New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-10-27

YOU see tho railroads OF this State earned little
less than one per cent on their first cost and you
| may apply that TO the interest their bonds, TO
the principal or to keeping up the roads in either
event the railroads of the State have to borrow a
good many millions of dollars year to meet their
obligations. There never has been a time when
the farmers of this State have not been more pros
porous than the railroads"
CoNvENIENCEs or THE ELEVATOR SYSTEM
What is the truth about the railroad wheat rings
| | asked. repeating to him what had heard in
regard to the operations of the Milwaukee road along
the line of the Sioux City road. He replied that
men speculated in wheat in this country they do
in stocks in NewYork. Sometimes man will see
a chance TO make some money IN buying wheat, and,
if he happens to be connected with railroad,
everybody accuses him of getting special rates or
drawbacks of receiving favors of some kind,
whether he does or not Again, if man or a set of
men, with million of dollars cash, undertake to
control the crop Of certain locality they will Of
course begin by running all the small buyers, and
when they have got them ont of the way they will
then make profit 1t is MT necessary for
railroad company to have anything to do with
the affair. Now the Milwaukee road don't
care much about the business we bring them-not
enough to make an effort to get it, they have about
all the business they want to do along their own
line. And wish to say word about our elevator
system, which is more of q blessing to the farmer
than to anybody else. These elevators are TO the
farmer what the bank is to the merchant. When
the farmer thrashes out his gran instead of building
crib in which to store it, in old times, he carts
IT directly TO the elevator and gets his ticket for 1t.
Now he can sell that ticket any day and get the
market price for his grain the day he sells or he
can sell it in Chicago, Milwaukee or New. York,
and get whatever it is worth there minus
the charges between the point of ship
ment and the point of sale. OF course,
the same grain is not delivered any more
than when man deposits money in bank here
and takes a draft on New-York, the same money
which he deposits is paid in New-York. But the
farmer, by this system has his grain anywhere in
the country he wants it, just the merchant through
bank has his money anywhere that he needs to use
it. Under the old system, when grain advanced sud
denly Ill price every farmer would begin to cart IL
to market, but he would be able to take advantage
of the market with but small portion of his crop
Now having once deposited it in the elevator, he
can sell the whole of it any day at any place. The
railroads own very few of the elevators, and az far
as this road is concerned, we ship the grain at the
same price for everybody"
RAILROAD DESIGNATIONS DEPENDED.
What have you to say about the determinations
of which the farmers complaint
" say that they perfectly right aud proper,
and that the result Of them is TO benefit the farmers
at the very points that have the highest rates You
probably know that the heaviest branch OF our
western-bound business is tho transportation OF
lumber to Sioux City. In this business we have the
advantage of all roads running west from points
further down the river and at a greater distance
from the lumber mills and fix equitable price for
the service There are never any empty cars on our
western-b bound trains But when we have unoaded
onr cars at Sioux City and look about for return
freight we find the principal thing offering to be
grain from Western Iowa and Nebraska bound for
Chicago. and we find two other roads there, the
Illinois Central and the Northwestern ready 10
take it, and their lines TO Chicago are considerably
shorter than ours. OF course they fix the rates.
When we take those rates and subtract from them
the part that the roads east of St. Paul will demand
for their share. find we have left bus $50 car
for bringing the grain 21O miles, which is less than
ten cents a bushel. 1t don't require any argument
to prove that since our will have TO come back
anyway and the grade is favorable so that il
costs very little, if any more. to bring them back
loaded than empty, il is better for rs to take the
grain offered even at that reduced price than to
leave IT, But when we get down a hundred miles
this side of Sioux City where there is no conpeti-
ton we charge $50 n car, or - cents bushel The
farmers at those points think they are greatly OPP
pressed, because bring grain from Sioux CITY
right past their doors, for 40 per cent less tnan
we charge them. But the fact is that should we
pnt the rate from Sioux City M cent we should
get no business and the shippers at these non
competing points would have 10 pay enough higher
rates than they pay now to make up for our loss of
the Sioux City business. II we were 70 pnt the local
rates down to those fixed by competition from Sioux
City, the road would very soon become bankrupt.
4. Il, ftftf
making enough profit to pay the interest on our
bonds We have to hire money for that"
THE ACT FIXING FREIGHT CHARGES.
Il find that none of the railroads of this State
are observing the act fixing rates of freight |
remarked " Have you made up any schedules nm
der it in order to see what its effect would be
Yes Sir: il is full Of absurdites and no railroad
could be operated under it, even If it's managers
were disposed to try it, In the first place, 1t takes
no account of the fact that II costs less 10 run
train down grade than mp it, or OF hundred other
circumstances that have 10 be considered in operating
a railroad. Take single case-the trade between
here and Sioux City, to which | have already re-
ferred. We charge 81 IS per carload for taking
lumber from here to Sioux City. By their law tho
rate is reduced about 80 per cent. We would be
glad to bring back grain at the price they TX
for carrying out lumber but they allow us to charge
more than twice as much. Now suppose we should
fix our rates according to this law: our income nom
western bound business would be reduced 80 per
cent our income from Sioux City grain would oe
wiped ont and we should be allowed to charge Tor
bringing grain from nOn-competing shipping points
along our line nearly twice "a much as We do now
The railroad company would lose money, the OuT-
dens of the farmers would be doubled, aud the luin
bermen alone would be benefited. ! shall say moth
ing of the composition of the committee that pre-
pared that law but if anybody were to infer that