Show L L. JL L GRIFFIN RIFFIN REPLIES TOi TO i VS EDITORIAL ON ONi i RATE ADVANCES ES Fram Fm Chicago Dally Daily News Griffin Replies dere e to call attention to an edito- edito printed In lii The DailY Dally News May MayI Back Fire on the Shippers I J make the following statements state stale j ts you o ments First that my ray representation l c ease case se Is not candid second that ur ii t I did have ht to say was based upon I action of or the shippers' shippers conference am third that I had no right to pOSOs pose pOSO as s a a. business man having baving Interests in common with the shippers Tie The circulation for Cor signatures of a relating to freight Creight rates was concerned confined confined to tow I 13 t ar as was w members of the Railway Busi- Busi association and no reference was conference I made to the shippers' shippers attended this conference anJi ai baTe no criticism to make on any any- rd ng that was done there and none ns made or Intended by me but what l m deprecated was contained In an ar- ar sent out by the Illinois AS Association dated May 7 and anu of ot that Association I as 3 a n member v personally wrote a letter to each ach of Its Individual members dated May 17 In I t referred io 10 the misleading and unfair statements contained In f in the I circular of May la 7 mentioned above and jul doing so I was candid I said railroads are bat t the statement that increasing their net earnings was not true and as to the correctness of or my statement statement- I beg to refer to the The latest interstate-commerce interstate commission commission com coin mission reports show that during the month of March eleven systems every ra railroad north and west eon n a a. line drawn through Chicago and st st. I mis I show low an increase In gross for the month of March of compared with March 1909 while the net earnings for the same roads in the same period show aa t decrease of and the interI inter inter- I commerce commission figures for toe ten tia months July to March 31 in 1910 as M compared with 1909 show an S. S increase In gross of over while the net earnings of these same stems in the same sarno period of compari- compari riv show a falling off of over 00 OO And as comparatively little of the file increases Increases' in wages had even gone into nto effect during March the railroads provide some means to Increase IncreaseS S a 3 revenue that is alread already decreasing oa An u an increased amount of business jonil ind there is is- no way for railroads to this except by increasing their rates and surely surety there is 15 reason for for- rth ahe need of it In the third paragraph on the second sec see ond page of this Illinois Manufacturers Manufacturers' Manufacturers Manufacturers' Association circular of May 7 is stated that per cent was wason r on the paying dividend stock making king no allowance for the 31 34 per scent cent of Jf stock on which no dividends were paid I r might with equal propriety ety lety make maIm the statement that there dividend the non divi was 38 no paid on paying stock For a clearer definition deli deli- the average earnings should be based bused upon the entire stock and no not upon the best paying portion of It Unless unless unless un un- less there thee Is some sarno reason why the representing the 31 per percent percent percent cent should not have received any dividends dirt divi- at all nIL In the final paragraph of the editorial editorial edito edito- na rial it Is stated that I should not be beall all allowed wed to pose paso as a n business man having no interest In common with the tho shippers Inasmuch as my concern concern con con- cern shipped an average of tons of finished product during 1006 and 1907 and we were obliged to receive more than tons of Iron to furnish fur Cur nish this plus Pius enormous quantities of coke colee coal and other supplies r Ii can safely claim to have shipped In in iii and out tons a year and as there ro no railroads who can afford to haul this material or any part of at It without having a revenue from It an Increase of oC 10 cents a ton on my hauling charge would amount to and therefore there there- fore bre I have business interests In com corn cornmon common common mon with other shippers The tons of ot finished product sh shipped represented represented represented in the neighborhood of I I This represented mostly most most- ly iy labor with the he exception of the cost of the ore and und coal In the mines All the he balance was made up of wages and profit on the different conditions of the Jie he raw material until It was finished finIshed fin fin- product My Illinois plants produced CO GO per percent percent percent cent of ef this amount or a year For three years our om Chicago plants h have ve not run more than half capacity Therefore there was a year less less' in distribution because of a corresponding shrinkage In sales As most of our iron and coal comes from Illinois this a year was not ot distributed in Chicago as would have been the case had we worked on the same output that we wo did Ud in 1906 and 1907 And a great deal leal of that which was not paid was taken out of the busness business firms situated situated situated situ situ- in or near Chicago by br the non non- pui purchases chases from Crom their varied business on the part art of the community that would have received the a year for three e years That is the reason reason rea rea- son why I have a right as a business businessman man to deprecate any unfair or un un- for called obstacles that are placed Inthe in inthe Inthe the way of my business and the hundred hun hundred hundred hun hun- dred other varieties of business In this CO country th that t a are e affected ed by y th the money put into circulation uy oy tue me When It is further considered that my business constitutes but 10 per cent of the cost of a car and that there were nine other units similarly affected affect affected affected ed most of which would have been tributary to Chicago anyone anone can see how important it Is to his individual Interests that the railroad companies should have ample funds to make these improvements and purchases and will realize how comparatively easy It willbe willbe will willbe be to stand a r reasonable advance on the freight for any material he be will need If If he h is receiving e ig increased orders Chicago T. T A. A t. t GRIFFIN Advertisement |