The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1916-01-12
FIGHT FOR BETTER RATES
STARTED Is MONTHS AGO
Special Appropriation to Garry
on the Fight Wa3 Made by
City Council and the County
Commissioners I.tany Con-
ferences Held.

The Board of Trade officially an
nounced yesterday that a complete
victory has been achieved in ihe mat
ter of the contention for railroad rate
construction designed to preserve for
Brunswick the great natural ira e ter
ritory which is rightfully hers. but
which has been denied her for a aar-
ter of century much to the mate 'ial
advantage of the cities of Jacksonville,
Savannah, Charleston and Wilmington.
The new rates so favorable to Bruins
wick became effective January 1, and
cannot be attacked as a whole for two
years.
The new rates give Brunswick an
advantage of from five cents to thirty
cents, varying with the class of freight
per one hundred pounds as against the
rates to the same points from Charles
ton, Wilmington and Jacksonville. A
readjustment of Georgia intrastate
rates will be made later by the rail
road commission of Georgia which will
have the final effect of dividing the
territory in Georgia between Bruins
wick and Savannah, giving Brunswick
an exclusive territory with popula-
tion of more than 100000 people. Prior
to January l Brunswick had rates low
er than it's competing ports to a ter.
ritory of about $4,000 population.
Under the old adjustment of railroad
rates the great and rich territory of
Georgia was open alike to all south
Atlantic port cities. That is, freight
consigned to interior points in Georgia
could have with equal facility SO far
as freight rates were concerned, by
either Charleston, Savannah, Bruins
wick or Jacksonville, and to certain
extent by way of Wilmington, but now
the competition of all ports other than
Savannah has been eliminated.
Again, while the other ports were
on equal terms with Georgia ports for
Georgia business, Georgia ports were
precluded from shipping anything into
Florida or South Carolina in competi-
ton with the ports of those states be-
cause of high freight rates. In other
words, our competitors were free to
come into our territory but we could
not enter theirs. Now our territory is
protected against such invasion. 1t
was a case of heads you win, tails
lose, so far as Brunswick was concern
ed.
The fight for these rates was insti
tuted by the Board of Trade about IL
months ago. The county commission
M ;a;y ND
each body appropriated $3.50 to a spe
cial fund to defray the expenses Incl
dent to the fight. Several conferences
were held with the traffic officials o1
the rail lines serving Brunswick anC
finally complaint was filed with the
railroad commission of Georgia, but nc
action was ever taken on this com
plant because the railroads granted
the contentious of the Board of Trade
without awaiting the order of the com
mission.
1t is contended that this rate struc
ture that has just been favorably re
constructed is or was a part of the
alleged systematic arrangement tina
is each year said to be diverting hun
dreds of thousands of tons of freigh
to other Atlantic ports that should nat
urally move through the port of Bruins
wick.
Secretary Weatherly, of the BoarC
of Trade, claims that the Southerr
Railway company and the Atlantic
Coast Line are and for years have
been favoring the movement of traffic
originating in the east and consigned
to interior southeastern points by wa!
of Norfolk, Wilmington and to lessee
extent Charleston for the reason tha