The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-03-09
H. ~ 81 = - - 1,..-
ia CTS AND: FY(YEyPEa.ii

s=. IA C1Y AND Fro yREa q
7: EDITOR ADVANCE In your last il
sue an article appeared from Herse,
making an earnest if not truthful appeal
to vote against !. bonus to the SOutlieru
Minnesota Railroad. According tt
that article, we are called upon to in
crease our taxation next year 374 pei
cent to- simply. pay tile interest on
81, 900 ats7 per cent, which amounts
to s., 800. Now our total valuation ii
th's county, u ! have drawn the figures
correctly from the Auditors book, and
added them without mistake, is 1854
e92. Ten per cent. of that valuation
the law allows usto give to specified
rallroad company, so that if we voted
whaC Ile law allows, we should give
them $5G, 489, instead of which we give
them but $780, 900, or $16,4S0 less than
the law allows. And to illustrate tile
fallacy OF the 37} per cent. statement
we will take the figures of the County
treasurer to contradict it. He llas
been figuring rs to what the actual in.
crease will he under these conditions.
The man who thas spring paid $1,000 i'll
taxes will next spring (should we have
any Interest. to pay, without any
change i'll valuation OF property what.
ever, pay but $l1.5O or. $l1.75, instead
OF the $40. co.. Now if we can figure
correctly 81 per cent. of $1,000 is S.. IS.
which according to Hersey's statement
would make them pay $13.75, or 50. p
more than our Treasurer figures. But
as the conditions of our Treasurer's
figuring canno5 possibly occur next
spring, even his figures arc much too
high, for the reason that, three or four
weeks ago, there were on the Auditors
books fifteen thousand more acres of
land to he added to our real estate val.
uatiOn in this county, which were not
on the books at all when that man paid
Il ten dollar tax this spring, Much
more land has been added since that
time, and more is coming in nearly
every day, so that any one may see tot
himself that the man who this spring
paid ten dollars, will next spring of ne.
cessity pay less; and with the addition
al numbers to our population sure to
come if that railroad comes, that ten
dollar man, even were there interest to
pay next spring, would not, with the
addition of that interest, have any more
to pay than he did this. So much for
81 per cent. increase.
Again the gentleman from Hersey
denies that railroad competition makes
low rates of fare and freight, and cites
Omaha us a case where five trains star d
ready for the traveller to carry him to
Chicago, distant from 494 to 700 miles,
according to the route over which YOU
may choose to 80, and says that the
rate Of fare on all five of these roads is
just alike, $15. Now, if we are cor
rectly Informed, the State of Iowa al
lows railroads to charge four cents. a
mile. Now suppose there was but one
route from Oma la to Chicago, and that
the shortest one, then what would the
gentleman have to pay rs his fare?
-Four times 1911, according to our null
IMPLICATION table, produces 1876; OF, in
other words, the fare would be $19.76,
instead OF SIS, as now. And, again,
suppose there were none but the long
est route. 700 miles, and Our fare would
he SIS instead Of the present sum.
Our friend also asks why does the
Sioux City road carry wheat via Saint
Paul from Sioux City when there are
two better routes than 1t is to Chicago.
Why? Because it comes in competition
with other roads and carries for less
than those roads offer to carry for, ard
also because it wants the wheat of that
country for the mills of st. Paul and
Minneapolis, and the buyers of those
places come i'll competition with tie
buyers of Milwaukee and Chicago, and
the mill men will mostly pay i little
more for that wheat than the other
buyers will. But why is it, now, let
me ask in turn, that if we at Wortling-
ton want car from st. Paul we pay
for that car $50. and if the people at
Sioux City want Il car they pay but $40
for it? And why is it that if Il mer-
chant of LuVerne and q merchant
from Wortlington 80 to st. Paul for
goods together, and put those goods
in the car together at st. Paul, why
is it that the merchant from I.uVerne
pays 10 cents less per hundred on
those goods than does the merchant
from Worthington? I answer, COM
petition does it; for if the Sioux City
road did not do this all the freight
for LuVerne that now goes over their
road would then go by the Dakota
Southern and thence to Sioux City,
and find an outlet and market at
some other point. We shall vote TO-
nus and we shall advise all who have
the real interest of the community at
heart to 60 and do likewise.
r. r. PfOTrS