The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-01-08
RAILROAD FREIGHTS.
ACTION OF THE STEPHENSON C0UN-
TY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Call for a District Mass Meeting.

= The Stephenson county Ull.) agricultural socie-
" held its annual meeting on the S0th nit. The
following resolutions were adopted:
81 Resolred, That the present high freishts on
all produce sent to Chicago and other eastern
MAJ ets and goods purchased there and sent
into the country, is destructive of the best in
terest of both the people in the country and the
business men in the cities, and that they should
cooperate in every manner to obtain a speedy
reduction in frcights and in breaking up the great
monopoles at present existing in the carving
trad of the northwest.
80. Resolced, That it is proper that right un-
derStan0ing should exist between the people of
the country and the business men OF the cities
And inasmuch the business men of the lead
ing cities of the northwest have not, to our
knowledge, taken any action upon the subject of
tn exorbitatn rates of OF freight charged by our
railroad companies, We earnestly call upon them
to cooperate with the farmers in procuring a
speedy reduction of the freights now charged upon
the products of the country.
80 Resolved That il is the duty of the farmers
and business men of the northwest to encourage
trade with those cities which shall take the ear
Hest and most efficient measures to secure a
duction of the freights upon produce, by giving
such cities preference market for the pro-
duce of the country.
a Resoired That the citizens of the third
congressional district of the state of Illinois be
requested TO meet in mass meeting at Freeport,
on the 18th day of January next, to take ints
con- Iteration the subject mentioned in the fore
going resolutions.
- Resolved That this meeting appoint a COM
mittee of one from each town i'll this county to
make the necessary arrangements for such mass
meeting
Col. r. J. Turner, III support of the foregoing
resolutions, said he regretted that he had been
constantly occupied in court since his attention
was called to the fact that this society would
take action upon the subject of exorbitant
freights at its present meeting as he intended to
exhibit some startling facts with reference 10
what it cost to get our produce to market and
our supplies from the eastern markets
We give II portion of Col. It's speech, as repor-
ted in the Freeport Journal:
'ln 1861 the classified rates of freight on the
Racine aud Mississippi railroad were Soc Csc
gle. and lie in 1864 they were 45c, S5c. soc
and l5c; in S65 they were 55c 45c 4Oc and
SOC; or, Ill other words, from 1861 to 1864,
freights advanced about IS per cent from 1864
to 1865 about % per cent The pretext for rails
ing treightS between 1861 and 1864 was the ad-
vance in the price of gold; yet since 1864 gold
has gone down from 2S5 to l45 OF about l4O per
cent. while treights have risen % per cent. In
1861, when gold was little above par oats in
Freeport were worth from 40 to 90 cents per
bushei; now, with gold at l45, oats are worth
III Freeport from 10 to l 8 cents per bushel, and
owing, in great measure, TO the exorbitant
ireghts charged III getting them to market n y
But not TO dwell upon the enormity of compel
ing the people to give one bushel of oats to car
ry another bushel to Chicago, let lis see why it is
that freights are SO bIgh, perhaps it can be sta
ted III a single sentence. Consultations and
combinations have established d railroad monop-
oily which not only dictates the price Of freicbts
but controls the legislation of our states and to
some extent muzzes the press OF the country
Must the people submit to gigantic a wrong
Are the railroad companies so completely the
masters of the situation that there is no remedy
Tor the evil? They not, and the people
should not submit. There are three ways by
which the power of the people can be made to
tell upon the monopoly. First, no man should be
supported for any Office, high or low, who is not
known TO be opposed TO the monopoly, and
whose character is not a guaranty against the
seductive power of money. Let it be understood
that no man who favors such monopolies can be
elected TO Office, and our Legislators will soon
learn TO respect the people but there is another
way more potent still, and that is to seek out and
improve the channels which point to St. Louis
and the south. Already ST. Louis is stretching
out her arms to US, and inviting our farmers to
send their produce to her market. She i, erect
ing elevators along her wharyes, SO that she can
hcatle our grain in bulk. She is covering the
Mississippi with her steamboats, and she is inyit.
.tg trade from every stream that is large enough
to float barrel of -four. Are Chicago and Mil
waukee ard the other cities of the east blind to
what Is gong on all along the Mississippi river
TO divert trade to the south Slavery is dead
the great barrier which has stood between VA
and the gulf, making US two people, has been
removed, So that our commerce can 20 "unvexed