Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1874-08-27
Railroad Extortion.
From the Winchester Home Journal.
EDITOR HOME JOURNAL:


ment and reform are exercising
the minds Of our people, and
whilst extortionate charges are
the subject of universal COM
plaint, there is one item to which
| will call the attention of the
community through the columns
of your paper. | alIude to
railroad freights.
The Nashville & Chattanoo-
ga and the Winchester & Ala
bama Railroad, (the latter of
which is | believe being run by
the Memphis & Charleston Rail-
road, are overcharging ON eve
ry single piece Of freight shipped
over these roads.
The charters Of these roads
restrict them to thirty-fve cents
(35 cents per 100 lbs. per 100
miles on heavy freights.
A few weeks ago [ paid the
agent of the w. d A. Railroad
one dollar and twenty cents for
shipping from Fayetteville TO
Decherd, a distance of about SO
miles, 400 Ibs. of -four, which is
80 cents per hundred pounds, or
about seventy-nine cents per
hundred miles, an excess of A
cents above the charter rate, the
excess itself being nine cents
more on the hundred pounds
than the rate fixed by law in the
charter contract between the
road and the State.
A very few days ago l paid
the Nashville & Chattanooga
road one dollar and seventy cts.
on 400 lbs. from Nashville to
Decherd, a distance Of 80 miles, |
which makes rate of about
(52 cents fifty-two cents on the
hundred pounds per hundred |
miles-an excess OF about TWEEN
ty-seven cents, and nearly e. |
nough to have paid the lawful |
charge.
For every yard of calico, cy- |
cry pound Of salt, sugar, coffee |
in short, for every article |
shipped over these roads the |
consumer is paying these taxes
Of eXtortion and violation; and |
this is SC whether lie ships tie
goods to himself or buys from
our merchants.
The percent. which the merch- |
ant charges on costs and car
ria9e for his goods is calculated,
OF course, upon these dishonest |
tariffs charged by railroads.
Every nan, woman and child !
in the community is taxed in
this way by railroads upon the
absolute necessaries Of life.
70 the merchant these things
make no difference Except as
TO the articles used and con-
sumed by himself.) as he gets
back these costs with his per
cent. On cost and carriage. ForI
every dollar he pays for freight
on his goods our railroads make
him, at the lowest estimate
twenty-five cent-that is, he
pays d dollar and receives a dol
lar and twenty-five cents, and
this is selling his goods at twen-
ty-fye per cent. on cost and
carriage. To be more explicit:
A merchant buys thousand
dollars worth Of goods in Nash
Vile, and ships them to Dech-
erd for retail. At that point he
must make the goods bring him
twelve hundred and fifty dol
lars-that is, they are worth
that to him over and above the
cost Of shipment. Suppose,
row, they cost him one hundred
dollars Of freightage, this will
make the cost OF goods, de-
Iivered at Decherd, eleven hun
lred dollars. Then he must I
have for the goods a little less
than fourteen hundred dollars.
One hundred dollars Of this is
the unlawful and prohibited
railroad charge, and twenty
five dollars is the per cent. on
that hundred dollars-remem- |.
bering, as we go along we sell
dom get goods at so small a
per cent. to our merchant, and
as per cent. to the merchant in
our taxes TO railroads in
crease in proportion.
Now, If we could make the
calculation Of the yearly drain
age upon our county by this
bleeding process, it would sure
ly run very largely up into the
thousands Of dollars which are
sunk into the pockets of Office
holders, and not of stock owners.
This question is: Shall these
things continue and We sub
nit? Just think Of it a mo-
ment: there can be no doubt,