The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-04-20
PRES. APPLEYARD
HANDLES HOSKINS
WITHOUT GLOVES
Some Pertinent Facts Presented
To Tampa Tra&c Manager As
Matter Of Information


The following letter, which speaks
for itself, has been addressed to c. $.
Hoskins, traffic manager Of The Tam
pa Board OF Trade. by President T..
j. Appleyard, Jr., OF the Florida Iraf-
fic Equalization League:
Lakeland, April II, 1922.
Mr.. c. S. Hoskins, Traffic Manager,
Tampa Board OF Trade, Tampa,
Fla:
My Dear Mr.. iIoskins-! have read
with a great deal OF interest, ana,
may | say, amusement, your inter
view in The Tribune of April I and
your very weak and wholly incon-
sistent and selfish attempt al reply
to the letter OF MI Edwin Spencer,
Jr, of our city, which reply is pub
lished in yesterday mornings Irib-
une. With it all | have made dis
covery and that is that apparently
the congress OF tie United States has
made a most glazing ana fatal mis-
take in writing into the Transports
ton act OF 1920 without first con-
sulting YOU the principle Jhat is the
very bed-rocl; Of oar constitution it.
sell, i. G., justice and equality 70 all
in the pursuit OF legitimate CONNER
cial endeaVor. find that for which
! have been searching for 10 these
many monGhs-the cause for the IN
rest, business depression, and all the
ills that our commercial lie is heir
tour failure 10 have such men as
yourself at the head OF oar great
government. Because had You been
there sucn errors would never hay t
occurred. And while it may have been
q long time coming, you may be sure
that al last you have been discovered
and that from now and helCctorth, a.
least III one instance, can We say that
there is nothing 10 the theory That
'luIl many d flower is AlaGe to blush
unseen and To waste its fragrance
on the desert ar Not only las
our congress, made up, il ycur OpIn-
ion, OF duDs and DoLuAeads, llJua an
error ana not only are Ley wholly
wrong in their principle and theory,
but 1 great many OF the able mca.
IN fact assume the majority Cf able
men who make up the personnel OF
the Southern Traffic L9aguc, are
likewise without Judg MenL ald abll-
ily III the matter Ui principles of rate
making But il tAelr lack OF judg-
ment, Mr. li0gkins, the congress Of
the United States did write INTO the
transportation Of passengers, CT of
section winch reads: That it shall
be unlawful tor any common carrier
subject 10 the provisions OF this ACT
. to charge or receive any greater
compensation in the aggregate Tor the
transportation Of passengers, or OF
Ike KIND of property. tor q shorter
than for Il longer distance over tie
same line or route in the same direc-
ton, tie shorter being included With
III the longer distance or TO charge
any greater compensation as a
through rate than the aggregate OF
the Intermediate rates subject 10 the
provisions OF this act" Evidently this
body OF men believed that il was IN
Just ana that il was eminently IN
lalr Tor the people OF Lakeland. fer
example, TO pay more Tor the trans
porting OF commodity from its
point or origin TO Lakeland. than the
people CT Tampa are paying on a
commodity from the same point of
-eAt'%As tiAsAGp tflls HO4llt oil
origin being inland where water rates
would not offer competition, thereby
preventing Lakeland from enjoying
an equal opportunity with your city
IN developing itself in a wholesale
and Industrial way. They believed.
evidently (and | think, lIr. Hoskins.
you Will find this BELIEF very prey
alent all through the interior of
Florlda) that the people of Lakeland
anu other Interior points should NOT
be made 10 pay tie penalty in the
dlnerentials in the rates that now
exist.
The NEST inconsistent thing about
YOU and there are many inconsistent
things, is how little value. when il
comes to a pinch, you place in your
port. We have always been led 10 he.
iieve that with your deep water
nearest port TO the Panama canal
that you should worry" about rail
rates, and for the lie OF me | can.
not understand why you are so alarm.
cd over the probability CT the fourth
section becoming operative. The truth
OF the matter is, Mr.. Boskins, thai
you have been using your port as a
sand bag and as a club TO enjoy
favorable rate to Tampa over lie
rails, thereby causing the interior
points TO suffer to the extent that
their growth aud development in.