Evening star., 1925-04-04
LUMBER RATE CUT
ASKEDOF RAILWAYS
Direct Dealing Method to Be
Given New Test in
Southern States.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
ATLANTA, April 4.-The railroads
of the Southeast and Mississippi Val
ley territory have just been given an
opportunity to show to what extent
they desire the cooperation OF ship
pers in the fixing Of rates. The car
rters repeatedly have expressed a
wish that shippers deal direct with
them in rate disputes rather than
through = Federal agency, such as
the Interstate Commerce Commission
but many shippers have charged that
such conferences had proved effective
only when rates were Increased and
not when they were decreased.
Seek Lumber Rate Cut.
The directors of the Southern Pine
Association, members of which are
large shippers OF revenue freight,
have just notified the Southeastern
and Mississippi Valley carriers, that,
in their opinion lumber rates are
now disproportionately high. and that
the carriers are burdening the indus
try unjustly with increases. They ask
the railroads what relief can be had
through conference.
This communication was made in
a letter to Vice President G. T. Airey
of the Central OF Georgia Railroad,
who was authorized by the carriers
to select a committee of railroad men
to act for the roads in such confer
ences. Tho reply is being awaited
with keen interest, not only by ship
pers in this territory. but all over the
country, as indicating whether the
protestations Of the railroads for CO.
operation with shippers In adjustment
OF traffio problems will be backed by
performance.
Causes OF Failures.
Shippers have freely assured the
writer that they do not doubt the SIN
cerity of the desire for conferences,
rather than appeal to a Federal
agency, as expressed by railroad
presidents. They blame the failure
Of such negotiations on the attitude
OF subordtnates in whose hands the
negotia tions are placed, who. In their
desire to deliver the goods" to their
employers, are likely to be careless a s
to means, to be bad losers or to at
tempt to evade the result
Shippers claim that when they
placed their cards on the table" the
only result was to have the railroa
conferees use the knowledge so ex-
posed to nullify by ulterior means in
huences tending to lower rates. This,
they assert, has forced the shippers
in self-defense to appeal 10 the Inter
state Commerce Commission.
Board Members Resign.
Some large ass ociations of shippers
in this territory, among them those
handling cotton, cotton seed products
and heavy clay products have re-
signed from the Southeastern Ship
pers' Regional Advisory Board as
result of such experiences
The shippers regional advisory
boards throughout the country have
admittedly been of tremendous value
to the railroads in settling questions
of transportation involving the move
ment of freight, loading and unload
ing OF cars and other problems. This
has resulted in unprecedented .per-
formances by the transportation de-
partments OF the carriers. Highly
satisfactory relations have been
established between shippers and the
transportation departments of the
roads.
In discussing the communication a
member or the pine association made
1t plain today that his industry fully
appreciates the necessity of railroad
prosperity, and that when combat
with the carriers had occurred It
was not through efforts of the asso-
citation to decrease railroad revenues
but to prevent unwarranted increases
in lumber rates