Show HEAR THE COMPLAINTS Southern California Shippers Make a Good Showing Los Angeles Cal March iThe Interstate In-terstate Commerce commission met hero today and began a hearing of important im-portant coast freight problems To days proceedings concerned the complaint com-plaint of the St Loitfs Business Mens league against the transcontinental roads The various interests I arc represented by attorneys Judson C Clements pre sid tlt The other oinnilbsioners present pres-ent were J D Yeomans and J W Flfer The first witness called by tho Pacific Coast Jobbers association was F W Braun a wholesale druggist of Los Angeles An-geles who testified as to his experience as an importer of goods from Europe und Eastern States He stated that he found it Impossible to do a large business busi-ness In New Mexico finding that he can go but threetenths of the distance to St Louis until the freight advantage of the latter city prohibit the extending of his business He added that in consequence con-sequence of freight advantages enjoyed by i the Middle Wc A his purchases of r goods In that section has very materially materi-ally Increased in the past five years Local Jobbers he stated now meet with keen competition from the Jobbers of the Middle West that competition affecting af-fecting prices profits on many goods being less than the actual differentials A change in these freight rates would compel him to buy a number of articles In Europe Instead of the Middle West Mr Braun was vigorously cross questioned by IT L Christie representing represent-ing the St Louis Business Mens league He stated that 60 per cent of the tonnage ton-nage of goods bought by him was from the Middle West and that he would not consider It against his interests to have the Middle West given a lower freight rate to the coast than those from the Atlantic seaboard to the coast W F llerrin of the Southern Pacific participated In questioning the ituoss the contention of that road being that It was Impossible to grant lower rates from the Middle West to California than those from the Atlantic to the coast as it Is necessary for the road to get revenue from some source as he explained transcontinental rates being governed by ocean rates J A Lothian P II Matthews Judson Jud-son Scager and H C Reynolds testified to the same effect as Braun the whole showing being that it Is cheaper to send freights clear to the coast than to stop the shipments in the mountains l As to Local Traffic Tho Dcscret Newss argument last night to the effect that the Utah Central Cen-tral Improvements are too good for local business shows a lack of knowledge knowl-edge on its part as the following figures fig-ures will show For the last fiscal year the Rio Grande Western moved 1093936 tons of freight of which GS317S j tons or C24S per cent originated on timeline time-line or was purely local business The average distance one ton wan hauled was 17S mile During the Kame year there were 350051 passengers carried I r but the average distance each of those nerfonK traveled was HW putts Aa tho distance from Opdon to Grand Junction I is 32S miles the preponderance of trti val > v-al for a third of that distance phcm trig that local paps ne < r and frfisht business on the Utah road Is holding Its own ownThe chief aim of railroads of today Is to show heavy earnings per mile of road and the short haul In what makes I the most money If the News philosopher will go down by the cement works today he will see J dozen men or may be two dozen shoveling Park City ore from narrow gauge to broadgauge cars With the I change that expense is cut off at once and then arc others It costs about f 2o cents per mile for an engine to run ion i-on the Park City branch and three en 1 I glnes are required to haul nine loaded i cars to the summit Under the change two of the engines can be signaled to the roundhouse And lastly thu following fol-lowing comparison tells the tale Tho cost of operation of the Sovler railway last year was S90 per mile against the Utah Central 1771 per mile all on ac I I count of the grades on the latter Thats I why the line Is I being broadgauged jl |