Q. You had no report made to you by the representative of your road who was there?
A. No.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. To pool the entire earnings of the road?
A. No; the competitive business to avoid disagreements, and to put all the shippers on a perfect equality, and get a fair living compensation for doing the work to be done. Through excessive competition, very often business was done resulting in a loss to the companies. They did the work for a great deal less than cost, and in doing, that with certain kinds of traffic, they did violence and injustice to other people at other points. That was one of the troubles with the city of Pittsburgh—perhaps their chief trouble.
Q. The purpose of it was to secure uniformity of freights?
A. And compensation to everybody.
Q. To shippers, too?
A. To shippers. In the early part of last year, the through business of the company was done below actual cost to every road that did it. During the first six months of last year, not a farthing was made on through competitive freight by any line.
Q. Was that agreed upon at that meeting in Chicago?