The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-26
SEWER EXPLAINS
. COMM|SSAR|ESON
LOCAL RAILROADS
General Agent of Southern
Says Purchases in Bir-
mingham for Stores
Exceed Sales Here

L. Sewer, general agent of the South
ern railway, Alabama Great Southern AMI
Mobile and Ohio, yesterday issued a
statement regarding the operation of
commissaries on the Southern and Ala
bama Great Southern lines. His state
ment was in reply to an interview given
out by A. A. Jones, secretary of the
Retail Growers and Butchers association
of Birmingham, in which the latter said
that Fairfax Harrison, president of the
Southern railway, had failed to reply 70
the request from the association, asking
that the commissaries be abolished The
statement of Mr.. Sewer follows:
ut is a we'll known fact that the ex-
ecutives of the Southern railway have
been extremely busy since early in July
with matters pertaining to flood condi-
tons through the Carolinas and Virginia,
restoring the line to an operating condi-
ton, as well as matters persainlng to
the railroads labor question, which is
now being given every attention There
are no secrets in connection with the ex-
listing contracts as to commisasries and
their operations either on the Alabama
Great Southern or Southern railway, as
copies of the contracts have been filed
with the Alabama public service commits
sion and with the interstate commerce
commission, and in the main provide for
feeding the men in the construction and
feeding the men in the construction ana
of % cents per day for three meals, Or
1-3 cents per meal, when boarded at
the companies expense.
STORES ALONG THE LINE
The companies operating the commits
saries, viz: The Railway Supply COM
pany of Alabama on the Alabama Great
Southern, and Sands & Co., on the South
ern railway, have stores or commssaries
at the principal points along the line,
from which they distribute the supplies
to the boarding cars and on which they
pay the tariff rates to such points as
the commSSarieS and cars may be To-
Gated. From the commisSaries they sell
to others employed by the railroad COM
panies, which they are privileged to do
under their contracts, but in all cases
they must supply goods of equal quality,
and price to that of others in the towns
in which the commissaries are located
and, as to this, there is but one line en-
tering Birmingham, SO far as he knows,
that have not similar arrangements with
other firms.
There is nothing in this contract that
places any obligation upon the railroad
companies to use their influence with
their men to purchase supplies from
a Of tho al pononanioc If haino
entirely optional with the men as to
where they trade and from careful
analysis of the results of their operation
it. would seem that Birmingham mer-
chants, as a whole, are being more BEN
Gifted than they are injured. For the
fiscal year ended June 80, 1916, the Rail-
way Supply company purchased from
Birmingham merchants goods to the
amount of 54,53S.04; their sales to Ala
bama Great Southern employees in the
Birmingham s29,747.7S, being 47,9 per cent
less than their purchases from Birming-
ham merchants, and only 80 per cent of
the total pay roll of the Alabama Great
Southern to it's employees in the Birming-
ham district.
PURCHASES IN BIRMINGHAM
Purchases of Sands & Co. from mer-
chants in the Birmingham district July
l. 1915, to June 80, 1916, amounted to $64,-
567.9S; their sales to Southern railway
employees in the Birmingham district
amounting to $57 ,66S,76, this including sup
plies furnished to boarding cars useo In
this district, and being 1917 per cent less
than their purchases from Birmingham
merchants. The sales of Sands & Co. to
employees of the Southern railway in the
Birmingham district was 81 per cent of
the total pay roll to it's employees in this
district
1--WE have found that this contract
works very advantageously to the rail-
roads in that it enables us to handle our
labor to better advantage. and with
much less expense to the company as
we are relieved of court handling of
garnishments, and in it's actual operation,
has had the effect of saving the posi-
tons to many of our employees on account
of garnishments.
1.-The Railway Supply company of Ala
bama is chartered under the laws OF
Alabama. Sands & Co. is a Virginia cor
poration; neither the Alabama Great
Southern nor the Southern railway or
any of it's officers or employees are in
terested in a financial way in either OF
these companies. m consideration of the
service furnished by Sands G. Co. and
the Railway Supply company to the rail-
roads, we deduct on an order from the
men, from their wages stoppages fol-
such supplies as the two companies FUR
nish the men,
Breach of Contract
Id