The Coos Bay times. (Marshfield, Or.) 1906-1957, July 12, 1907, Daily Edition, Page 5, Image 5

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    THE DAILY COOS BAY TIMES, MARSHFIELD, OREGON, FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1907.
Meets On Coos Bay To Hear
Complaints Against C. B.
R. & E. Road.
NORTH BEND WEDNESDAY
Yestcrtliiy Hit? IlallroiHl's Side of tho
tatory Was Hoard Jn '
Mai'.Mliik'Id.
Tho Railroad Commission held tlio
first hearing in tho case of Davis
SlTultz vs. the Coos Bay, Roscuurg &
Eastern Railroad and Navigation
Company at North Bend on Wednes
day evening. But one witness was
heard during this hearing, Mr. Shultz,
and the matter was continued until
yesterday at tho local depot of the
railroad.
The complaint and answer were as
follows:
"Whereas, tho above-named plain
tiffs have heretofore filed with tho
Railroad Commission of Oregon a
complaint, among other things, al
leging: "That said Coos Bay, Roseburg &
Eastern Railway and Navigation
Co., and W. S. Chandler, receiver
thereof, does unjustly and wrongfully
discriminate against tho shippers of
freight over Its line from Marshfield
to Coqullle and Myrtle Point, in favor
of shippers at Portland, Oregon, and
San Francisco, California, as follows,
to wit: That the said Railroad Co.,
and its receiver charges Portland
shippers a rate of $2.00 per ton on
merchandise from Marshfleld to Co
qullle, and a rato of $2.25 per ton
from Marshfleld to Myrtle Point, that
the said railroad and its receiver
makes a rato on the same class of
merchandise to local shippers on
Coos Bay, and to tho plaintiff cor
poration heroin of ?G.OO per ton
from Marshflold to Myrtlo Point, and
$5.00 per ton on tho same class of
merchandise from Marshfleld to Co
qullle, thus making It impossible for
this plaintiff to carry on its business
in competition with tho said Portland
and San Francisco shippers.
"That said freight rato made and
charged by tho defendants herein Is
unjust, excessive, unjustly preferen
tial, discriminatory and prohibitive.
"That tho rates charged on all
goods, locally, by this defendant
from Marshfleld to Coqullle and Myr
tle Point, are in themselves unjust,
excessive and prohibitory.
"And praying that said Railroad
Commission of Oregon adjust tho said
rates to a reasonable and just basis.
The Schultz-Davls Company, a cor
poration, vs. Coos Bay, Roseburg &
Eastern Railroad & Navigation Com
pany, and W. S. Chandler, Receiver
thereof, defendant.
Answer.
Now comes the defendant, above
named, and for answer to tho com
plaint in tho above entitled proceed
ing, Denies each and every allegation
In said complaint contained, not
hereinafter admitted, qualified or
specifically denied.
Admits tho allegations of the para
graphs numbered 1st, 2nd and 3rd,
'in said comrUaint contained, sub
stantially as therein alleged.
Further answering, alleges (that
the defendant corporation is pri
marily engaged In operating an in
dustrial railroad for tho transporta
tion of coal, lumber and logs, and
that tho transportation of merchan
dise and other commercial freight is
undertaken by it only Incidentally,
and more for tho accommodation of
residents and business men in tho
territory which it traverses than for
a financial profit; that the amount of
Isuch merchandise and commercial
freight offered to It Is both absolute
ly and comparatively trivial, and that
there 11 little pi-oflt, and a very
small rato of profit mado in handling
the same;
That all logs, lumbor and coal
transported by tho defendant corpor
ation aro received at Cedar Point
and points between Cedar Point and
Marshfleld, and aro transported to
Marshflold, excepting a fow small
shipments of lumbor, and that tho
points In said complaint mentioned,
to which tho rates of shipment from
Marshfleld nro nllcged to bo excessive
and discriminative, aro all beyond
said Cedar Point;
That the operation of tho portion
of tho said defendant corporation's
rallrond lying beyond said Cedar
Point is, and for a long time 1ms been
unromuroratlvo and unprofitable.
