OCR Text |
Show oo IS AfiAJNST UTAH Washington, D. C, April 4. S. H. Babcock, traffic commissioner of the Commercial club traffic bureau of Salt Lake, practically closed for the shippers ship-pers of the Intermountain states their arguments before tho Interstate commerce com-merce commission for discontinuance of the practice by Pacific coast transcontinental trans-continental railroads of discriminating rates in favor of tho coast terminal shipping point. The hearing had been on before the commission for two weeks and is the first held to determine the breadth and scope of the long and short haul clause of the new railroad rate law. Under this law the carriers are not permitted permit-ted without order of the commission to charge moro for a short than for a long haul when moving In tho same fHrnctlrm About a year before this law went into effect, the commission issued an order tentative in character permitting permit-ting tho transcontinental railroads to continuo their discriminating rates on their argument of water competition on tho Pacific coast. The Intermountain Intermoun-tain freight distributing points contested contest-ed this ruling under the long and short haul clause of the new law. Mr. Babcock was one of about fifty representatives of shippers from tho intermountain distributing points, including in-cluding Salt Lake, Phoenix, Reno aud Spokane. All tho shippers' representatives represen-tatives preceded Mr. Babcock and their arguments were met by attorneys attor-neys and exports for the Southern Pacific Pa-cific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Mr. Babcock had inserted in the records of the hearings detailed charges charg-es showing the discriminating rates of tho railroads to Portland, Sacramen- i to, San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Pacific coast against the Inland cities of Salt Lake, Phoenix and Reno which he had prepared. Ho followed this with a technical explanation of the rates given and thon against the railroad contending that water competition compe-tition justified the discrimination. "I do not hellevo there 'is active water competition at this time as declared de-clared by the railroads," said Mr. Babcock. Bab-cock. "The rallroadh have seen to it that there should bo no such competition," com-petition," Mr. Babcock explained the system of coast iates which haB been In effect, ef-fect, for years. "There can be no justification in reason of the continuance of this system sys-tem and these rates," ho said. "What logic of reason or business can justify justi-fy action bv a railroad for hauling freight intended for Salt Lake through Salt Lake to Los Angeles, some 700 or S00 miles, and then back to Salt Lake? "This amounts to hauling- charges of from 1,800 to J,600 .miles that the, freight has noil been required to move. It would not "be bo bad if Salt Lake and the other intermountain distributing dis-tributing points were given the same I rate as the rate to tho coast terminal points, although it 6cems to me that this rate would be unjust. ' "But there is the additional back haul from tho coast points to the in termountain points with a back haul charge. "This is unjustifiable, certainly. Economic conditions in tho interraouri-tain interraouri-tain states are changing rapidly with their growth In population and thoir production In freight and their interchange inter-change of commodities. Even If the railroads could JuGtify thoir back-haul charges and; thoir long and short haul rates of a few years ago on the economic econ-omic conditions prevailing in the Intermountain In-termountain region they cannot do so now It is my judgment the railroads havo not kept pace with economic conditions con-ditions in their adjustment of freight rates to intermountain distributing points. ' It is time thoy wore forced to rec-1 ognize these changed conditions and to meet other conditions. There will be no chaotic conditions wrought In the railroad world by a just readjust- ment of tho rates as has been argued i by railroad counsel. The railroads j will take care of themselves in the matter of their management and cost of moving freight from the cast to the coast. "A large percentage of the freight of tho Intermountain region moves to and from the east. Between the Intermountain In-termountain region and tho Pacific coast there Is a vast roach of territory. terri-tory. Tho freights originating in this j region and moving to the east and J the freights moving from the east to the Pacific coast can be fairly adjust- ed as to rates without placing a bur-' den of rates on tho intermountain region re-gion for the benefit of tho Pacific coast terminal points." |