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Show JIVES REASONS FOR DEPRESSION tailroad Chief Declarei Freight Charges Not the Cause of Stagnation. ARM PRODUCTS ARE C1TEI jusiness Depression and Lack it Demand the Real Trouble Washington, D. C In testify-iiK testify-iiK before Hie Senate Committee i interstate Commerce, which in unducllng an Inquiry into the iiilrond situation, Julius Krutt-ctnutt, Krutt-ctnutt, Chairman of the Duaru i f I lit- Southern J'uciric Company, I vent iilo grout detail as to the , ffect of froight rales on nioduc' niptiieitls, foreign and domestic. , i he main points he made in tins iui'1 of Ins testimony were, iirst That business uuprcs.iou is not iiu result of high freight rultM; lecoiul That Hie real cause of tagiintioii in produce shipments i tuck of market or profiteering ,e said, in pari: A widespread ropaganda is being curried on ) arouse public auiitiidt.Mil against .voting freight ral'h, wuuiuub iu fact i tnnt even since the alc6 liavc been advanced the coot t Irniibporting uonimoditleH in .tr k.H lliau tlic toll taken by Hie ommissioii inurcbant and (lie realtor re-altor for buying and selling tlieiu. Hubllo Wnulod as to tiiiua.lon People are misled and conclude but bigli rales iiuvo slopped the I .lovduent of a large amount of .eight and that the railway )OunJ make more money if they Aould reduce till- rates and thereby there-by reiv tliu traffic. There is lie strongest reason to believe hat the very grcHt reduction in traffic has been due almost en-wiiely en-wiiely to generul business conditions condi-tions that are world wide in their effect, and that would have come .! there hnd been no advance iu freight rhtci!. l'ricns of commodities com-modities reached their maximum in the first half of the year l'JZO and thereafter Ml Willi great rapidity in France, the UnltsU State and Iht United Kingdom. The rail in the United Stairs began be-gan in May, and woe rnpidly on its way. down-grade in September, when the adxunccd rales took' effect. .Nuverllinlest traffic did not drop for si leant four month. Siump NolOauiod by Hlflhtr Halt it was a general dfflalion and fall In prices from the lieighU lo which they hud been driven by war conditions thai has caused a l8Kalion of business, throughout through-out the world. That it 1 not r.auml by the cot of truiisporla-tion truiisporla-tion ih convlncliigly shown by thv raul lhal stoppage of buying has cautcd an oversupuly of ships, brnce ocean tonnage rates have hern recently ut the lowest points tu their history. Notwithstanding these low rales, ocean traffic allows as grea! stagnation us rail traffic, and millions of Ions of shipping here and abroad are noting away In idleness. Many 'ommodities would not move eeu if the freight charges on them tturo abolished cutii'ly, because produeers can find no markel I'liut the decline In biiMMe-s i not iluc lo prohibitive freight rates is shown by the follov.ing cuiuplct: In January t lltin ,r.ir Hi' Inlal luniiarK nr Hint m.i or l.t'lMvi ami OKdrii ni'flaltil L) the huiiUirrii I'tripc OHhn pll Ulf 41 l' IT rent the itunliliicil InlraMale frelKlit tulinate In Arliuna anil Nt-atlt ilerllnril Id rr I'tiiit all h.iUKh nu Infcitr in I tie Intra. tati frrlKtil lilts in Hiiim" llfi liat.liien.as if t autlmrlicil nr nu.le rfriVtUe, 'Thin ilrerea riutiiairil I II am. iii mid llotiik, a ucllju -bit ami ollior coiniiibilllltt. Cotton Unshipped for Lacft of Marketa or a ftn foiton rrt.p or uier fimr iiilllltiu bale.. 4U prr i cm rt:iu:n uu-markrlfil. uu-markrlfil. Tl nenre tvil r tall ami naltr fliliniil trwn pruilnclnr pulnt Iu l.lxri'uvl fiat bttn irrtucoJ abuiit l.' ,nr liiu iMimida In Hi tart vt hlrli abuia orn-liatr mlllloa bale ir eollun l tlian nor mil liata tee ii p(rteit to Lherpv.l. ui. Mu'ly the irelr( ' la tmt reipcmikla roe Hie iturkted iiiuffiinnl. liijrliif Sr.lmbr, Ovli.iier, ami ,nirj,r, IVtu, 4 r r.iit ! rlr, Sv fr rent ! ranniil laliiion, and 73 ir -rnt Uf ilriad fruit rt irrl.d than diirlor the ami nnlhi or lk Vretlom r,- alUuili lki rutufltsa, lit man ratal waa .iiihalaKUallj' irtar tr.au 0 lii.ri lit inlaatt "rail ratea, a Uat tk lualerlat rttrlFu Id lh aijiurli of Inn rt.u4im)UIIIi wai n Ilia far tit (fit afrrei'al full T tran)irtallu. The Oa ef th Fruit Oewr Tlio trdtibles or tht California lemon grower har atlraeled niutih atttHtlon. lie ciaiius he iji uu-aldr uu-aldr to li)p lt piuduoi I eatiaa of the iiioienacil freight rains. A reiimvnl of al Ibr rereni liierease of the ralr uit leiiion-) would nnt help liini. lie has a rate by se.1 through the I'ltuumn Canal of les-lliau les-lliau half-4N per cent of the rail rate, yet hit lemons are not marketed. The average price of a cantaloupe laid down iu New Voi'k In the season of lil'il vya not unite tl cent. As they were ri'lailod at about -'5 cents, tliere is u further profit to somebody of 14 cent per cantaloupe. The maunders of the propaganda for a griiornl reduction of f reign.' rntes have Inst tight of tho fae' that Iu October, 1920, t,IP5,321 carloads of eoal wure moved, being be-ing Hie maximum moved in any mouth in the preceding two years, ftlluntigh It was hnndld at tlie advanced freight rate, and we have liennl notnlug as to the roal being produced at a loss or of the coal mine owners going nut ol business because of existing frolglil rates. The percentage of freight charges to !ue in "the early part of 1021 is almost exaot-ly exaot-ly iht same at it was in. 1914. |
