The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1912-11-14
Crescent, Wash, Nov. II, 1912.
Editor Newport Miner.

Crescent, Wash, Nov. II, 1912.
Editor Newport Miner.
AS the transportation question is one
of general interest, you will confer
favor, not only on the writer, but also
on the people in your locality by pub
fishing the following, in regard to the
freight service on I. & w. N. spurs:
Soon after the management of the I.
& W. N had issued the recent order,
disseminating the use of spurs and side
tracks on it's line for less than car lot
freight shipments, the writer, at the
request of some of the people of his
locality, took this matter up with the
Washington Public Service Commission,
asking that the /. & WIN. local freight
train be directed to stop at all spurs on
L. G.. L. shipments on one day of each
week only. This, it was thought, would
answer the needs of the people, and be
great accommodation to them, with
out causing great inconvenience to the
|, & w. N. The commission, after
considering both sides, replied in effect
i (the letter is too long to give in fulD,
that it is not customary for carriers to
handle l.. c. L.. freight shipments on
spurs after their lines have passed the
pioneer stage and trains are loaded to
full capacity; and that, as regular sta
lions are only few miles apart on this
| line and there are now wagon roads to
these stations, the commission would
not deem itself justified in requiring the
I. & w. N. to stop heavily loaded trains
at spurs for small amounts of freight,
except in special cases, where the top
ography of the country or some pc
culiar conditions made it hardship for
the people to have to use regular sta
ton instead of a spur; and that, if any
of the spurs were to be used again for
L. c. L. shipments, suoh spurs would
have to be made regular stopping
places, and put on the roads tariff
, sheets and time cards as such.
) Thereupon the writer and some of his
, neighbors around Crescent postoffice,
) who had been using Jeff's spur, directly
across the Pend Oreille river from
Crescent, for their shipping point, asked
: that Jeff's be made regular stopping
place, basing this request on the fol-
lowing grounds: That the patrons of
Jef's spur would be practically de-
prived of a market for their farm and
: garden products, if they had to haul
/ their products or hire them hauled sew
eral miles to the nearest regular station;
that in getting in their supplies this
, long wagon haul adds greatly to the
already high cost of living; that it
would be less of hardship for the I. &
W. N. to stop train occasionally at a
spur for small shipment than for the
people to bear the expense of this extra
!, hauling, and that the very high freight
rates charged on the l. & w. N. should
entitle it's patrons to good service and
some accommodation on the part of the
|. & w. N.
The above points are especially true
of the people on the east side of the
river, who having no markets and no
roads on their side and no ferry acces-
sible, cannot reach the I. & w. N. sta
lions with their own teams, but must
hire their hauling done.
AS it is impossible for the writer to
get in touch personally with all the
people along the line of the I. & w. N,
this letter is published to advise the
people that if there are any who are
situated similarly to those around Cres-
cent, or who for any reason are put to
undue hardship by the refusal of the
l. & W. NJ to handle L. G. L. freight
shipments on spurs, they can petition
the commission to have the spurs they
formerly patronized entered on the
roads tariff sheets and time cards as
regular stopping places. 1t may be
we'll to state here that the commission,
before making decision in the case of
Jeff's spur, required that the people
interested in it first meet and talk with
a representative of the l. & w. NJ, and
this would doubtless be required in the
case of other spurs. Those who wish
to take this matter up can write Mr..
Geo. J. Mohler, Gen. Pass. & Freight
Agt. I. & w. NJ, Spokane, and arrange
for meeting with him at their nearest
station. In writing the commission adj
dress The Public Service Commission of
Washington at Olympia. Very respect
fully, E. E. EMERY.