The Washington herald., 1913-09-16
Freight RATES
PETITION FILED
Merchants Formally Ask that
Shipping Charges Be
Reduced.
CARRIERS ON DEFENSIVE
Railroads win Be Forced to Justify
Increases If Contention
Is Upheld.
CARRIERS ON DEFENSIVE

The opening gun In the night to be
waged before the Interstate Commerce
Commission by the merchants OF
Washington for a reduction in the
4 freight rates equal to the added cost
| of drayage from the freight depots to
Il their store doors, caused by the with
drawal of free store door deliveries the
1st of this month by the Pennsylvania
and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads, was
fired yesterday. when the attorneys
representing the Chamber Of Com
merce and the Retail Merchants As
sociation filed with the commission a
petition attacking the reasonableness
of the present rates.
The petition was fled through Cha
pin Brown, general counsel, and H.
carlton Hanes, special counsel for the
Chamber OF Commerce, and Maurice D.
Rosenberg. attorney for the Retail
Merchants Association.
Many Railroads Named.
Eighty-eight railroads and steamship
lines involved in the handling OF
freight to and from Washington are
named defendants in the petition. The
complaint asks for a thorough hearing
and investigation, and seeks reparation
on the freight charges since Septem-
ber /, the date OF the withdrawal of
free delivery.
The petition Of the local organiza-
tions deals with the rates in six
classes. all OF which at one time car
ried the free store door delivery serv-
ice, although at the time OF the with
! drawal of the service only three classes
took free store door delivery service:
! 1t Is charged that the rates involved
in the petition are unjust, unreason-
able, preferential discriminatory, and
unlawful. Relative to the first -four
classes attacked, the petition states the
charges for goods carrying these rates
| constitute an advance in rates made
and published since January l. 1910;
that, therefore, under the provisions OF
the act to regulate commerce. the bur-
| den of proof to show that the increased
rates are just and reasonable is upon
the said defendant carriers"
| Rates Now in Eject.
Pending a decision by the Interstate
| Commerce Commission, the petition says
the members Of the petitioners, will
be compelled to pay the aforesaid unjust,
unreasonable, discriminatory. preferen.
tial, and unlawful rates and charges. and
your petitioners claim for themselves and
| for their several members. reparation
on all shipments upon which they have
or will be compelled to pay said rates
from September l. 1913.
Attached to the petition is an elabo-
rate appendix giving in detail the rates
| between Washington and points in the
| North and Northeast. The information
is tabulated, giving the number OF the
tariff. the points carrying certain rates
and lines charging them. and the ap-
pendix then gives the present rates on
| the six classes involved in the case. This
information was obtained after much
work on the part OF experts employed
by the two bodies, and gives a compre-
hensive idea of the great difference be-
tween the charges for the various
classes
Railroads Must Defend.
The fling of the petition yesterday
by the local merchants places the rail-
roads on the defensive. In case the
contention of the local merchants are
upheld, they will be forced to justify the
increases. In the original hearing be-
fore the commission relative TO the with
drawal of free store door delivery, counsel
for the railroads, and the merchants had
a lengthy argument upon whom should
fall the burden Of proof. Commissioner
Marble at that time dismissed the-mat-
ter, declaring that there was no ques-
ton but that the withdrawal OF free
delivery was an increase in the rates
and the commission in its final decision
also declared that the discontinuance of
free delivery service would be an in
crease in the freight ratess
While the case filed yesterday only
seeks a reduction of rates which formerly
carried the free store door delivery serv-
ice, 1t is understood that other cases
involving all OF the rates both to and
from Washington to and from all points
are in course OF preparation.