The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-10-02
Cheap Freights and the Results

The dispatches to-day announce that
an effort is being made in New York by
the leading trunk lines OF railroads to
arrive at an 'amicaole agreement on
freight rates to the West. While COM
binations to force exorbitant rates upon
the business community are on general
principles to be discouraged, there can
be no doubt that a reasonable rate on
freights TO Western points would be Of
great benefit to the business of every
city OF Importance. There is probably no
one thing, aside, perhaps, from the uni.
Versal depression throughout the coun-
Try, that is now injuring the business of
every large city of the West and North
west so much and SO fatally as the
present. freight rates..
Nine-tenths of the business men OF the
country, with that short-sightedness pc
Guliar to human nature when self inter-
Psts clash with community interests,
make it point in all their transactions
with the railroads to bring to bear every
force at their command to secure low
rates. Their freight is peddled out Oh
Change or from company to company
until theavery lowest of cut rates are
obtained.
Transportation companies are thus not
Bnly encouraged, but almost forced to
make low rates to and from the East,
and the result is that not only are the
paitrnada of tho onuntry hooop,;no, h,,,I,
rupt in rapid succession, but the jobbing
business of every Western city is being
Sariously il not fatally injured.
10 the observing everywhere this
must, when given a moments thought,
become evident; to the practical busi-
ness man of the Western city who sees
his jobbing and manufacturing trade
falling off by this means, the Iactis pain
fully visible.
The railroad lines which give through
rates at such low figures, low even be-
Yond the actual cost OF transportation,
must make up in part at least on local
rates, and the result is that buyers
hundred or few hundred miles west or
south of this, can buy their goods in New
York and have them shipped at the
present low s'through rates." to their
homes cheaper than to buy iu Cincinnati
md pay "local rates" for the much
shorter distance.
This is a matter OF general complaint
among wholesale men Of Chicago and
BIT. Louis, and to considerable extent
with those Of Cincinnati and with the
pther inland cities placed in similar
itnation, the result must be the same.
One of the New York lines connecting
with this and other Western cities re-
gently made "year contracts with pro-
lection" with nearly all the heavy ship
pers for the transportation of goods
from tidewater at remarkably low fig
ure, and by the "proteotion" clause
guaranteed to give rates as much lower
rs any other road would offer.
The result was that the other lines.
virtually beaten out of this New York
and Boston trade, proceeded to bear the
market for Eastern treights, offering to
sarry at much lower figure and thus
forcing the contracting line down ac-
eording to the, terms Of its protection
contract, till freights from the points
named are, 1t is stated, being carried to
Ihis city st from IL TO Is cents per hum
dred and in some cases even lower.
A freightline west from New York, a
few days since, made time contract
with the house Of A. T. stewart& Co.,
for.transportation of goods from New
York to Chicago, at IT cents per hum
dred, about the same figure, according
TO ihe distance, as that being received
for.carrying to this city, or figured down
TO a nicety, a little less than SO cents |
per ton, pertmile, or over 3mills per ton,
per mile, less than the actual cost of
transportation on the New York Gen.
tral. whose facilities for CARVING J