Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1876-10-28

laNoIS NotulHS Dut eAtOfllOn, OueI-
ing premium to Western producers
and manufacturers to glut our nat
ural markets to the absolute exclu-
sion OF all home competition. These
are facts that any merchant on the
line between Baltimore and Wheeling
can easily demonstrate, and one of the
very worst features of the case is that
the influence of this overgrown mo-
nopoly has become so powerful that
the newspapers are afraid to take up
the pen against it in the rights of the
humble citizens. Daily we see thous-
ands and hundreds of thousands of
feet OF lumber going TIN ough to Baltl-
more from the Western States, while
all our mills are stopped. Our lands
are deprecated and rendered unsala-
BILE because emigrants will not buv
lands and improve farms in a region
where they are practically excluded
from shipping to and competing in
the Baltimore market with a single
article Of home production. Some
will say we havo no surplus to ship.
But why let us ask, is there no sur
plus Have we not millions of acres
of wheat lands that will produce an
average yield per acre equal to if not
exceeding that of any Western State ?
This fact has repeatedly been proven,
but the whole secret lies Just here
While the rates of freight from Oak
land to Baltimore are 80 cts pei 100
lbs. they are only II cts. from Chicago
or Cincinnati to Baltimore, which re-
duced to bushels would show the fol-
lowing monstrous difference: From
Chicago to Baltimore the rate per bush
ell on wheat, potatoes, or any other
bushel of 56 lbs. would be only 8!
cents while from Oakland to Balti-
more it is 46 cents per bushel and so
on with everything else While in
the lumber business ourselves we have
repeatedly paid $50 and S85 per car
on lumber to Baltimore and the result
was we We're undersold by lumber from
Indiana and Illinois which had been
shipped all the way through for $40
per car. The same discrimination is
made on goods received here from the
East or West; for instance in groceries
from Baltimore the freight is tour
times as high to Oakland as it is to
Chicago or Cincinnati and vice versa
One would naturally suppose that our
rates should be less in proportion to
distance, but if the local rates We're
even put down to the same as from
Chicago Give times the distance) our
citizens would tolerate the difference,
as it would place our farmers and man
ufacturers on an equal footing with
those of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, &C.,
in supplying the Baltimore markets.
Lumber is passing through daily
from Chicago for $50 per car, and be
cause our lumbermen are unable to
pay $50 per car and realize first cost,
all our mills are standing idle In
passenger fares the same species eXtor-
ton is practised on the citizens from
all points where there are no compet-
ing lines. For instance, while it costs
us $l420 to go TO Baltimore and re-
turn, citizens of Baltimore can come
to Oakland, stay as long as they please
and return for So Fare from Bal
timore to Wheeling SO, while to Oak
land it is $7.l0. Thousands Of citi.
zens of Ohio have passed through to
the Centennial and back for S.; from
Oakland the charge is $l5.75, and SC
on with all other local points along tie
line
The wonder is, why the citizens and
the Legislature have tolerated these
outrages so long.
We are not hostile to the Baltimore
and Ohio Company and never have
been, but we always have and always
shall contend for fair play, equal anC
exact Justice to all men. We mus
confess that we deprecate and despis'
the toadyis0e of some of our city anc
country exchanges, which if not sub
sidized, are afraid to take the bull by
the horns and defend their subscrib
ers against the most fragrant diserlmi
nations ever perpetrated in free
country. 1t has been said that il
fostering this monopoly the people
along the line have been hugging 6
serpent to their bosoms which IN re-
turn ie stin0in0 them to death by eX-