A Railroad Rate Cut Redrew the Northwest's Trade Map

The receivers of the Northern Pacific railroad yesterday announced a new freight tariff to take effect today, which, if maintained, will almost if not entirely shut out St. Paul and the other Eastern cities from the markets of Eastern Washington and Idaho, and will hand over the trade of that section to Seattle and the other Puget Sound cities to the exclusion, also, of San Francisco. This change seems to have been made with a view to making the ports of Washington the supply points for the interior territory, which is naturally tributary, not only as regards home products, but for all kinds of commodities brought in by sea, instead of as now having goods shipped from the East through to the Sound, thence to be reshipped to the interior. This system has handicapped Seattle merchants with a double freight for a double haul between the Sound cities and the point of consumption, and has given St. Paul, Minneapolis and Chicago a corresponding advantage. The receivers now seem to have adopted an entirely new policy, namely, that of encouraging the shipment of products to seaport towns by sea for distribution in the interior by rail. The provisions of the new tariff are summarized in the following extract from a letter sent out yesterday to shippers by General Agent Nadeau, of this city:

"Effective tomorrow, April 10, the maximum class and commodity rates from Seattle to Spokane, Coulee City, Wash., Mullan, Burke, Coeur d'Alene City, Genesee, Juliaetta, Idaho, and intermediate points; also to all points on the Washington Columbia River railroad will be one-third of class and commodity rates shown in tariff No. 3,016, as applying from St. Paul, Minneapolis and Minnesota transfers to Spokane, Wash., Mullan, Idaho, etc."

The letter then gave the maximum class rates in a table, the figures representing cents per 100 pounds. An idea of the extent of the reduction can be formed from the fact that the former class rates from St. Paul to the points named were only about 30 per cent higher than those from North Pacific coast terminals, while the reduction in commodity rates was even greater. Not only did the Northern Pacific thus give Seattle the advantage over St. Paul and Eastern points, but by a system of arbitraries it protected this and other North Pacific coast terminals from the competition of San Francisco, which was affected by the low through rates of the Southern Pacific and the low steamer rates caused by the present rate war. The new tariff contained the following provision:

"Maximum rates from San Francisco via Tacoma, in connection with the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, will be arrived at by adding the following arbitraries to the rates from Tacoma to the Western classification: Class No. 1, 40 cents per 100 pounds; 2, 35; 3, 25; 4, 20; 5, 15; A, 20; B, 30; C, 15; D, 15; E, 15."

These arbitraries gave Seattle an advantage over San Francisco equal to their amount. Mr. Nadeau had received no information yesterday of the purpose of this reduction, but it seemed to be apparent on the face of it.