The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-08-12
RAILROAD SAYS
RATES TOO LOW
TO MAKE PROFIT
THE LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE
CLAIMS IT IS HANDLING MA
VAL STORES AND COTTON TO
PENSACOLA AT A LOSS.
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL.

Mariana, Aug. 10.-The hearing
on the Louisville & Nashville rail-
road rate question was held in this
city yesterday before the Florida
Railroad Commission as per previous
announcement. The entire railroad
commission was present consisting of
Chairman R. Hudson Burr, N. A.
Bitch and Royal C. Dunn, together
with ]. II. Tench, rate expert for the
commission. The hearing was held
in the county judges court room In
the court house and was attended by
number of railroad officials and
others interested in the question in
Guiding E. A. DeFuniak, general
freight agent, Montgomery; Col. N.
w. Proctor, commerce attorney and
Hon. Geo. w. Lamb, assistant comp
troller, Louisville; and w. C. billiard,
division freight agent, Pensacola, who
appeared on behalf of the railroad /;
and Jas. F. Phillips, secretary of the
Pensacola Chamber of Commerce; F.
K. Marlin, representing G. S. Baxter
& Company, and j. E. Hull, represent
ing the Consolidated Grocery Com
pany, all of Pensacola; A. Seasons,
banker, of Bombay, and S. A. Afford,
banker, and president of the Con-
solidated Naval Stores Company, of
Chipley, and M. R. Burton, president
of the Mariana Manufacturing Com
pany and of the Mariana Refrig-
Grating Company, S. A. Dafin, secre-
tary and general manager of the R.
D. Daf1n Company, and of the Dafin
Mercantile Company, wholesale mer-
chants, and John II. Carter, attorney,
of Mariana, together with number
of others from this city and section,
who represented the shippers.
The question came up on the petit
ton of the Louisville & Nashville
Railroad Company to the Florida
Railroad Commission for a reduction
of commodity rates on the P. & A.
division of the basis of the class rates
made by the commission.
It appears that prior TO October
81, 1914, when the order of the rail
road commission went into effect, the
Louisville & Nashville railroad had
been operating in this state under an
arbitrary freight schedule by which
shipments made from West Florida
points to Pensacola took the same
rates from points at a great distance
as from points much nearer. Thus
no distinction was made in freight
charges from the terminus of the P.
& A. division at River Junction and
in those from Mariana, Chipley,
Bombay, and other places where the
mileage is not so great. This the
railroad commission declared to be
unfair and unscientific in arrange
ment and issued an order requiring
the L. & N. to conform to the rate
classifcations observed by the Sea-
board, the A. G. L., and other lines
operating within the state. By this
| classification the rates were fixed ac-
cording to mileage, giving the nearer
points the advantage in rates natural.
ly expected from their location, anc
raising the rates somewhat for the
more distant points, and in all case!
fixing a definite charge which tbs
railroad was permitted to make fol
the same distance, wherever or be
tween whatever points the shipment
might be made.
In placing this order in effect, how
ever, it was discovered that in the
case of some commodities the rates