per ton per mile of the principal defendants, of roads throughout southern territory and of roads throughout the United States." "The rates in question from New York and other eastern seaboard cities to Chattanooga were esttablished by the roads as members of the Southern Railway & Steamship Association, and are still with immaterial exceptions maintained as originally fixed." The rates per ton per mile on the six numbered classes for the haul of 848 miles (short line distance) from New York to Chattanooga are as follows: The average of the above rates per ton per mile to Chattanooga being 1.88 cents. The revenue per ton per mile of the principal defendants named below, taken from their annual reports for the years ending June 30, 1900, and 1901, is shown in the following table: RATES PER TON PER MILE FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1900. Of roads in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Of roads in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia Of roads throughout United States. .595 cts. .808 " .729" Illustrative of the discrimination of the present adjustment of rates against Chattanooga and in favor of Nashville the following table is inserted, showing combination of class 1 through rates from Boston and New York to Chattanooga and Nashville with local class 1 rates from Chattanooga and Nashville to intermediate stations on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, and distances from Chattanooga and Nashville to those stations: Bolivar . То Distances Distances Nashville Chattanooga 118 miles 33 miles 91+50-141 114+28=142 On all the other classes as well as Class 1, the Combinations are in favor of Nashville. The following table gives the combination of Class 1 rates from New York to Nashville and Chattanooga with the local rates from those points to certain stations in Tennessee, Missis sippi and North Alabama; also distances from Chattanooga and Nashville to those stations: Nashville, it will be perceived, has the advantage in rates over Chattanooga at all these stations, many of which are beyond Chattanooga from Nashville. For example, at Gadsden, Alabama, 210 miles from Nashville and 92 miles south from Chattanooga, the Chattanooga combination rate exceeds the Nashville combination rate by 8 cents. The following table gives the excesses of what are termed the Nashville combination distances over the Chattanooga combination distances to the stations named in the preceding table and also the excesses of the Chattanooga combination rates over the Nashville combination rates in cents per hundred pounds and on carloads of 40,000 pounds. By combination distances is meant the distances from the point of shipment, New York in this instance, to Chattanooga and Nashville, respectively, added to the distances from those points to the stations named: The shortest all-rail line from New York to Chattanooga is via Alexandria, 846 miles; that to Nashville is via Alexandria and through Chattanooga, 997 miles. It is shown that the greater part of the freight moving from the east to both Nashville and Chattanooga moves via Norfolk, sea and rail. Chattanooga, therefore, is materially nearer both the markets of production and shipment, and Norfolk, the point where for the most part the sea carriage ends and the rail haul begins. Nothing else appearing, it would seem clear upon this situation that Chattanooga should have even lower rates than Nashville. The reverse, however, is the fact, and this is, in large part, the cause of complaint. Upon what theory is this reverse order of rateslower for the long haul to the more distant point-justified? The justification is put mainly upon the ground of Nashville's closer proximity to the territory north of the Ohio River where a lower scale of rates have been fixed by the associated carriers of that territory than by the associated carriers in southern ter ritory by practically the same methods and upon the ground that Nashville desires to meet in competition the cities on the Ohio River, and St. Louis in the region between these cities and Nashville. The same theory that justifies and requires rates to Nashville which accomplish this purpose would seem from equal necessity to require a like adjustment of rates to Chattanooga to give her a fair chance in competition with Nashville in territory between that city and Chattanooga. But this has been utterly ignored in the framework of this adjustment of rates by the singleness of action of the associated carriers south of the Ohio River. Chattanooga is not only met in substantially all the region between the two cities by Nashville with an overwhelming advantage to the latter, but is overreached by the advantages of the latter in rates to many important points south of Chattanooga. Not only is this true, as will be seen by the combination of rates on eastern traffic which as to Nashville passes through Chattanooga on through rates from the East and then out from Nashville in distribution by Nashville jobbers back through and around Chattanooga, but Chattanooga is, by the methods of rate making in vogue in this territory, grouped with a large number of other places far to the south and west of her taking the same rates under this so-called "equalized system," so that these places have their natural disadvantages of location overcome by more favorable rates to the detriment of Chattanooga, which is not only nearer the points of production and shipment than most of the places in this group but is also much nearer to the Virginia cities, Ohio River points, and Nashville, all of which enjoy the lower scale of Official or Trunk Line rates and classifications. Again, Nashville has the further advantage as against Chattanooga in that the former is favored with a large list of special commodity rates on important articles which are denied to Chattanooga, thus widening the disparity already caused by the difference in class rates. The Commission has found, as stated in its report in this case, that "there has been no competition affecting rates since the rates were established by the Southern Railway & Steamship Association more than 18 years ago." |