The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-08-06
WHO PAYS ,rIIE FRE1GMT.

WHO PANS THE FREIHHs'E:
The EMPoRIA News is engaged in
an effort to induce the railroad COM
panies to lower their freights to st.
Louis. We hope IL will be success
full. Nevertheless we would like to
see how THE News proves some of
its positions-for example, that eff
Lyon county, for instance, has lOO,-
600 bushels of wheat to sell reduc-
ton of six cents per bushel in freight
would save our farmers S6,OOO."
The st. Louis man says he will get
his wheat six cents cheaper, and
save the 5000 himself. Which Is
correct?
The News is correct, of course.
The grain shippers in EmpOria stand
ready to pay exactly the st. Louis
market prices, less their regular
commission and cost of freight. All
they want is their commission, and
il freight goes up or down the price
of wheat here goes mp or down ac-
cOrdingly.
Suppose the editor of the Herald
goes to St. Louis, and visits a mill
or grain house in that city, and
sees two loads of equally good
wheat brought to it for sale. One
load was raised only u few miles
from the mill, and the farmer hauls
it in himself paying neither for
railroad freight or shippers COM
mission. The other load was raised
in Kansas, 500 miles away, and il
has cost 20 cents per bushel for
freight and ten cents for shipper
commission, to get it to ST. Louis.
Both loads are of the same quality.
The st. Louis man pays the same
price for both loads, refusing 10
make any difference. lie does moi
care how much or how little the
freight or the commission was on
either load. 1t was nothing at al
on one load, and 30 cents per bush
el on the other, but he pays alike fol
both. Tho result is that while the
first farmer pockets the full St.Louii
price himself, the other one away of
in Kansas gets that price less the
cost of getting his grain taken there
Ii the price was Sl.25 per bushel il
st. Louis, and the freight and com
mission comes to 80 cents, he get
95 cents. Whatever-Ihe cost of get
ting the wheat TO the st. Louis mar
ket is, comes out of the farmer
pocket for the St. Louis marke
rules the Kaasas market. 1t is thu
farmer who pays the freight, and NJ
one needs low freights more thar
the farmer does.
AS TO the success of our effort
in getting the present exOrbitaD
freight rates reduced, the rates havt
come down SO per car on whea
since we opened the discussion, ant
whether the reduction is due to on
agitation of the subject We leav
others to say. That reduction take
three cents per bushel off the cost q
getting wheat from Emporia to 81
Louis, and advances the mark
ct price here that much, ant
il the farmers of Lyon count
haYe 100000 bushels of whes
to sell, they will get $4,000 more 70
il than if freight had not been re
dnced. If the freight is put dow
to where we ask, $45 per car, tn
total reduction will be $50 per ca
or cents per bnshel, and ever
bushel of wheat in Lyon count
will bring just that much mora
the farmers who have it to sell, tina
il would do if freight was kept u
to $75 per car,
The Herald adds:
THE News saws $I5 per car is
fair rate. Well, il that can be pro,
ed, repeal our present railroad law
the roads will be obliged to carr
the grain for that. We think lhi
the freights are too high and hoI
they will be lowered, and we b
lieve the best way is To repeal q
laws EuiatiuS ~ lGClBut anu pooSCl
ger tariffs. That would leave Il
old common law in force. Und
that law railroads arc common ca
riers, and are obliged to carry pas
engers aud freight for reasOnab
compensation. They cannot collie
anything more. When it comes
legislation the railroads beat u
Won't The NEWS look up the ia
freight and express business The
is room for reform there.
The entire press of the Sta
should sgitate this matter, and CT
upon the people this fall 10 elect
legislature that no railroad mo
ey or lawyers can inflnence, al
there should be at all points an u
relenting war upon high freigl
aud fares, aud especially upon d
Outrageous fast freight and e
press" charges, until the era of 10
freights and fares is permanently S
cured. TO tamcly submit TO IA
road, express and telegraph comp
NY extortiOns, is not the way
abolish the m.
The constitutional amendments
be voted upon at the NoYemb