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6 (Communicated.) ‘PLEADING THE BABY ACT,’ —OR- The Question of ‘Differentials.’ Editor Kennesaw Gazette: I was very much struck with the appropri ateness of your article in the last num ber of the Gazette, under the title of “Pleading the Baby Act,” and inas much as this evidently refers to the claim of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway Co. that the West ern & Atlantic Railroad Co., and the other owners of the Union Passenger Depot at Atlanta, should allow it a differential, because the East Tennes see, Virginia & Georgia Railway trains are not allowed to enter the Union Depot at Atlanta, it strikes me that a •few 7 thoughts might properly be laid before your readers in this connection, and with your permission, I will do this in the present and probably your next issue. The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway Co., as I understand it, has endeavored to make a great point with the public and with the railroad world in particular, that it is entitled to a differential, or, in other words, to charge a less rate from At lanta to various points, than the West ern & Atlantic, the Central and other roads whose trains enter the Union Depot at Atlanta. The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway Co. frankly admits that it is “at a disadvantage” in At lanta by reason of the fact that its trains do not enter the Union Depot. Let us look a little into the history of matters, and see what pretense for moral right they have for their claim for a differential. They certainly have no legal right. The State of Georgia several years ago by act of its Legislature gave the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad Co. permission to build a line from Rome, Ga., to Macon, Ga., and thereby connect the two portions of its system which are in the State of Georgia. The granting of this charter to the E. T., V. & G. R. R. Co. to build a railroad in direct competition to the State’s own railroad, which was one of the most magnificent pieces of proper ty in the South, was for the express purpose of securing for the people of Georgia competition. Promise was made by the E. T., V. & G. R. R. Co., seeking the charter, that their road should be run in such a manner as to not break down the State’s own property. The charter, as above said, was granted. The road was built from Rome to Macon, and on the 16th day of September, 1882, the people were notified that the E. T., V. G. R. R. Co. had a line open from Chattanooga to Brunswick, and asking the patron age of the public. Co-ordinately with this notification to the public, notice was sent to all the railroads south of Atlanta stating that the E. T., V. & G. R. R. wished all business for its stations or points reach ed via it north of Atlanta to be deliv ered to it at Atlanta and “not to the Western & Atlantic Railroad.” —Mark those words. Notice was also sent to the roads north of Chattanooga stating that the E. T., V. &G. R. K. Co. desired all business for points on its line south of Atlanta delivered to it at Chattanooga, and “not to the Western & Atlantic Railroad.” At about the same time, the E. T., V. &G. R. R, Co. withdrew from sale forms of tickets which they had been using for years, whereby a pas senger in Knoxville, for instance, could buy a ticket reading over the E. T., V. & G. R. R. to Dalton and over the W. & A. R. R. from Dalton to Atlanta. They thereby excluded from the people of Knoxville and other points on their line the privilege of traveling over the W. & A. R. R. in competition to their own line, even though the passenger might ever so much desire it. The only means for the accomplish ment of his wish which was left to the passenger was to buy a local ticket to Dalton and then buy a ticket reading over the W. & A. R. R. and take the trouble also to have his baggage re checked at Dalton. The same state of affairs was brought about at all stations in Georgia. This was competition with a ven geance, was’nt it ? This was carrying out its promises and pledges t<> the Legislature and to the people ot Geor gia. This was another most practical exhibition of the fact that however beautiful the tiger’s skin may have been yet there was a claw hidden un der it which would rend as soon as the tiger obtained an opportunity for do ing so. The same course was adopted by the E. T., V. & G. R. R. Co. against the Central Railroad; and having thus hedged in their own posessions and shut and barred the gates of them against the Western & Atlantic Rail road —having, in other words, built as it were a Chinese wall around every thing which it possessed so as to pre vent the passengers or freight which were in its power from going over the Western & Atlantic Railroad, it then put on a look and raised a cry of self assumed injured innocence against the Western A Atlantic, and the other lines owning the Union Depot at At lanta, who refused to surrender to them equal enjoyment of their termin al facilities in the Union Depot. The Western & Atlantic Railroad Co., by the way, for over a year did allow the E. T., V. A G. R. R. Co. the use of its freight terminals in At lanta on payment of 82.00 per car, switch charge; but finding that the rates were being cut, and that its own terminals were being used for the purpose of breaking down its business, it withdrew this privilege from the E. T., V. & G. R. R. Co. The act which brought this privilege directly to a termination by the West ern A Atlantic, was the practical re fusal of the E. T., V. A G. R. R. Co. to reciprocate this courtesy and divide the use of its terminals with the Western & Atlantic. The Atlanta water works needed 1,000 tons of coal. The nearest point of delivery was on the line of the E. T., V. & G. R. R., just outside the city of Atlanta. The W. A A. asked the E. T., V. & G. what would be their switch charge out to that point if the W. A A. brought the coal to Atlanta. The reply was: “Fifty cents per ton.” The W. A A. answered: “But we charge you only 10 cents per ton for the use of our ter minals, and we don’t think this is ex actly fair.” The E. T., V. A G. re plied that 50 cents Was their rate and that was the best they would do. The W. A A. then passed an order excluding the E. T., V. A G. from the use of a portion of the W. A A. side-tracks in Atlanta. Subsequently the order was made absolute as to ail of their side-tracks. The E. T., V. A G. then had the W. A A. summoned before the Rail road Commission of Georgia and de manded that the latter company be compelled to open the use of their ter minals to the E. T., V. A G. THE KENNESAW GAZETTE. After hearing very full argument on both sides, the Railroad Commission decided in effect that the W. A A. owned its terminals and that the E. T., V. A