The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-01-15
RailroadS,

| present, at least there is a healthy leelnS IN
the Constitutional Convention in favor of
placing wholesome restrictions upon our rail
roads. While it is pleasing to read such as
| surances, however, We do not forget that the
dispatches from Springfield were full of SINH
| lar assurances during the first week or two of
the session of the last legislature but it is
needless to recount how cruelty all hopes ex-
| cited by such reports were dashed. When
the truth came out, it appeared that the legis
lature had only assumed its belligerent atti
| tude to scare the railroads into bleeding more
freely. We hope dcvouty such is not the
case with the Convention.
Among the railroad abuses which the Con-
| stitutional Convention can leSitimatcly take
| in hand, Is the matter of unjust discrimina-
ton against localities and districts IN the
tariff Of treightS and fares. To give familiar
instance. Freights are always lower from La
Sale to Chicago, by either the ILL., Central or
Rock Island & Pacific, than from points on
either road nearer to Chicago We are told
that it is frequently the case that freight can
be brought from Chicago to Ottawa via Men
dota and La Sale cheaper than directly from
Chicago to Ottawa. But whether this is so
or not, cases Of discrimination vastly more
outrageous than this are common enough in
all directions. Thus in the war between the
leading roads from the east to the west, the
competition for the through freight has SO
largely reduced the rates of transportation
that the discrimination between local and
through ireights has grown enormous, and is
actually proving runious to all the smaller
tewns on the great routes Instances like the
following are given in Cincinnati paper be-
fore us;
Tar is shipped from Cincinnati to Chicago and
sent more than half way back, to LAFAYETTE. to
freight charges. Lebanon is a station on
the Ohio Il Missippi Railroad in Southern Illi-
nos, thirty miles from st. Louis. Stoves from
the Cincinnati foundries are largely sold there
The charge on stoves from Cincinnati to Leban-
on is ninety-seven cents per hundred, and from
Cincinnati to East st. Louis, thirty miles fur
ther, twenty-nine cents. The freight from East
st. Louis back to Lebanon is eighteen cents.
The shipper, discovering this phenomenon offers
to ship from St Louis by the Ohio t. Mississippi
Railroad, and back to Lebanon, saving fifty
cents per hundred, but this he is not allowed to
do. 1t happens though. that there is eompet-
ing road to East st. Louis-the indianapolis,
Terre Haute " Alton-and the stove founders
ship by that route to st. Louis charges to that
point the same as by the Ohio & Mississippi, and
thence by The Ohio 81 Mississippi to Lebanon,
saving the fifty cents at last. Bunker Hill is
Station on the Terre Haute & Alton road. The
charge per hundred pounds of freight, direct
from Cincinnati to Bunker Hill, fifty miles east
of ST. Leuis is one dollar and eight cents, while
all the way to East st. Louis it is twenty.nine
cents; and the charge from ST. Louis to Bunker
Hill is twenty-five cents. The charge on hun
dred pounds to East St. Louis and back to Bunk
er Hill is fifty.four cents, just half the charge
direct to Bunker Hill. The shipper from Gin.
st. Louis by the Ohio & Mississippi, and thence
back to Bunker Hill, at half the regular rate for
direct shipment.
Thousands of cases like these doubtless
could be gathered from all parts of the coun-
try. The purpose of these determinations is
obvious 1t is to break down opposing roads
by carrying through freight at losing prices
but to make up the loss by quadrupling
freight upon and therefore robbing way sta.
tons. The effect on towns by the way is ru-
nous. 1t is impossible to do business with
such Determinations in freights and fares IN
towns unblest with two roads midway be-
tween, say Chicago and Indianapolis, while
the merchants at the competing points have
such an enormous advantage in the matter of
freight charges The tendency of the system
is manifestly to build up the large cities to
the RUIN of the smaller, inland cities and
towns. The evil effects of this system, in its
larger range, cannot, perhaps, be reached by
legislation this side of congress, had it power
to interfere; but the Convention at Spring
field could at least insert such provision in
our state Constitution as should save our
smaller inland towns from the effects of such
unjust determinations. 1t is not good and
healthy policy for any state to crush its rural
cities and villages for the sake of building up
few great cities, which too often are but
ulcers upon thc,body polite.
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