Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-25
DEPARTMENTS AID
D. c. MERCHANTS
To Appear at Freight Delivery
Hearing Before |. C. C..
Tomorrow.
WILL GIVE EVIDENCE
IF REQUEST is MADE
Retail Association Completes Plans
for Fight for Free Delivery-Con-
tention of the Railroads.

| ment expect to take an observant inter-
est in the hearing to be he'd tomorrow
| before the interstate commerce commits
sion on the question Of whether the Bal
| timore and Ohio railroad and PhiIadel-
phia. Wilmington and Baltimore railroad
| shall abandon the free store door deliy-
cry and collection Of freight to outlying
sections OF the city. heretofore existing
! in Georgetown, Mount Pleasant and Ana
costa
Members of what is known as the in
| terdepartmental transportation commit
| tee. headed by J. w. Kean of the Navy
Department, chairman, and N. N Potts
| of the Department of Commerce, secre-
| tary. will present themselves at the hear
| ing, according to a statement made by
| them today. They do not expect to offer
arguments or testimony for or against
the abandonment of the free store door
delivery and collection of freight by the
railroads. but will be prepared to produce
information, IL called upon, showing that
| the government departments will suffer a
loss should the discontinuance of these
deliveries and collections be made perma-
nent.
The hearing. which will be held at
10 o'clock before Examiner Elder In
the interstate commerce commission
hearing room, was granted by the COM
mission, following recently filed COM
plants from Chamber of Commerce.
Retail Merchants Association and
Board of Trade members. many of
whom are merchants, who declare that
they Will suffer money loss If they
are obliged in future to pay drayage
charges for the deliveries and collec-
tons which have been made free by the
railroads in the past.
Departments Interested.
The interdepartmental transportation
committee, consisting of one or two
members from each government de-
partment, including representatives
from the Office of the controller of the
Treasury and the interstate commerce
commission, was formed some time ago
to obtain action in concert in regard
to questions of transportation between
the government and the railroads.
Included in this committee is rep
resentative Of the Post Office Depart
ment, G. w. Smith, who will be pres
ent at the hearing tomorrow with
Messrs. Kean and Potts 1t was stat
Postmaster General Blakslee this
morning that the Post Office Depart
ment has an appropriation out OF
which drayage charges can be taken
commission makes permanent the stop
page of the free deliveries and col
iections The Post Office Department
receives large amount OF out-of-town
freight, in the way of supplies, on
which there would be a heavy charge
for drayage during the year, if such
drayage had to be paid for.
ALI the departments receive freight in
various quantities, particularly the quar-
termaster generals division of the War
Of the government have drayage appro-
priations and some have not. From this
situation arises the interest of the inter-
departmental transportation committee in
the hearing to be held tomorrow.
Not to "Mix In"
while our committee will be repre-
scented at the hearing" Mr. Kean said
today. II would like it understood that
we are in no sense about to attempt to
mix in as government employees. with
something that another branch Of the
government, the interstate commerce
commission, is about to decide.
I'VE shall present ourselves at the
hearing, as it is to be a public occasion,
and If we are called upon to tell of the
governments receipts of freight here and
the drayage situation, we will do SO; but
we shall not offer to do so.
1.-The members Of our committee all rep
resent departments of the government,
and as that is SO, we, as departments,
are as much a part of the government as
the interstate commerce commission.
After discussing the possibility of our be-
ing heard by the commission, 1t was
pointed out that the interstate commerce
commission will undoubtedly look out for
ing those Of the departments, and that
there will be no necessity for us to at
tempt to interfere by Offering information
which the commission probably already
possesses"
Cause of the Trouble.
The merchants of Washington are very
much interested in the hearing to be held
tomorrow, which grows out of the fact
that when the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road established its Georgetown freight
depot a couple OF years ago 1t established
a system of free delivery and collection
of freight within certain zone. That
was followed by a complaint from bust
ness men of the Mount Pleasant section
that If GEORGETOWN merchants got such
free delivery they were also entitled to
ii, a position sustained by the interstate
commerce commission. Anacostia mer-
chants then asked the same privilege on
the ground that they were being discrim1-
mated against in favor of Georgetown and
Mount Pleasant merchants, and their res
quest was also granted. This resulted In
the railroads Withdrawing all the free de-
lveries and collections, and it Is upon the
question Of whether or not the old sys-
tenn shall be restored that the hearing is
to be held tomorrow.
Railroads Contention.
1t is stated that such free deliveries and
collections by railroads do not exist any
where else in the United States except
TO a. small extent in Baltimore, and the
railroads are expected to present tomor-
row the argument that If they are obliged
to deliver freight free in Washing
ton there is no reason why all the other
cities of the United States shall not APP
pear with the complaint to the interstate
commerce commission that they are being
disseminated against in favor Of Wash
ington.
The members of the interdepart-
mental transportation committee are
as follows:
J. w. Kean, Navy, chairman; N N.
Potts, Commerce and Labor. secretary;
William McNeir, State; B. H. Barndol-
lar Interior; G. W. Smith, Post Office;
A. Zaponne, Agriculture; Elmer E.
Forbes, Agriculture; p. l. Pellet1er.
Marine Corps: E. M. Moore. Treasury;
H. T. Tate. Treasury; l.. I. Zb!nden.
Treasury; r. H. Hartshorn, controllers
office; J. H. Mackey, Justice; c. r.
Sherwood Justice: J. NJ. Jones. inter-
state; e. r. Troxel, Navy; L. e. Wilt
berger, Navy; c. A. Bowman. Navy; r.
e. Shannon, War, and w. E. Butter