantic seaboard shippers have en-
joycd in the past The rates from
Chicago and New York to the coast
heretofore have been the same.
Under the proposed schedule. not
yet endorsed by the interstate com.
merce commission, the rate from Chi
cago TO the Pacific is raised fifty
cents a hundred pounds. but New
York has a dollar added TO the tariff
its shippers now pay on freight from
there to Pacific coast points.
The trans-contlnental lines are now
in conference over their proposed
through Increases In their
effort they seek shelter under the
amendment to the long and short haul
clause Of the interstate commerce
law. effective February Il.
The railroads seek this increase as
an alternative They say they do
not want TO be forced by the govern
ment to reduce their rates to inter.
mediate points to the west, which In
some cases are higher than the ex-
isting through rates 10 the coast
Their alarm in this direction, tho
roads claim, is justified by the action
of the interstate commerce commits.
sion In the Spokane rate case. whero
the original rate from eastern points
equalled the through rate to coast
points plus the local rate from the
coast back 10 Spokane. The inter.
state commerce commission reduced
the through rate to Spokane first 10
an equality with that TO coast points
and later TO 10 cents less than that
10 the coast.
The railroads will ask the inter
state commerce commission frat "a
maintain the existing rates, Failing
that. thcy VIII throw thotr whole encr-
gy into an effort for an increase Of
existing through rates 10 the Pacific
coast % or even SO l.3 per cent.
4 tentative schedule OF rites now
under consideration advances tho
first class rate from New York to Pa
ciflc coast cities from $3 to 81 per
hundred pounds. with corresponding
increases on the lower OF the five mum
bered and five lettercd classes. The
rates TO intermediate points are 10
be graded between these figures.
On this basis the first class ratio
from Chicago to the Pacific coast
would be approximately $500 instead
of So as at present
The principal railroad systems in
volved in the plan for readjustment
of the western rates are the Harrl-
man lines, including the Union Pacific,
and the Southern Pacific. the Hill
lines. the Great Northern and North
crn Pacifs. the Gould lines. including
the Western Pacific and the Denver
G. Rio Grande. the Atchlson. Topeka
G Santa Fe and the Chicago, Mil
waukee & ST Paul. although nearly
every railroad in the United states
more o. less directly will be affected
"Wc MY are working on plan
to present TO The commission = tariff
that Will not conflict with the amend
ments to the long and short haul
clause In the fourth section oi tho
interstate commerce act said J. c.
Stu5bs. traffic director Of tho Harrt"
man lines. yesterday. Nothing has
been decided upon. ard any rates
thus far considered merely are tenta-
tive"
"A SG75 first class scale has been
discussed and also a - scale said
another traffic official. There is moth
ing tangible yet 10 present The
roads are considering two general
plans One Is 10 charge higher rates
to intermediate points, as at present,
and the other is to establish 4 uni
form graded scale for class rates, bas-
ed on the commissions rates, which
they prescribed as reasonable. TO the
points. Taking $3.50 as
reasonable for Spokane and Salt Lake
City. the rate TO the coast would be
somewhat higher, of course, and New
York would take a higher rate than
although the difference
would be somewhat less than she To-
cal rate of 70 cents from New York
TO Chicago"