Show startling testimony is given on private car lines washington nov 1 an inquiry into hie operation of private refrigerator cars on transcontinental was begun by the interstate commerce commission the cases in which the hearings arc being held arc directed by the commission against the atcha eon topeka and santa pe and alio southern pacific railways and the armour car lines santa fe refrigerator friger ator dispatch and tho american refrigerator transit company these cabs were segregated from the numerous case against southeastern railways on which hearings wore held recently the principal witness today was J S leeds general manager of the santa pe refrigerator klepatch Dle patch who gave startling testimony concerning rebates and declared bis inability to break up the practice he said his company operate cars and obtains additional dit ional equipment by interchanging with the american refrigerator transit company and the michigan central railway the cars operated by the santa fe refrigerator said mr leeds are owned by the santa fe railway and are leased by the dispatch line commissioner prouty questioned the witness regarding tho cost of refrigeration in the california fruit service and mr said a charge tor refrigeration Is justifiable for the reason that the receipts from mileage are insufficient to pay earnings on the expensively constructed cars mr leeds figured the cost of maintenance of cars at 21 cents a day and the earnings at 34 3 4 of a cent a mile making the annual earnings at maintenance 75 and net earnings 67 a apar the cars cost 1400 bah in response to questions by commissioners ners clements and prouty mr leeda admitted that he has paid rebates to shippers of deciduous but insisted that there had been no discrimination in favor of any one of the shippers he justified the payment that he ot rebates by saying found this to be a practice indulged in by his competitors the rebates he said amounted to ida car to chicago 15 to buffalo and pittsburg and 20 to the atlantic coast A protest was made by attorneys for the armour car lines and the southern pacific railway against the loose manner of examining tho wa nass commissioner clements bad called attention to the testimony given by mr leeds in hearings at chicago a year ago and asked mr leeds to tell the commission again of this practice the attorneys said that if sir leeds had evidence of concrete where rebates had been given it would be all right for him to tell of thee cases mr leeds then told of what his company had done and said that individually he was powerless to break up the practice why cant you tt up asked commissioner prouty because it would precipitate a that might bring the charges below cost of refrigeration said ur leeds T H call of acs angeles call special counsel for the commission asked mr leeds it it were not a fact that the santa fe refrigerator friger ator dispatch is a dispatch of the santa fe railway organized as a matter of convenience mr leeds suggested that tho organization was a matter of necessity but he declined to commit himself as to the detailed relation between the two corporations replying to questions by plaintiff dunne counsel for the southern pacific mr coeds said it would be impracticable for a great railway system having connections forking out beyond ita terminals to handle its own refrigeration business |