New-York tribune., 1873-08-04
THE FARMERS WAR.
CHARGES AGAINST THE RAILROADS.

OPERATIVE PURCHASES.
IRON THE SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBusE'l
| KEwANEE. Henry Co., ILL.,. July 26-"We think
the leading railroads of this State besides charging
too high rates for the benefit Of the stockholders
are not managed as economically as they might be,
| and that there are rings connected with some of
! them which are increasing the cost of running the
roads for their own benefit said Mr.. Smith, the
chief manager of the Farmers Movement in this
State, continuing the conversation partially reported
in my last letter. 1T is generally hard to discover
just where the swndle s because when the officers of
road manage it so that the dividends regularly
the stockholders are not often very watchful over
| them. Sometimes however we get hold of fact.
Now here is the Burlington and Quincy road, which
has IN Kewanee patent shoot for coal. IL takes at
| this point forty tons day. The miner will sell me
coal at the bank for seven cents bushel-that is,
81 rs ton. He carts it mile and delivers it in the
railroad shoot for eleven cents bushel OF 81 IS a
ton He pays cent bushel OF 25 cents ton for
carting. This leaves 20 cents ton or $50 day on
| the amount delivered which the miner charges the
railroad company buying coal at wholesale in excess
of what he charges me, when buy by the single ton
Now there must be some cat under that meal. Again
met, recently, gentleman who is engaged in coal
| mining in Indiana. He told me that shaft had
been opened a few rods from of the branches of
this Burlington road, and, having agreed with the
| owner to take his coal at 81 25 o ton. he went
to the railroad company to for its transporta
tion. few miles further down the road was anotheB
| mine and he thought he ought to have rates SIM
| liar to those the company mining there bad. The
| general freight agent refused to supply him with
any cars at ALL suppose be pretended not to have
them. An investigation showed that at the old
mine the railroad company was paying 81 IS a ton
| for cOal-5O cents a ton more than it was worth
there-and there strong grounds for suspecting
that of the officers of the road interested
| in the mine.D
| RATES OF FREIGHT FIXED WITH REVERENCE TO
THE DIVIDENDS.
"The railroad managers say that while the fast
freight lines may conflict with the interests of the
stockholders of road they do MT injure the farm
ers. / contend that they do. The rates of freight
and fare are fixed with reference to the dividends
that it is desired to make. Anything, therefore,
that reduces the profits to the stockholders in-
creases the rates which the farmer has to pay. Sup
pose this Burlington road should actually make
only per cent this year, do MT You suppose
! they would raise their rates the nextf At the
same time the ring comprising some of the
| officers Of the road, may be making enough
on fast freight lines, palace carr lines
and other inside arrangements, to increase the diy
dends very greatly were the profits divided among
the stockholders. These are but few of the abuses
| of which we complain. On some of the roads there
are construction rings atd rings of various
kinds. All we ask is that the railroads shall be
honestly managed; that the rings shall be broken.
and then we are willing to pay for moving crops
such prices as will fairly remunerate the railroad
companies"
"Howdo you propose to bring about this reform ~
asked.
ave hold in the first place, that the Legislature
has right to control the railroads. It has right
to know just how much the service which they rem
der costs, and to enact that higher than certain
rates are extortiOnate. The act that was passed
really strikes only unjust determinations, and has
increased the burdens Of the farmers at all compel
ing points as well rs at many Others. Now hold
that lower rate at a competing point is not primd
acie evidence of unjust discrimination. But that is
what this law says"
Suppose the courts decide that your law fixing
maximum rates is unconstitutional" suggested
"Then we must change the Constitution. But
first, we want decision into which this question
shall enter. We object to the repeated quotation of
the Dartmouth College case, and desire to see this
question taken up by itself and disposed Of inde-
pendently If it is then decided that the railroad
companies superior to the people and the State,
that they are sovereign powers and that they have
the right, by raising reducing their rates at WILL
TO fix the price shall get for produce why then
we must resort to the last remedy. L think now
that have explained to you pretty fully our position
on the railroad question. Some enthusiastic men
indulge in denunciation of therailroads such and
make unwisc threats, but the great body OF farmers
are not unreasonable in their demands"
THE FARMS MORE HEAVILY TAXED THAN THE RAIL
ROADS.
Zone other thing in connection with this We
think that there has been unjust discrimination in
the matter of taxation. Mr.. Harris, General
Superintendent of the Burlington road, testified
before Legislative committee, last Winter, that the
road coast $4,000 mile. But they have only been
taxed on from two to five thousand dollars a mile
for road rolling depOts sde-track, and every
thing while the farmers have been taxed for nearly
the cash value of their property This we don't con-
slider fair"
Referring again to the low price Of Grain, | sug-
gested that the low price may be partially due to
over-production.
Mr.. Smith admitted that the amount of the crop
greatly affected the price of grain but said that
there another why the farmers got so lit
tie for theft crops-they constantly in need Of
money that they obliged to sell for what they
can get instead of fixing their own price. "Sup-
pose" he said, that each of grocers in town
should load up wagon every morning and send it
into the country with instructions to the driver to
sell it out for whatever it would fetch and bring
back corn don't you suppose groceries would be
cheap and corn hight Reverse the picture, and
you have the state of affairs actually existing.
The farmer must have tea and coffee and sugar He
loads up his wagon with corn and takes it to town.
The grocer says This tea cost me dollar pound;
will sell it to you for dollar and fifteen cents
the coffee cost me forty cents will sell it TO you
for ffty!' The farmer is obliged to take them at