Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1879-02-01


RObs the Po0r-A Talk with Lead.
ing Merchants Of the Cisy-They
An Aamis shat Their Cusssmers
Have - rag she Back Freight"
Binl.
The Virginia "Chronicle" Of last Thurs
day called the attention Of the w~orkingmen
Of Storey county 70 the fact that, in pro-
portion to their means, they are the great
est suferers by exorbitant freight charges,
and, In order to obtain proof that fact,
several Of the principal merchants Of that
city we're called upon by their reporter.
T. n. MOURN,
Grocer and liquor dealer, says II have
to paw for every pound Of ham l get from
the East sbout IA cents per pound over
and above the through rate to Sacramento
or San Francisco. They charge this for
return freight from Sacramento to Reno.
II the Central Pacific Railroad only
charged me the through rate to San Fran
cisco, my customers could buy their hams
at Ia cents Der pound less than ut present.
l would make just the same profit, and
more, because / would sell more goods.
The cheaper you make . necessary article
the more Ut it you will sell, for the demand
increases Is the price decreases.
ION coal oil the railroads charge double
rates on all quantities less than q car load.
1 pay 81 68 per 100 pounds return freight.
l could afford to sell it Is cents q gallon
cheaper il this charge were taken of. On
Goldfish and canned goods l pay 81 IA per
100 pounds from Sacramento to Reno. !
could afford to sell my Goldfish Ia cents
per pound cheaper were it not for this
charge.
ION candles 1 pay the same rate. The
railroad company makes the poor man pay
80 cents too much for o twenty-pound box
Of candles. So with starch. 1t should be
sold l2h cents cheaper on every six-pound
box.
Tho workingman could fill his pipe
with tobacco two cents cheaper. / pay
81 IS per 100 pounds back freight on to-
bacco."
III l did not have to pay 81 IA back
freight on rice, l would import more from
the East, and could afford to undersell San
Francisco merchants.
THE article Of whisky is a very impor-
tant item," continued Mr.. McGcrn, .'al-
though it may not be ranked in the cata-
logue of the necessaries Of life. Some
people consider it SO, however, and We sell
a great deal of it. The back freight on q
barrel of whisky is about S."
Reporter What proportion Of your gro
ceries comes from the East?
Mr.. McOurn-Three-fourths OF all the
groceries / use comes from the East. II
this back freight from Sacramento to Reno
were taken of / could import all my stock
from the East and open a wholesale bust
ness in competition with San Francisco
and undersell any house there.
Jos. Demling, grocer, expressed the
same views. TIT poor were the real and
ultimate sufferers.
J.C. Hampton said .,Itcosts us more to
get a carload of oil from Sacramento here
than it does to get a carload from New
lori to Reno. II we were compelled to
pay through freight to San Francisco,
without payment of the back freight, we
could sell cheaper than any San Francisco
merchant. Now the San Francisco man
can come up here aud underscll us. The
poor people of Storey county have to pay
the whole of this back freight on every
thing imported here and used by them"
HOW IT Work. ON DRY GOODS.
s. Nicholson, dry goods merchant. said /:
81 have to pay 81 81 for every 100 pounds
Of dry goods, in addition to the through
| rate. II this back freight were taken of
! could sell even cheaper than any San
Francisco house, because rents are not so
high here in proportion, and other ex-
| penses are not so great"
s. Lipman said We arc a branch Of
an establishments in Sacramento. and all
| our goods are shipped from the East 10 that
place. II the back freight was taken of
we could ship to Virginia direct from the
East and sell the goods most in use
among the poorer classes at a cheaper rate.
For instance, We could sell domestic cali
Goes. etc., ten per cent. cheaper, and
make as much II not more profit, because
when you cheaper ordinary dress material.
you increase the demand for it. 1t would
| not mako much difference in the price of
silks, laces and other expensive goods, the
| price Of which bears no comparison with
the weight. A package Of silk weighing
100 pounds and valued at 81 ZOO, would
only cost the same amount for back freight
as 100 pounds Of calico worth $40. The
poorer classes have to pay this tax. and
they are the real sufferers.
4 member OF the firm Of J. Levy 4
Brother said: II pay from 81 6S to 81 SO
and % rs back freight from Sacramento
here. This keeps me from competing with
San Francisco. which l could easily do and
go lUtO tut WDOltS8ic UuSlIlcBS " tuAS k8A
were abrogated. Now, . bale Of wadding
that weighs about eighteen or twenty
pounds is taxed 50 so back freight, while
its original cost is only Sc SO; SO that over
forty-eisht per cent. of the value Of the
article is charged for freight. l think that
is extortionate."
A member OF the firm OF ID. Block 4 Co.
said: Il pay 81 6s back freight from Sac
ramento to Virginia, but for a bale of cot
ton batting weighing about fifty pounds l
have to pay 50 81. This l regard as an
imposition. because the bales do not take
up a. much room and arc more easily
handled than y 100-pound of dry goods.
Only for this extra and extortionate freight
expense l could undersell San Francisco,
because my rent and expenses are lighter
here than they would be il l had an estab-
lishment of the same size in San Francisco.
l conld sell calicoes, cottons, etc., from 10
to Is per cent. cheaper. The poor people
| really pay the railroad the bulk of this
back freight. The merchants add it to the
price Of their goods"
Mr.. Block then showed the reporter a
freight bill upon which there was a charge
| OF "a Ga back freight for two bales of cot
ton batting, weighing 40 pounds each,
| which had either been carried past Reno
to San Francisco and brought back again.
or charged for that way, which was all the
same.
THE BOOT AND SHOE DEALERS.
F. Boeh. Of the Philadelphia shoe store,
said 1.-Two years ago l purchased some
goods in Rochester. New York, and paid
full freights on them in advance. l paid
$3.50. When my goods arrived l was told
that l could not have them unless l paid
$50 more. They told me that q mistake
had been made at the Rochester Office, and
that the weight Of the goods was greater
than they had supposed. After redeemed
nv goods, I weighed them and found that
they weighed A pounds less than the weight
given in the bill Of lading. About four
months ago l received from Philadelphia
lao nonnds Of noods on which naid at