7 John S. Blair, R. S. Lovett and Robert Adams, for Texas & Britton & Gray, for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. R. R. John S. Blair and W. R. Kelly, for Union Pacific Railway REPORT AND OPINION OF THE COMMISSION. SCHOONMAKER, Commissioner: The three above-entitled cases involve the same general questions, and for convenience were heard together, to be considered and disposed of at the same time. The complainants, Lehmann, Higginson & Company, are wholesale grocers engaged in business at Humboldt, in the State of Kansas. The city of Humboldt is located 118 miles south, and slightly west, of Kansas City, on the Junction City branch of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, and 35 miles north of Parsons. In the first-entitled case complaint is made that the respondents, the Southern Pacific Company, the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, and the Receivers of the latter Company, under arrangements among themselves operate a continuous line of railroad from the city of San Francisco, Cal., to the city of Humboldt, in Kansas; that the respondents named contracted to carry, and did carry, freight consisting of sugar in carloads, from San Francisco to Missouri river points, of which Kansas City is the nearest a rate of 65 carrying the freight to the Missouri river 65 cents per hundred pounds, plus the local rate of 20 cents per hundred pounds back to Humboldt, thereby making a discrimination against the complainants of 20 cents per hundred pounds, which, upon the sugar so bought and shipped, amounted to $303. The prayer of the petition is, in substance, that the respondents should be required to accept and transport sugar to the complainants at Humboldt, Kans., at the same rate for which similar freight is transported to Missouri river points, and to refund to the complainants the alleged overcharge of $303. In the second case complaint is made that the respondents, The Southern Pacific Company, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Company, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, operate a through line of railroad from the city of San Francisco, Cal., to Humboldt, in Kansas; that in the year 1888 the complainants bought ten car-loads of sugar in San Francisco and had the same shipped to themselves over the said lines of road; that the sugar was received by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company at Albuquerque, N. M., and hauled from that point by the way of Ottawa, Kansas, to Humboldt, Kans.; that Ottawa is 55 or 60 miles southwest of Kansas City, and 60 miles north of Humboldt, on the Southern Kansas division of the line of road operated by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company; that the said ten car-loads of sugar were billed and hauled as stated; that the price charged for the same was 65 cents per hundred pounds to the Missouri river, and the local rate of 20 cents per hundred pounds from the Missouri river to the city of Humboldt; and that the sugar was not in fact hauled to the Missouri river, but was taken direct to Humboldt by way of Ottawa; that the distance from Ottawa to Humboldt is no greater than the distance from Ottawa to Kansas City; that the respondents refused to accept or transport the said sugar to Humboldt for less than 85 cents per hundred pounds, which amount was arrived at by adding the local rate from Kansas City to Humboldt, of 20 cents per hundred pounds, and the complainants charge that thereby a discrimination was made against them of 20 cents per hundred pounds, which, upon the quantity of sugar so bought and shipped, amounted to $500. The prayer in this case is also, in substance, that the respondents be required to accept and transport freight to Humboldt from San Francisco at the same rate for which it is transported to Kansas City and other Missouri river points, and also to refund the overcharge. In the third case the complaint is that the respondents, the Central Pacific Railroad Company, the Southern Pacific Company, lessee of the Central Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Railway Company, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, and the Receivers of the latter company, operate a through line between San Francisco, Cal., and Humboldt, Kans.; that Junction City is a point on the Union Pacific Railway 150 miles west of Kansas City, and is also the terminal point of the Junction City branch of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, and 125 miles northwest of Humboldt, Kans.; that in the year 1889 the complainants bought one car-load of sugar in San Francisco, and the same was shipped over the lines of the respondent railways, and came, or should have come, over the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway from Junction City; that the respondent railway companies refused to receive and transport such freight to Humboldt for less than 85 cents per hundred pounds, arrived at by charging the rate to Kansas City of 65 cents per hundred pounds, and the local rate from Kansas City to Humboldt of 20 cents