Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-05-22
Commercial Clubs Traffic Officer
Brings Chicago War Cry.
GATHER HERE ON WEDNESDAY
Business Men of Transmississippi
Country Hold Consultation.
NO APPEAL TO GOVERNMENT
Conflict 60 he Direct, Tooth and Nail
Match, Says Local Delegate to
Windy CIty's Council of
Patrons.

War, unrelenting, bitter, biting strug-
gle is the answer that the western ship
pers propose to make to the railroads
at the meeting to be --old in Omaha on
Wednesday.
The railroaus have got together,
framed up their spell, taken IT to the in
terstate Commerce commission, filed the
rates and have settled back to await the
rake-off" said L. j. McVann, head of the
Commercial clubs traffic bureau, on his
return from the Chicago meeting yester-
day. -
They have done this thing without
taking us into consultation in any way.
! They have made their talk and taken
| their action. 1t is our turn now. They
will either arbitrate those rates and
that right away or there will be fight.
| Mr.. McVann gave a well defined picture
of the position that ,ne shippers assume
when he declared that it would not be
fight before the Interstate Commerce
commission.
This will be fight right in the field.
Rough and tumble, everything goes. Re
| taliation will be me slogan"
The meeting called for 10 o'clock on
] Wednesday morning at the Omaha Com
mercial club rooms is to be attended by
shippers and their representatives from
the territory west of Chicago and east
of the Missouri river. Men from Kansas
City, Sioux city, Nebraska City, st. Jo-
seph, St. Paul and Minneapolis are to be
/ at this meeting.
The action of the meeting is not yet
| indicated, except in the most general
terms Prospects promise a heated and
fiery meeting.
Roads Not Represented.
The railroads will not be represented at
this meeting in any way, Mr. McVann an
| nounces in most emphatic terms.
| The shippers take the position now that
their differences with the roads are to be
fought out now once and for all. The day
of equivocaton is past. Figures and estl-
mates on the gain which the railroads viii
make by the increased rates which they
have scheduled to become effective June
l, have been made public by the Interstate
Commerce commission. These estimates, in
their showing that the higher revenues
will give the roads hundreds of millions
| in revenue above their increased expense
have been but fuel to the fire
These estimates place the increased ex-
penditures Of the roads at but a fraction
of the higher earnings made possible by
the raise in freight rates.
An example Is cited in the calculation
made on the roads within the territory
bounded by the Indiana and Illinois state
| lines on the west, and the Potomac river on
| the south. Here the trunk lines reached a
total in gross earnings OF $1,107, ,437, 1856 in
| the year ending June 80, 1907. With this
figure, which is probably far below the
| present earnings, as a basis the increase
in rates even If 1t averages as low as 10
| per cent, will return a tidy bunch of mil
lions above the $90,OOO,OOO increase in oper-
atlng expenses. This figure on the in
creased operating expenses, according to
the Interstate Commerce commission, in
cludes a number of projects for increased
| expenditures which have not yet been
made. The advance in payrols in the ter
ritory SO described, is covered by $5O, 600 OOO
Advances in Wages.
w. c. Brown, president of the New York
Central lines, estimates that advances al
ready made in the wage Of organized la
Dor and those yet to be made in 1910, will
cost the roads of the country 500 10000 an
nually. The shippers, however, point out
that in the territory included In the Inter
state Commerce commissions estimate of
increased earnings, comprising but a frac-
tion of the country's lines, more than this
amount Of additional revenue will be pro-
duced by the increased rates.
The gradual increase of rates has al
ready been felt in this territory from in
creases made effective on January l. AS
an example the rate on live stock between
Kansas City and St Louis. which becomes
the basis of the Omaha rate to the south
east, has been increased from to 8 cents
a hundred pounds.
Rates Effective June 1.
The rates effective on Junn tooothor
with the old rate and the percentage of