Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-03-19
RAILROADS AID SHIPPERS.
The Great Question at Issue
Between Them.

Freight Discrimination and Their
Effects On Home fnteresfs-A Com
Par1son Of the Tariffs New in Force.
To the Union and American:
Will you allow me the use Of your col
umns to notice, as briefly as 1 can, a most
strange proposition in tie report Of Judge
Gardenhire, chairman Of the House Judiei-
airy COMMITTEES, upon what is known as
Judge East's railroad bill, to prevent rail
roads in Tennessee from inia-iously dis
eliminating against each other and against
shippers, which passed the House today?
l will not undertake to follow the Judge
through his long, labOred and in many re-
spects able report, merely remarking that
there are many other good lawyers who
| dltleT from BIN on some of the legal points
raised; and, further, that none Of US who
are trying to secure the enactment Of some
law by which railroads are to be governed,
desire to see the roads crippled, nor do we
desire to see the taxable Jdlue of such roads
/ decreased; on the contrary, the friends of
equal and fair rates Of transportation be-
lieve that, under a different system Of
charges, the railroads will do well, while
the country through which they run will
4
The proposition allude to is in that
part Of the report which treats or criticises
| the second section. l find this sentence:
"In reality, it makes no difference to our
| people whether the through rates are high
or low; they concern only those who ship
/ through freight" The latter part Of this
sentence is italicised in the report. This
is certainly strange proposition, and how
/ nj h.. al
/ should so misapprehend the real state Of
the case, L do not understand. Let US look
| into the facts Of the case in regard to the
actual working Of the present system, and
see whether tour people, or none but
| through shippers are interested. Our State
is all agricultural State, or it is nothing;
sour people" are an agricultural people, or
they are nothing. It is to the agricultural
| development Of the State that we all,
whether merchants, mechanics or profess
sional men, must look for our prosperity.
| No man can deny this. Then, that policy,
whether State, county or railroad, which
initiates against the prosperity Of the agri-
calturist certainly Injuries sour people,"
and all are interested in that policy, aud it
makes a difference to them whether it
be favorable or unfavOrable.
| Tennessee, being an agricultural State,
the greater potion Of her population being
engaged in that pursuit, was induced years
| ago, to embark in railroad building by in
/ diyidual, municipal and county subscrip-
| tiOns, and by the State lOaning its credit to
roads, issuing millions upon millions Of
bonds to aid such enterprises, and the peO-
pie Of municipalities and counties freely
voting upon themselves heavy taxes for the
same purpose. And for what was all this
done? Was it not because railroad men
made the people believe that ours was a
| great State, rich in agricultural aud mine
raj resources, which only needed develop
inc, and which could only be developed BY
railroads; that by these means our PRO
| ducts, especially grain, could be a. once
and cheaply sent 20 the cotton growing sec
tiOns south Of Us; and that, owing 10 our
geographical uearnes5 to those sections, we
could have immense advantages over our
more nOTtheTly OF westernly competitors?
"Our people were made 70 believe that if
they would bear these heavy burthens in
the way Of taxation, they would be pro-
tected by the roads in the enjoyment of
the full advantages Of their geographical
position.
The principle agricultural products Of
| Tennessee are wheat, oats and corn; and,
while we raise cotton and tobacco in some
particular localities, still the great body Of
our farmers depend upon their grain and
It's products to support .heir families aud
| procure them means for al the necesSaTies
or Injuries they get.
Now let us see if the policy at present
| pursued by our railroads is doing for the
people what was promised; and are such
roads and their management acting in bad
faith and discriminating against home
| folks and home products? To settle this
| question / give a comparison Of the rates
HOlg charged on grain from Nashville South
| 10 a few points on each of our Southern
! outlets, as compared with the rates charged
| By the same roads on grain coming from
/ s.. Louis and going to the same points, re-
| marking that the rule holds good as to all
! grain coming to Nashville from St. Louis
/ or beyond, from Carlo or beyond, from
! JOhnsOnville, if brought by steamers from
/ beyond, and from Louisville or beyond
| there, though there are some slight varia-
/ tiOns in the figures; and, further remarking
| that the figures heretofore published, show
/ ing determinations, were at the time cor
! rect, and are still correct, except in so far as
| the railroads have modified them. Now for
/ the comparison:
/. The Nashville, Chattanooga and st.
Louis road charges on Tennessee raised
gram 70 Atlanta ..-.....-....--.-.-.-. SOC
on foreign grain brought through from
st. Louis. ....-...s....... - &c
St. Louis grain carried from Nashville TO
Atlanta cheaper than home product
l1kc per To- lbs, or 4f-l0O cents Per
bushel.
?. Prom Nashville to Macon, home grain. &c
From Nashville % Macon, st. Louis
gran.''.-...''''..''...'. Sc
Difference against Tennessee grain......ISKc
or Z 5G-l0J cents per bushel.
3. From Nashville to West Point, home
From Nashville to West Point, ST. Louis
grain. ........-.-.-.......--.. -'ozJse
Difference against the Tennessee pro
ducJ....-.-. ..s...--......s.- -...sss-...I4'9e
or 1900 cents per bushel.
4. From Nashville to Montgomery, by the
Louisville, Nashville and Great South
eru road, home grain. SIC
From Nashville TO Montgomery, st.
Louis grain. ........-....-............. zJc
Difference against us.................... IOc
or 8 6-I0c per bushel.
5. From Nashville 70 Opelika, Ala, via
same route, home grain............s... 41c
On st. Louis grain, same route.......... SIC
Same difference Is abOye................ 1Oc
Now, these figures are believed to be alb
solutely correct. If there be any errors,
they are very small ones. Take the fore
going comparison, and does it not show
that, as these roads, by assisting to carry
grain from here to the different points
named, which grain is raised outside Of the
State, from , to Sc cheaper than they will
transport our own home grain, the Tennes-
see grain must be depressed in value ex-
actly in proportion to the discrimination in
freights against our shippers? Yet it is |
pretended that there is no discrimination. !
And Just here I will notice one Of Col. |
Coles positions, by which lie attempts 20 |
show that Tennessee farmers are nearer the |
market by the figures than Illinois farmers. !
We will take q farmer in the centre of the |
upper Cumberland corn region, with Gaines |
bOro as the starting point, and Macon, Ga, !
as the destination:
From GainesbOro to Nashville by
boat. ..........-.--.......... l2Kc per 100 |
Transfer at Nashville........... sc =" Z"
Freight 70 West P0int........... a " A"
From Gainsboro to West Point. exc q"
From Mt Vernon, Indiana, to
JohnSOnville, by packet....... &C "
Transfer at ,IOhusOnyilie. ....... c Z"
From JOhnsOnville to Macon. soc
Difference IN favor Of Indiana. l2kc "
Now, here you see that the Indiana /
tanners grain costs him 100 cents less to /
get it from 8It. Vernon 10 Macon, than it /
does the jackson county farmer to get his |
from Gainesb0rO to the same point; there