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Show TRAFFIC BUREAU ID Bll OFFICE Organization Secures Rooms 221 and 222 in Commercial Club Building, TO- OPEN FOR BUSINESS AFTER. FIRST OF YEAR At Tuesday's Meeting. Freight Charges Again Discussed at Length. I Further details of tho permanent organization or-ganization of the Commercial club traffic bureau word considered at a meetiuj: of .ho officers end directors of tha organisation organ-isation at the Commercial club Tuesday Tues-day afternoon at 12:30. Amoug tho important mattats dis-:nssed dis-:nssed at the meeting was' the open ! ing of the offices of tho bureau iu tlm Commercial club . buildiug, rooms 221 and 222, which havo been engaged and trill .bo' opened as soon as possible. 1 ha rooms arc not yet furnished,-however, and'it.is probable that the place will not W opened until after tho begiuniiii: of the new year. It' was given out after, 'the meeting that matters connected con-nected with the freight charges fixer! by- the- railroad companies to this fiiy were about ready to be taken .up by tno bureau and a-few more meetings would . place matters in excellent shape. Another meeting of the officers and directors of the organization will be held Wednesday afternoon. Farther attention of shippers hero has been called to the discriminations in freight rates against Salt Lake Citj r.ud at this time of the year when Christinas presents form so large, a part of the goo'ds shipped to this city it is interesting to note the difference m the charges made for goods to this place and the same goods ro Spokane. .The basis of tho whole matter appears ap-pears to bo the fact that' Spokane ro-oeives ro-oeives rates which-are the. game as those graqted for shipments to Missouri river points, so that ou many articles .they jiay. nothing 'for, the carrying" of goods between Missouri river points and Spokane. ... Example Is Gtvoa. A good example of this sort of thing is shown in the .freight charges made on shipments of-pianos made from Nov: York and other points. Regardless o the 'fact that some" of the best grade of -pianos arc made in the cast and hence must be shipped here by those who wish to purchase such instruments, tho railroads make the same rate for shipments from "Missouri river points as from New York, Boston and, in fact, all the cities of the east. Tho freight on pianos from New York to" Spokane is 2.85 per hundred. The Tate from Pittsburg. Cincinnati and Missouri rive.r 'points' is also $2.35, the same as, from Isew York. A prominent shipper 'commenting' upou this said that O'videiitlj- the railroads preferred to haul iroofls 'from Xcw York to the Missouri river for nothing aud suggested that ihe railroads be asked if they would bring goods from New York to Cincinnati Cin-cinnati ' free, since it cost nothing to ship them" between . those points when "hey were sent to Spokane. ''The distance from New York to Salt'Lake City is less than it is to Spokane' Spo-kane' ho'r.aid, ."but the rate on pianos between- New York- and this city is $2-.06, or a difference in favor of.Spokauo of 11' cents. As a piano'boxed and ready for "Shipment weighs about 1000pounds and ' sometimes more, the difference charged- against the Sail: Lake City shippers is considerable. I .Kates on Toys. "Shipments- of toys from easterq noints to- Spokane iaro subject to the same curious conditions that applv to the shipment of pianos. From rTew Tork- to Missouri river poiuts the freight charges are $2.20 per ope hundred pounds, and "from New York to Spokane' the charge is the same," although al-though the distance is about 1000 miles further: The railroads, therefore, prefer pre-fer to haul the goods nearly one-half as far again and receive no return for the accommodation, rather than adiust the tariff properly and graduate 'the charge with tho distance. The goods considered in this sort of shipment includes in-cludes all sorts of children's toys, toa sets, dolls and the like. It has been Miggested that the rato is llxcd as it is so that people living in Spokane, for c-iample. will not' have to pay any' more for those things than the people- -living in St- Louis. -but how about the high, rate for. the St. Louis people. Are' they not entitled to a lower rate for shipments made over a shorter distance? dis-tance? It appears not, although any schoolboy would laugh at the proposition. propo-sition. ' Discrimination Shown. '"Notice, however, the way the rail-1 roads get back at tho people of Salt Lake City. Although' the Spokane people ;irc granted- ihc amc rate as that given to ...the. rciiiderits of .St Louis, inhabitants in-habitants 'of Salt Lake" City do not Mcom: to be entitled to "this low rate, and are charged $2.G-i per hundred for. tho same goods which ar-j s(ent to Spolyme for $2.20. The rate'- from Missouri- river points to Salt Lake City is 31.5.", or a little move than' fine-half tho entire rate for about one-third of the distance. Assuming rh.e -regular rate from New York city to -Salt .Lake City. 82.G-J, and the rate froin-this city to Missouri river points, ifl.'nU. the rate between Missouri river points would be, naturally. $1.11. This Is not. the. ease, -however"; the rate, as stated above, is $2.20. or nearly twice as 'much'. " Now it is evident that cither f he Spokane peoplo are receiving 'a rate thai- is. too low .or the people who live in cities uudor the jurisdiction of Missouri river points aro being robbed. "It has been said that railroad rates wi'fl complicated. One can hardly sfo how- h cau fail .to agree with this statement- and yet the railroad freight agents will permit such, an absurd proposition to j-outiuuo on. their rod6 without correcting it. No wor.dor the freight charges, and passenger charges as well, are regarded as exorbitant, and that, people are organizing freight traffic bureaus all over the country to "bring . about, better conditions in the , tariff 'sche.jluJeH.M |