The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-03-27
HEARING BEFORE THE
| R. R. Com. C()NCL U)ED
|Ocala Business Men Show Great D;-
ordinations. Great Interest Mani
tested Throughout The Day
mr. EDWIN SPENCER MAKES ABLE PRESENTATION
Mayor Robertson And Mr.. George Mac
Kay President Board Of Trade Write
Strong Letters And Mr.. Light
And Others Make Speeches
Mr.. EDWIN SPENCER MAKES ABLE PRESENTATION

securing the freight az the Palaska
end of the line.
After some further questioning, Mr..
Menzes was sworn on behalf of the
Atlantic Coast Line.
The Atlantic Coast Line had filed a
petition for relief under the act en-
some four hundred items Mr.. Men
yes discussed the situation of his road
at some length, going into detail on
many articles to substantiate his DO
sition, especially asking for relief on
fertilizer materials from Tampa to
Jacksonville and from Port Inglis to
Tampa. He was assisted in his argu-
ment in this by Mr.. Cope, a manufac
turer of fertilizer at Port Inglis.
The representative of the board of
trade of Tarpon Springs questioned
Mr.. MenZes relative to the rates to
TarpOn Springs, showing that the
rates are higher to Tarpon Springs
than to ST. Petersburg.
Mr.. Menzes stated that there were
great many articles on which there
was no water competition on which
his road charged more freight to inte-
rior towns than to seaport cities, but
that the railroad companies were too
busy to figure out just what those ar
ticles were and made the proper re-
auctions. Mr. MenZes' attitude was
similar to that of Mr.. Caps, and the
arguments that he advanced were
along the same lines as reported in
yesterdays paper
At the conclusion of Mr.. Menzes'
testimony the commission took re-
cess for dinner.
Upon reconvening at 2:30 in the
afternoon, the carriers announced
that they had no further testimony to
offer. whereupon many citizens of
Ocala were sworn as witnesses, testi-
flying as to conditions local to the
city CT Ocala.
Mr. Jake Brown, a wholesaler, was
sworn as a witness, and testified that
IL was impossible for him to compete
with the cities of Tampa and Jackson
vile in the sale of many products;
that he was necessarily limited to the
sale of such articles as grain, flour
and other articles of a like nature.
He showed that the rates into Ocala
were unreasonable on these articles,
and were prohibitive when it came to
establishing wholesale houses in
Ocala that could compete with the
wholesale houses of Jacksonville and
Tampa. He showed that the whole
sale houses of Jacksonville or Tampa
could ship articles even to the city of
ocala and sell as cheaply as he him,
self could sell locally. He showed
that he had to sell upon a very mar
row margin of profit in order to do
any business whatsoever. Mr.. Brown
further made clear the benefit that
would be derived from a reduction of
freight rates into Ocala by wholesal-
err, retailer and consumer, especially
the consumer.
Mr.. b. A. Weathers was next sworn
as a witness and testified that he had
been forced out of the wholesale bus
mess in Ocala because of the unfair
rates into this city and because of the
impossibility of his competing with
Jacksonville and Tampa. He explain
ed that there was no difference in
freight rates on carload lots from less
than carload lots from Jacksonville to
Ocala or from Tampa to Ocala; that
il made no difference. so far as freight
rates were concerned, whether a man
bought from Jacksonville one sack of
grain or a hundred sacks of grain,
and said that il the commission did
nothing else 1t should require lesser
freight charge on carload lots of
Grain and other products from Jack