Chapters on the History of the Southern PacificDaggett, Stuart
History
Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific
Daggett, Stuart
Pacific railroads -- History; Railroads -- California -- History; Southern Pacific Company
Exhibit No. 1 in the case in question referred to class rates in
the San Joaquin Valley. It appeared that class rates between San
Francisco, San José, Port Costa, Stockton, Sacramento, Marysville, and
intermediate points to Los Angeles, were 60 cents per hundred pounds
first-class, and corresponding sums less for the lower classes. These
rates were shown to be controlled by the class rate of the Pacific
Coast Steamship Company, which quoted a through first-class rate of 52
cents, including wharfage and handling, between San Francisco and Los
Angeles via San Pedro. On all-rail shipments down the valley, as well
as on shipments over the coast rail route, however, water competition
was not effective. The rate from San Francisco to Simi, 429 miles from
San Francisco, was therefore 80 cents, and that to Acton, 415 miles
from San Francisco, was 83 cents, although shipments from San Francisco
to Los Angeles passed through Simi and Acton on their way to Los
Angeles over the coast and San Joaquin Valley routes, respectively.
A condition similar to that at Los Angeles and at points in the San
Joaquin Valley was developed in connection with shipments from San
Francisco to Stockton. The diagram on page 266 will show the relative
position of these two towns as well as that of an intermediate place
named Banta.
The distance between San Francisco and Stockton was 91 miles, and
the first-class rate was 10 cents per hundred pounds. This rate
was identical with the rate charged by boat lines operating on San
Francisco Bay, and on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. But
although these boats touched at some intermediate points, their
competition was not everywhere effective; so that the first-class rate
from San Francisco to Banta, 74 miles, could be and was 17 cents,
although freight from San Francisco passed through Banta on its way to
Stockton.
Other Instances
Still another illustration of the influence of water competition upon
local rates in California may be drawn from the territory immediately
north of San Francisco Bay. The towns involved in this adjustment were
San Francisco, Sebastopol, and Santa Rosa, as shown in the diagram on
page 268. The first-class rate from San Francisco to Sebastopol on the
Northwestern Pacific was 23 cents. This rate was shown to be limited by
the competition of a rail and water line, including a steamship haul
from San Francisco to Petaluma and a haul over an electric railway
from Petaluma to Sebastopol. The distance from San Francisco to
Sebastopol over the Northwestern Pacific was 58.5 miles. The distances
from San Francisco to the towns of Kenilworth and Santa Rosa, on the
same railroad, were 45.7 and 52.5 miles, respectively. Shipments to
Sebastopol passed through these places, but because neither enjoyed
the advantage of an alternative route, the first-class rate to Santa
Rosa was 25 cents and that to Kenilworth 28 cents—materially more than
was charged for the longer haul to Sebastopol.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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