The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-02-27
THE FREIGHT QUESTION.
General Managers Office. !
st. p. & sc. and 8. g. e St. +. r. II. (
Sr. FACL. Feb, ed. 1870

st. i. u ~. ana >. y. u st. l.. II. IL.
Sr. FACL, Feb. 22d, 1870
EDITOR ADVANCE: DEAR SIR:-En-
closed send 4 clipping from the Sibley
Gazette copying an article from your
paper.
Have not examined the comparisons
Of our local rates with the through rates
on Eastern roads as to correctness OF
figures. II correct. they only SHOW
that roads having five times tile bust
ness and revenue that we do, can and
do make lower rates, though consider
ing the situation Of the several roads
as to cost of transportation and amount
of business, our rates are comparatively
the lowest.
AS to the paragraph 1--WE are inform
ed that the rate on first class freights
from St. Paul to Sheldon is SOC per 100
while while to Worthington, 40 miles
nearer to St. Paul, it is Soc per 100 Or
nearly three times us mnch." Let me
say that your informant has done you
and your village and our road i great
wrong and injury in thus advertising
us all.
The statement, and the other one
published u few days ago in u Worth
ington paper, that goods could be ship.
ped over our road from St. Paul to Shell
don and thence back to Worthington
for less money than from st. Panl to
Worthington, and all statements OF that
kind are utter .falsehoods and there has
never been i time when they were true.
Our first class rates to Sheldon are 75c
and to Sibley and to Worthington pre-
cisely the same. This is very far from
SOC to Sheldon and Sac to Worthington.
Our rates on all classes of merchan-
disc and on lumber between St. Paul
and Worthington, Sitley and Sheldon
are the same. On wheat, live Stock
coarse merchandise in car loals, coal,
brick, ETC.. Worthington has lower
rates than either Of the other two
| places.
cannot understand why you should
permit your paper to be used to TINS
misrepresent and disparage your freight
facilities even under the cover Of 1--WE
are informed" and 1--WE are assured"
do not write this for publication
(unless you prefer to publish it) but to
give you the facts, and l trust that in
your own way you will make such cor
rections as may seem proper.
| Yours truly,
| j. W. BISHOP,
! General Manager, etc.
We, of course, give General Bishop
the full benefit Of our columns to make
any statements and corrections which
the case may demand. If he read the
article as it appeared in the ADVANCE,
he saw that we disc!aimed any warfare
upon the road, our object being to give
facts to the people, who complain con-
stantly of freight rates, and to assure
them that their relief lay in competi.
ton and not in hostility to the Sioux
City s. st. Paul road. We were care.
full to consult the freight bills Of our
merchants and copy the figures from
the bills, because we know that al
ounce of fact is worth a ton of random
assertion. So far as the figures pub
lished are concerned we know they are
correct.
AS to the other m utter of discrimina.
ton in favor of Sheldon and points
where there are competing lines we
gave just what was given us and what
was generally reported, and we stated
that we were SO informed, not that we
knew from the freight bills that this
was the fact. Within the past 24hours
1--WE have been informed" again, by
those who say the information came
from the merchants themselves, that
business men at Luverne have shipped
goods from st. Paul to Sheldon and I.e
mars and .ck 10 LuVtr>e cheap than
they could ship from st. Paul to Lu
verne direct.
We hope General Bishop reads the
ADVANCE regularly. IfEo', lie SHOULD
do so, for it will do him good to read !;
paper which can he just and generous
at the same time. to both the people
and to monopoly" We have bee,
more swift to acknowledge the uniform
courtesy and liberalty of the road thar
to complain of hig', freights. In fact
we lave not complained at all. W.
have given facts in the hope of arous
ing our people to the Importance OF Sc
curing an east and west road to thi
point, if possible.
We are more than eyer convince,
that the hope of our county, that is, o
any immediate development an,
growth, depends upon a more direc
outlet to and inlet from Chicago.