The Secretary of the Commission immediately responded as follows: FRANKFORT, KY., January 28, 1887. John C. Gault, Esq., General Manager Cincinnati Southern Railway, Cincinnati, O.: DEAR SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of yours of the 27th inst. with reference to the complaint of the citizens and merchants of the city of Lexington. The merchants of that city complain that the Cincinnati Southern Railway refuses to receive freight that is marked for shipment to points on the Knoxville Branch of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. They claim that this is in violation of the duties of common carriers, as well as of the sixteenth section of the act of the Legislature of Kentucky incorporating the Cincinnati Southern Railway, which provides : "The persons or company operating said railway, or any part thereof, as lessees or otherwise, shall receive and carry all passengers and freight coming or brought to it or them to be carried, and they shall make no discrimination against citizens of Kentucky in carrying freight or passengers on said line of railway, or any part thereof; nor shall they make any unjust discrimination in favor of through freights or passengers against any way freights or passengers, or against freights or passengers from other railroads connecting with said railway in this State." This Commission does not recognize the fact that another railroad is engaged in the same practice is sufficient to justify a violation of law on the part of the Cincinnati Southern Railway. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company has been communicated with with reference to this matter, and this Commission will use every endeavor to have it abandon the practice. We respectfully ask that you give your prompt attention to this matter, and earnestly urge that your road receive and forward all freight presented to it, as required by the section of your charter quoted. By the Board of Railroad Commissioners: CLARENCE EGBERT, Secretary. On the fourth of February the General Freight Agent of the Louisville and Nashville made the following response : LOUISVILLE and NASHVILLE RAILROAD COMPANY LOUISVILLE, KY., February 4, 1887. Clarence Egbert, Esq., Secretary Railroad Commission of Kentucky, Frankfort, Ky.: DEAR SIR: Your letter of January 26th, addressed to M. H. Smith, Vice-president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, has been referred to me, but owing to absence from home, I have not replied until now. On August 1, 1886, an agreement was entered into between the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railroad Company and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, by which each agreed to leave the hauling of all local business of the other to that line. This was done, not with the intention or expectation of forming a basis of complaint on the part of any shipper, because no rate was advanced in consequence, and ample facilities still remained for the transportation of all traffic that might be shipped. By each line competing for the local traffic of the other, each line carried what to it was not very remunerative traffic, and also deprived the other just to the extent of the traffic carried by the first of traffic that was more profitable to the other carrier, and by this means, while no greater tonnage was carried by the two lines combined, there was less net revenue to both of the lines out of the same total rates. Hence it was deemed a wise policy, and one which could not injure the interests of the shippers, to make this arrangement, since no advance in rates was to be made. Up to this date the complaint of the merchants of Lexington is the first that has been brought to the attention of this company, and I regret very much that our Lexington friends should have felt injured by the arrangement. It is doubtless due to the fact that the matter has not been fully explained to them. While it is true that the distance from Lexington via Louisville to points south of Junction City is longer than via Junction City, still our connections at Louisville are close, our time fast, and as property for local stations. on our line would have to be unloaded from the cars of the Cincinnati Southern road at Junction City and reloaded into Louisville and Nashville cars at that point, I do not believe that the time consumed in bringing the property via Louisville is very much, if any greater, than it would be to bring it via Junction City. If the merchants of Lexington will point out any specific case or cases in which delay has occurred, I will promptly investigate the case, and if unnecessary delays have occurred, will take steps to prevent a repetition of them. Yours truly, J. M. CULP, General Freight Agent. A copy of this was forwarded to the President of the Board of Trade at Lexington, with request that he call the attention of the merchants at that city to the matter. Messrs. W. O. Emison & Co., wholesale liquor dealers of that city, sent to the Commissioners copies of way bills and freight receipts, by which it was shown that a shipment of whisky was consigned to them at Louisville on the 18th of February, and reached Lexington on the 19th of the same month. A shipment of whisky was consigned to them at Lebanon on the 11th of February and reached Lexington on the 16th of the same month. Another shipment of whisky was consigned to them at Lebanon on the 19th of February, and reached Lexington on the 24th. Messrs. Emison & Co. contend that had the shipments from Lebanon been made by way of Junction City instead of Louisville, the time consumed would have been but one day, whereas it required five days by way of Louisville. These facts were communicated to Mr. Culp, and at the time this report was closed he had not replied. Complaint still pending. |