Further nnsworing, defendant ad
mits that tho rato charged per ton
for flr3t-clns3 freight, according to
tho Standard Western Classification,
botweon Marshfleld and Mrytlo Point,
is six dollars, and between Marshflold
and Coqullle City is five dollars, and
alleges that these rates aro reasona
ble, moderato and low, and aro the
samo as aro usually charged by other
and more favorably situated rail
roads, carrying much more freight,
for equal distances;
Further answering, tho defendant
alleges that on through shipments
mado by Btoamship from Portland to
Marshflold,. and by tho defendant
from there to destination, the freight
is not classified according to weight,
as aro all exclusively rail shipments,
but nccordlng to the custom of ship
ments by water, according to bulk or
cubical contents, that by this method
forty cubic feet is classified and
charged for as a ton, that only the
heaviest freight will weigh, enough
to constitute a ton by measurement;
and that tho average ton by meas
urement, as received by the defend
ant from tho steamship company
will weigh only about ono thousand
pounds;
Further answering, defendant ad
mits that Its rates upon such
through shipments from Portland
aro as In said complaint alleged, but
that its charges aro upon the meas
ured tons, as hereinbefore set forth,
and that by reason of tho measured
ton of merchandise averaging only
about ono thousand pounds, tho real
charge by tho defendant on such
through shipments, as compared
with the local shipments of merchan
dise, which aro all charged for ac
cording to actual weight, nre reason
able, morerato, just and proper, and
that said rate3 and charges constitute
no discrimination against the plain
tiff or other local shippers.
Further answering, defendant al
leges that tho custom and method of
shipping by steamship on the basis
of tho measured ton Is proper and
necessary for those operating steam
ships, and it would be impracticable
for defendant to make a through
rato with the steamship company,
or companies, on any other basis.
Further answering, defondant al
leges that tho merchandise so re
ceived by It from tho steamships for
through shipment, and all through
shipments are received by steamship,
and not otherwise, aro received In
quantities of soveral carloads at a
time, and are handled by the defend
ant In tho samo economical and ex
peditious manner, and with the same
profit as carload shipments, that tho
steamship crews and their employees
load said through shipments directly
onto the cars, in many instances,
from tho steamship, and the defend
ant is thereby saved tho labor and
expense of storing, handling and
loading said shipments, as is neces
sary in the case "of local shipments.
Further answering, defendant al
leges that said Coquillo City and
Myrtlo Point, In said complaint men
tioned, aro on tho Coquillo river, and
have direct connection by water with
Bandon, which Is a port having ocean
connection with San Francisco, Port
land and other points, and that the
through rates mado by tho steamship
companies, and tho proportion there
of charged and received by tho de
fendant aro governed by the rates
charged on the through water routes
above mentioned, and that tho pres
ent through rate by water from San
Francisco to said Myrtlo Point and
Coquillo, is less than tho rnto com
plained of by tho plaintiff and
charged by steamship companies for
shipments from Portland to Marsh
fleld, and thence via tho railroad of
tho defendant to destination;
Further answering, defendant al
leges that the plaintiff herein has
never offered carload shipments to
tho defendants and never asked for
rates on tho same, that in all tho
time tho plaintiff has been in busi
ness It has shipped le3S than two tons
of merchandise over tho railroad of
the defendant, and said shipments
have been In small lots and at dif
ferent times;
Further answering, defendant al
leges that the office and place of busi
ness of the plaintiff is at North Bond,
Oregon, and not at, or upon tho line
of tho railroad operated by tho de
fendant corporation, that by reason
of Its said location, the plaintiff must
ship all merchandise, intended for
said Myrtle Point and Coqullle City,
to tho station of the defendant at
Marshfleld, by water, that the regu
lar rate charged for said water haul
from North Bend to Marshfleld, by
tho boats engaged in that traffic is
twenty-five cents per hundred pounds
weight, and In quantities of ono ton
and upward is in no case less than
ono dollar per ton, that the regular
steamship rates, being those plaintiff
Is compelled to pay, for shipping
merchandise from outside jobbing
and supply centers to North Bend aro
the same as those charged for ship
ping merchandise from tho same
points to Marshfleld, and that tho in
ability of tho plaintiff to compete
with Portland and San Francisco
jobbors is due to said disadvantage
ous situation of its place of business
and the freight charges which it Is
thereby compelled to pay for trans
porting its shipments of goods In
small quantities, in the manner in
which it handles them, to the station
of the defendant at Marshfleld, and
not to tho rates or charge placed up
on tho samo by the defendant.
John S. Coke,
Attorner for Defondant.
ler, C. J. MIUIs; Mr. Davis was re
called. The railroad in its proceed
ings followed the lino of argument
presented in its answer, and tho com
plainant's procedure was about tho
samo. Tho contention of the rail
road was not that tho rates held by
Mr. Shultz to bo discriminatory were
not in effect, but an attempt, was
mado to justify those rates. It was
held that the water competition to
the Coquillo country by way of Ban
don makes it necessary to protect the
railroad by tho rates now in effect.