G. had as much right to demand the use of the W. & A. Railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta as it had to de mand the use of its terminal facilities in Atlanta. The demand of the E. T., V. A G. R. R. Co., in this case, would find its parallel if a merchant in a poor build ing in the outskirts of Atlanta should demand of one who owned a magnifi cent building in the heart of the city the use of a portion of it on the pay ment of rent. Being refused he would say: “I have not the means; or 1 have not the inclination to purchase an expensive building in this locality ; but it is very illiberal and narrow minded in you to shut me out in this manner and prevent the people from having the benefits of competition.” “That’s very pretty talk,” the other would reply, “but if you wish to give the public the benefit of fair competi tion, do like I did —buy you a lot right near here and build thereon as fine and well located a house as mine.” “Oh, no, that is a very unreasona ble requirement on your part,” the E. T., V. A G. prototype would reply, “you ought to be made to divide the use of yours with me.” Os course, there was earnest remon strance against this action of the W. A A. There was more than that. There were threats of retaliation, and notice was given that if the W A A. R. R. Co. did not recede from its po sition the E. T., V. A G. R. R. Co. would establish free delivery of freights in Atlanta. Os course, if the Western A Atlan tic had receded, the E. T., V. A G. would not have established free delivery in Atlanta. Therefore, the great credit which that company claims for taking this step is not entitled to respectful consideration. It was forced to do so by the action of the Western A Atlan tic, which considered that it was wil ling to make free delivery of such freights as it could not deliver on its own side-tracks and other terminals in Atlanta if the E. T., V. A G. would do likewise. The people of Atlanta, therefore, are indebted to the Western A Atlantic Railroad Co. for the free delivery of freights. Bullying never was, by the way, a successful game to attempt to play upon the Western A Atlantic. The next step of the E. T., V. A G. R. R. Co. was to give notice to its connections northward and southward that they could not sell tickets read ing over the E. T., V. A G. R. R. to junction with the W. A A., thence over the W. A A. Another fine exemplification of the sincerity of their pledge that the peo ple should have competition! Your readers are, most of them, aware of the general circumstances of the passenger war of rates between the two companies last fall; hence, I will not take your space in more than mak ing this reference to that. Now, let us come immediately to the consideration of the question as to the validity of the E. T., V. A G. Ry. Co’s, claim for a differential on ac count of not being in the Union Depot in Atlanta. Its claim for differential is made, bear in mind, after it has shown to the world that it has excluded the West ern A Atlantic Railroad from every thing like equality on business origi nating on its own lines. It advertises to the world its self-styled advantages, which it claims are “unrivalled and unapproachable,” and with the same mouth that blows this tremendous bu gle blast to the traveling public, it querulously complains that it has not equal advantages with the Western A' At lantic Railroad at Atlanta, and, there fore, it must be allowed a differential rate in order to compensate for its disa bilities. Well, it is a poor rule that don’t work both ways, and the American people are characteristic for their give and-take ideas, and for their belief that fair play should always exist. The E. T., V. A G. Ry., if it pres ses its claim for a differential, should be willing to “eat soup out of its own spoon,” in other words, if it “labors under a disability” as compared with the W. A A. R. R., at Atlanta, then it should be willing to concede a differ ential to the IE A* A. R. R. at points where the lattei is at a disadvantage, or labors under “a disability,'’ and not only should this be the case as considered in its dealings with the W. A A., but it should also be the case as considered in its dealings with all of its other com petitors; and if the E. T., V. A G. Ry. must be allowed a differential wherever it is at a disadvantage, then the Louisville A Nashville Railroad Co. must enjoy the same privilege; so must the Central Railroad of Georgia, and so must every other railroad in this territory. The E. T., V. A G. Ry. Co. claims that the question of Atlanta rates should be submitted to arbitration, and that, as arbitration is the fairest way to set tle disputed questions, this method should be adopted to determine how much differential, if any, should be al lowed it at Atlanta to compensate for its confessed disabilities. The W. A A. R. R. Co. claims, and very justly so, that the arbitration of Atlanta rates is not in order until ar bitration is had upon the main question of allowing differentials where lines are at a disadvantage with one another respect ively —in other words, it will strike any reasonable man that it would be improper for arbitration to be held on the Atlanta rates and a differential, for instance, be allowed the E. T., V. A G. Ry. Co. to compensate for its dis advantages as contrasted with the W. A A., and that the W. A A. should then wait for arbitration to be held at some subsequent time to equalize the E. T., V., A G.’s advantages over it at other points. It is frankly conceded by the W. A A. people that there are other points where their line is at a disadvantage as compared with the E. T., V. A G.; but I will only here remark that at such points it has in a manly manner worked hard and endeavored on the merits of its line to secure business, instead of crying like a baby, or threat ening like a spoiled child to ruin every thing around it if it was not humored in its whim. The claim for differentials, as is clear ly indicated, is one to equalize disad vantages. Now, there are several kinds of dis advantages. One is the disadvantage in terminal facilities; another is that caused by the fact that one line is ap preciably longer than another; again, we may mention the disadvantage which a newly built road labors under as compared with one which has been constructed for 40 years or more, and whose road-bed and iron bridges make it safer for passengers to travel over than the new road. Another disad vantage, probably, would exist when one road had finer engines, finer cars, and more experienced corps of em ployes than the other. Another dis advantage would be suffered by one line which had no through cars be tween two points where its competitor did have; and so we might go on ex tending the list. The E. T., V. A G. Ry. Co. bases