The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1915-04-08
TO READIUST RATES
TO GEORGIA POINTS
RAILROADS MUST OBEY ORDER
ENFORCING THE LONG AND
SHORT HAUL CLAUSE
LOCAL POINTS 70 BENEFIT
VIII Ask state Commission To Ap'
prove Similar Revision In
Intrastate Rates

Atlanta, Ga.-The recent order OF
che Interstate Commerce Commission
enforcing the Long and Short Haul
clause Of the Federal Act 70 Regulate
Commerce, has made necessary a gen
eral reimbursement Of freight rates
throughout Southern territory, declare
Presidents j. r. Kenly of the Atlantic
Coast Line, w. A. Winburn Of the
Central Of Georgia, NJ. H. Smith OF
the Louisville and Nashville, W. j,
Harahan of the Seaboard Air Line, and
Fairfax Harrison Of the Southern, in
! statement. addressed ITO The Peo
ple Served by the Railroads OF the
South" which has just been issued.
Since the order of the Commission
was handed down, committee OF traf-
&c officers has been at work preparf
ing tariffs which will put into effect
its provisions. Obviously, precise fig
ures to all points may not be an
nounced pending completion OF the
work Of revision 1t is understood that
where long and short haul discrimi-
nations now exist, many rates will be
reduced and some of them advanced,
and that an important effect of the
revision in Georgia will be to give
e large number of local points more
favorable rates as compared with the
rates enjoyed by the distributing CEN
tiers.
For the local points to get the full
benefit Of the principles under which
the interstate rates will be readiust-
ed, that is to say, the reducing or elm
alton OF the differences between the
rates at the local points as compared
with the rates at the so,called com
mon points, which are in the main
the large cities, it will be necessary
for revision, following the principles
Of the interstate adjustment, to be
made in the Intrastate rates, and pc
tition to this effect is to be made by
the railroads to the State Railroad
Commission.
Statement OF President
The statement of the railroad pres
idents is as follows
ITO The People Served BY The Rail
roads or The South:
FAN order OF the Interstate Com
merce Commission, pursuant to re
Quirements of Federal law, compeis Z
general revision OF Southern freight
rates. II is proper that the people Of
the South should be informed as tc
the reasons for this revision and the
principles upon which it is being made
accepting the Norfolk & Western,
Chesapeake & Ohio and Virginian Rail
ways, which lie In Official Classiilca-
ton territory, the railroads Of the
Southeast receive virtually no part OF
the FIVE per cent increase in rates
recently acquiesced in by the Inter
state Commerce Commission. While
the need of the carriers Of the South
Cor increased revenue is certainly nc
less than is that of the Northern and
Eastern roads, that need is in no way
related to the revision Of rates now
In progress which arises solely from
the necessity of more nearly conform
ing to the so-called long and short
haul clause" of the law as amended
in 1910. and as now construed by the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
1.-THE original Act to Regulate Com
merce forbade the making Of lower
rates for a longer than for a shorter
distance within the same line or route
under substantially the same circam
stances and conditions. The carriers
were free to meet competition as they
found it and were required to answer
only upon complaint as to the reason
ableness of their acts.
THE amendment OF 1910 deprived
che carriers Of the right to initiate
departures from the long and short
haul requirement and they may nc
longer meet competition as they find il
Il the long and short haul requirement