Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1910 — PLOT IS CHARGED IN LAKE BUSINESS [ARTICLE]

PLOT IS CHARGED IN LAKE BUSINESS

Chicago Board of Trade Men Accuse Railroads.

Charging a conspiracy to deprive western grain shippers of the advantages of cheap water rates, officials of the Chicago board of trade filed a petition with the interstate commerce commission asking an investigation. The petition asserts that the railroads are trying to drive the grain transportation business from the lakes. The complaint is directed against the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, the New York Central, sev-enty-four ether lines operating east of Chicago and other Lake Michigan and Lake Superior points. It is represented that “by reason of conspiracy on the part of the defendant carriers, substantially all meads of all-rail through transportation from Chicago to New York and other Atlantic seaboard points, and also all parallel and eoii.t-eting and through lines of transportation via the great lakes from Chicago and other lake points to Buffalo and from Buffalo to NewYork and other Atlantic seaboard points; are owned and controlled by the defendant carriers.”

Recently the freight charges on grain received at Buffalo from the lakes—called ex-lake- were increased from Buffalo to Atlantic seaboard points. It is alleged in the petition that these rates are unjus*: that they are discrim-

ihatory, because they are much higher than the all-rail proportion from Buffalo to eastern destinations, and that they deprive the grain shippers on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior of the benefits of cheap water transportation to eastern points. The Chicago board of trade charges that serious injury is being done it and the Chicago grain market generally by the advance