per hundred pounds; that the distance from Junction City to Humboldt is less than the distance from Junction City to Kansas City. The complainants also charge the same discrimination in this case as in the others, and also ask that the respondents may be required to accept and transport freight directly to Humboldt at the same rate that is charged to Kansas City and other Missouri river points, and to refund to the petitioners an overcharge of $50. The several respondent railway companies answered the complaints separately, but it is not material to set forth their answers in detail. The facts of the several shipments of sugar set forth in the complaints, and the rates charged for their transportation, are not denied. The Southern Pacific Company the initial carrier from San Francisco, answers that it billed the sugar through from San Francisco to Kansas City in order to give the consignee the low rate of 65 cents per hundred pounds, being the rate in effect at the time, and that it received as its proportion of the through rate in each case as follows: In the first case, a rate of 36 cents per hundred pounds, San Francisco to El Paso, Texas; in the second case, a rate of 15.83 cents per hundred pounds, San Francisco to Mojave; in the third case, a rate of 32.6 per hundred pounds, San Francisco to Ogden, and collected such charges from the receiving road in each case; and that it did not charge or collect more than its proportion of the Kansas City rates. The answers of the other respondents generally set forth that Humboldt, Kansas, is not an intermediate point on their respective lines, consequently is not entitled to lower rates than those which have been applied; that it is reached only by the use of separate lines from a junction or terminal station on the lines of the respective respondents, and that such separate lines are justly entitled to their local charge. from such junction or terminal stations, and that the respondents have no interest in and receive no benefit from the local charge of such separate lines. The answers also set forth that the low rates between San Francisco and Kansas City and other Missouri river points are forced upon them by the competition of sailing vessels between San Francisco and New York; that if the railway companies did not make the low rates between San Francisco and the Missouri river the sugar would be shipped in sailing vessels via Cape Horn to New York, and distributed in the Mississippi and Missouri river valleys, instead of being refined at San Francisco and distributed thence by or cia lines operated by the respondents to the same points; that the circumstances and conditions covering the shipment of sugar to Humboldt, Kan., are substantially dissimilar to the circumstances and conditions covering the shipment of sugar from San Francisco to Kansas City, in that the aforesaid competition is greater and more serious at Kansas City than at Humboldt; that the respondents receive the full benefit of lower rates to Kansas City, and that the additional charge to Humboldt above the charge to Kansas City is justified by the difference in circumstances and conditions affecting Kansas City and Humboldt respectively. The material facts found in this case are as follows: The shipments of the car-loads of sugar in the first case were over the following lines and for the following distances: The Southern Pacific Company, San Francisco to El Paso, Tex., 1,286 miles; the Texas & Pacific Railway to Fort Worth, Tex., 616 miles; the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway to Nevada, Mo., 439 miles; the Missouri Pacific Railway to Kansas City, Mo., 93 miles; the Missouri Pacific Railway to Moody, Kan., about 110 miles; the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway to Humboldt, Kansas, about 24 miles; total distance, 2,568 miles. The shipment over this route from the nearest junction point to Humboldt would make a total distance of 2,307 miles. In the second case the route and distances are as follows: The Southern Pacific Company, San Francisco to Mojave, Cal., 382 miles; the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad to Albuquerque, N. M., 815 miles; the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad to Kansas City, or Argentine Transfer Station, near Kansas City, 919 miles; the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, Southern Kansas division, from Kansas City, via Ottawa, to Humboldt, 118 miles; total distance, 2,234 miles. The shipment direct to Humboldt from nearest junction point on this route would be 2,118 miles. In the third case the route and distances are as follows: The Southern Pacific Company, San Francisco to Ogden, 895 miles; the Union Pacific Railway to Kansas City, 1,261 miles; the Misscuri Pacific Railway to Moody, Kan., 110 miles; the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway to Humboldt, about 24 miles; total distance, 2,290 miles. The direct shipment to Humboldt from nearest junction point on this route would be 2,137 miles. The rate by all these routes from San Francisco to Kansas |