The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1874-05-27
RAILROAD FREIGHTS-LET-
TER OH T. cox

On our first page will be found a
letter written by a well known citi-
zen Of Louisville, Blount county,
East Tennessee, now a prominent
commission merchant in Atlanta, G a.,
to the people of East Tennessee.
1t is true that the letter was writ
ten nearly year ago, and may, on
this account seem rather out Of date.
But the facts set forth in it were
true then, and Of very great inter
est to the people OF East Tennessee.
They are none the less true now.
and Of no less interest to the people.
Read the letter farmers, and see
how your money goes! And then
reflect, and see to whom it goes. For
instance: Grain per 100 pounds
from Knoxville to Atlanta (2l0
miles,) So cents.
Grain per 100 pounds from St.
Louis to Atlanta goo miles, 46 cents.
In other words, while an East
Tennesseean pays 20 centsper bushel
to have his wheat freighted 21O
miles, a Missourian pays 81 cents to
have his freighted the same distance,
and partly over the same line, "a
difference of only III cents per
bushel in favor of the western man.
The same discrimination, it seems,
is made on all the other staple pro-
ducts of the country. Freights from
New York and Baltimore seem to be
carried, and right over our Tennes-
see roads, at even less rates than
from ST. Louis.
Now count a little, and see what
all this amounts to. There is ship
ped from a single county in East
Tennessee, say 100000 bushels
grain in one year. IF this were
shipped ct the same rates the Mis-
sourian's grain gees for, it would be
a saving Of only $1B,50o to. that
county. Now, remembering tBat
there are thirty-one counties in East
Tennessee, and that the single item
of grain makes for one county such
n showing as this, what will it all
grain, -four, bacon, fruit, hay, butter,
eggs, and all, amount to? Just to
this The people ofEast Tennessee
loose annually hundreds of thous-
Hnds of dollars, paid out in Excess
sive freight charges.
The question naturally arises lis it
necessary that these high freights
should be charged? We think not,
and for several reasons. The roads
from the Northwest to the South do
not charge half the rates charged by
our roads. Still they live and pros
per. The roads leading from the
South to the eastern cities do not
charge half the rates you pay; and
Still they live, and move right on.
In short, no road with whose tariffs
we are acquainted, charges more
than half the rates charged to East
Tennesscans, = still all the roads
keep up and keep going.
These enormous rates are kept up
by these roads, just because they
have the power to fix their rates, and
because the people have tamely sub
mitted and not because they are
necessary to sustain the roads.
The surplus thus wrung from the
farmers Of East Tennessee goes,
possibly, into the dead head fund,
and enables the road to be liberal
to the whole dead head fraternity.
including legislators, editors and all.
But to whom? 1t is we'll known
that the bnlk of the stock in the
East Tennessee road, is out Of first
hands. The men who advanced the
money out of their hard earnings to
10 build the roads are not now the
owners Of it. The stock is mainly
in the hands of few, who paid for
it about an average OF % cents on
the dollar.
That stock is now generally pay
ing a dividend of per cent per an.