It was claimed by tho railroad wit
nesses that the eight miles of road
beyond Coqullle is a losing invest
ment an,d that it does not pay for
maintenance. Most of tho profits
derived by the railroad, according to
tho company's evidence, are derived
from tho traffic In logs, lumbor and
coal. Tho amount of traffic in mer
chandise is so insignificant that the
company believes its prices just.
An Important point was raised dur
ing the hearing; the railroad has
tho co-oporatlon of the Breakwater
in its freight traffic and is enabled
to route traffic through from Portland
to tho Coquillo country, whereas,
freight brought by another vessel
must bo transferred to the Southern
Pacific here. Tho railroad holds
that the Commission has no jurisdic
tion over water transportation, since
it is carried on outside the three
mile limit, where all jurisdiction of a
state ceases. This contention was
supported by tho company in quoting
a decision handed down by Judge
Deady of the United States District
Court in Oregon, to the effect that
Oregon has no jurisdiction over traffic
which is carried outside the three
mile limit, even when it is returned
to the State's boundaries in some
other Oregon port.
Shultz and Davis were ordered to
file a statement of tho traffic the firm
has forwarded over the local rail
road since" they have been in busi
ness, and this must bo submitted to
the railroad company and filed with
tho commission. Upon the evidence
at the hearing the case will bo de
cided on the following: affidavits,
pleadings in cause, and briefs of par
ties. Each side reserves tho right
to submit its arguments by argument
or briefs, tho Commission sitting as
a court. Hollister & Guerrey, of
North Bend, represented Davis &
Portland & Coos Bay S. S. Line
BREAKWATER
Sails for Portland and Astoria eyery Thursday
C. F. fAd
,r
igt.
Phone Main 34
A. St. Dock
rt rwwwaiwiiii wmmemi'mwiM uatfujinowm ijiwit rTxru-JgiftJiJM'wrwwt-JiLiiLiMiJ
fjiiiijgij.LJL-?r
A nice line of B
Souvenir Posbds M Marshfield 1
NORTW&HANSEN
Shultz, and the railroad had the fol-
Tho following witnesses gave evi-' lowing attorneys as counsel: John
donee at the hearing held at the S. Coke, John H. Kollock, of Port
local depot: F. A. Laise, W. S. Chand-'land, and John D. Goss.
ili..iimwM
mtfwamsgtOBBmsaaiaaamBamBmBaax
Per mosth, 1 suit
K
per wee
CLEANED
PRESSED
WASHED
BAYLISS & MERCER
New Pantatorium Building
Suits called for and
ffjrnnTyiYiTTijTiniTl''.rT""'"'J"Ms:r
RUR SAI.E
iX XMriiNa. EWJa &lasUu
90
A few choice 5 and 10-acro tracts close in. Good tranportatlon.
Two daily boats to Marshfield, North Bend, faro 25 cents round trip.
Daily mall. Telephone connections Farmers' Lino No. 2 passes through
the land. Wagon road to East Mnfrshfield. Tho county railroad through
to that part of Marshfleld is boftnd to bring it to tho front. This
property will bo taken off tho uu .. t August 15, 1907.
See Charles Doane or W. J. Rust.
Marshfield Oregon.
I M -
NEW HOUSES
FOR SALE ON ELSY TERMS
Neat and modern. Situatea in NorthBend Heights.
Best view on the peninsula, alsotfacant lots in the
same tract. Prices reasjjnahfend terms easy.
m
SUCCESSORS TO
Ward & Ward
WARD (&, HURD
Corner Meade and Vermont Sts.
i 9 I
I
:miwnum:jmmjn::mmajmtatt:ttn
The . I
DELJCATESSEN
If For Ice Cream. C0 Any Amounts Furnished
i
Roast Pork Today.
Second and C streets.
mjnjmj::mttttmnmttmjnjmtt:m
sans
auiiiHi'imei
'I'MWl n iMImmiigaiMeailliwBga iiMMkntana
Right
Come right in for Lunch and
Dinner today Cuisine perfect;
service unequaled The nicest
appointed restaurant on Coos
Bay Table am lunpri counter
trlde solicited Ijou are going
to pay for a dinner why not come
where you can get the BEST.
Dinning room board $500
per week, lunch counter board
$400 per week Best of at
tention given
WANT
North Front Street
Opposite Gty Hall
I
i
1
1
:JKJ
m
i
JEn
1
m
lull
Electric Lidits
in the store
WINDOWS
Are the best kmd of adver
tising you can do. It attracts
the attention of eve
passes ho yom
made-rc
a sale is
seen in
goods. Many
causse ih was
yon once
is very low.
hry lighting yoisr
sw.ver
BAY GAS
ELECTRIC
CO.
419
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