The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-06-24
INCREASED RATES
ARE PROHIBITED
Shippers Of Virginia Pig Iron
Win Victory Over Rail
roads
COMMISSION DECIDES CASE
Holds That Carriers Have Failed
to Justify Their Conten-
COMMISSION DECIDES CASE
Especial to rho Timcs-p,spatcb. /,

Especial 10 The Times Dispatch
Washington. June 23.--The Inter
state Commerce Commission o-day' is
sued an important order forbidding
railroads handling Virginia pig Iron
from Bucna Vista and other points
In virginia 10 Philadelphia from in
cfcasinS their present rytcs The de-
cision is OF far-reaching importance
10 virginia pig iron operators. and
means that the rates which II was
proposed to put into enect and which
would have meant the charging of
many thousands Of dollars in excess of
present rates. Will not become enec-
tive
WE'VE or hfteen years ago 4 con
siderable tonnage in pig iron was
carried in lSht-draft barGes via
Savannah and Norfolk from the fur
naces in virginia Tennessee. a;id Ala
hanna to the points in question. and
the railroads. in order, : they CON
tend. 10 participate in the business.
established - water-coinpetitiv" rate
Il $3.50 peg gross ron from certain
Virginia points 10 Philadelphia ana
other rates proportionatcly favorable
10 the shippers.
Under tho Influence Of hhese rates.
the railroads being abb 10 effect de-
livery at many points not on the
water front and inaccessible TO water
carriers. gradually superseded tho lat
cd operations.
Thereafter. In 1905. the railroads ad-
Va1ccd the rates from the furnaces
in Alabama and Tennessee. so as to
eliminate the water competitive basis.
which they had come to regard as
imaginary rather than actual Thc
southern shippers challenged these
advances d!scriminativc. FOR the
reason that the rats from the Nir-
cinia furnaces had been left undis-
tGrned. and tho carriers. conCciving 1T
as incumbent upon thcp either To re-
duce the rates from Alabama ana
Tcnntssce 10 the former basis or TO
advance tho Virginia rates proportions
ately, hnally rcopcned the whole oues-
ton with a view To determining the
destinations actually affected by the
water competition.
Upon the termination Of their INJURY
they decided To route the traffic via
Potomac Yard instead OF via Port Nor
folk. and TO advance the rates generally
competitive in fact This readjustmcnt
Was 10 have been iuaUCurated on sep
TENDER !. 1912. but at the instance OF
tn" Virginia shippers tho tariff was
suspended nS the commission until De
cember 30 1872 and again until June
30. 1913
There are nbou, forty-nve points TO
which the suspended rates apply. more
than thirty-avc OF which are compre
hcnded within the municipal limits of
'Philadelphia The proposed advances
NarT from 10 cents per gross ton on
shipments TO Brighton y J.. TO -
cents per gross ton on shipments TO
Haincsport. y j The rate 10 phlla
delphia is proposed 10 bc advanced
from 81 50 TO 80. a,n increase Of 20 cents
per gross ton. The bulk of the traffic
moves TO Philadelphia. and the stu
alton as 10 that point. being typical Of
the majority OF the destinations In is
sue. may he taken as illustrative
The Virginia shippers contend that
the objections on the part Of the south
ern operators 10 the noninclusion OF
Virginia tariffs in the general advance
OF 1905 are not we'll founded. for the
reason that they are not in competi-
ton with the Southern furnaces II is
submitted that their product is wholly
diss!milar from that Of the latter: that
II Is subjected To different uses and is
shipped 70 different class Of foundc-
ries 1t Is submitted. further. that the
Virginia IRON is so nearly Identical
with the product OF The PENNSYLVANIA
furnaces as To come in active compcti-
ton with II. and that the PENNSYLVANIA
rates arc already favorable to the shin
per there, while the rates from Virginia
furnaces are higher than those applied
on any other pig iron moving 10 the
points in question. The carriers have
tailed to justify the rates in issue as
reasonable in and OF themselves" the
commission says. and Will be expected
TO cancel the tariffs by which those
rates were To have been established
which may he done upon one DAYS no
tice 10 the general public and the In
fcrstate Commerce Commission
t. Fl MEG