Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-02-25

But little you dream how fond prayer
Goes up TO God. through his silver stars
From the aged woman gazing there.
For thetwo who linger beside the bars-Seleeied'
Vermont Farmers and their Railroads.
The recent address of Governor Smith be-
fore the dairymen's association furnished a
favorable opportunity for the farmers pres
ent to ask him a few questions about rail-
road freights, the replies to which the vari-
Gus reports we have seen concur in saying,
were satisfactory to the enquirers and the
audience. We were sorry that we were not
there to hear the governor, and that none of
these reports have given the questions and
answers in full, so that the rest of the farm
ers of the state who were not there could
also be satisfied. The only points made
public, so far as we have seen, are, first, that
though western butter comes very cheaply
from Chicago, it pays freight before reach
ing that city as heavy as Vermont butter
pays in going to Boston; and second, that
local freights have not been advanced to
make up for losses on through freights
There is nobody more likely than the gov
ernor to know the truth in both these cases.
and we are sure that men who know him
will not doubt the truthfulness of his replies
1t is unquestionably true that the butter OF
the west does not reach Chicago without
being subject to transportation charges be-
tween the farm aud that city and what we
know of local rates on western roads, where
there is no competition, disposes us readily
to believe that these charges are large. As
regards the advancement of local freights
we notice that the governor did not say they
had not been advanced, but that they had
not been advanced to make up for losses on
through freiglts. Mr.. John NJ. Stearns had
letter in this paper few months ago, in
which he said, speaking of an advance in
local freights "This matter has claimed
my attention by bill of freight of few
barrels of apples from Windsor, Vermont.
For such freight, l paid fifteen or twenty
years ago sixty cents barrel; since,
the freight has gone up on such articles to
ninety cents but now the charges are
dollar and ten cents barrel" An extern
sive fruit grower in Addison county told us
some time ago that the freight on apples by
the car load from Middebury to Boston was
eighty-six cents a barrel, which we were
afterwards told was just one cent barrel
more than the freight on apples from the
or,ha rdo Il, M;ob;rar 10 Tohpcburv
Farmers cannot afford to be unjust to the
railroads, and, in the long run, it will not
pay the railroads to be unjust to the farmers
Where there is complaint, there ought to be
explanation and where examination shows
that there is injustice, it ought to be rec
titled. The recent investigation of railroad
management in New York, by legislative
committee, certainly showed that wrong is
often committed where there is no respon-
sibility of the corporate management of pub
lie franchises to higher authority. This
higher authority must be the people, as rep
resented by the state government. In this
state we have nothing of the kind yet; but
if the dissatisfaction now existing continues
to grow, there can be no doubt that investi-
cation will be ordered. And railroad that
is dealing fairly with the people ought to be
willing and, when the people complain, even
solicitous for thorough examination of its
management
There are two sides to every question.
Vermont is small and rather thinly settled
state, and it has great many miles of rail
road in it. Its exportable products are not
large, and its business is not such as to give
great amount of travel. If a state with
small population, doing a small business,
requires the advantages of railway transpor-
tation, it must pay more for them than a
more thickly settled and active section Of
country. Though the rates may be high
comparatively, they still may not pay. II
was once thought that the through business
might be made sufficiently profitable to per
NIT of lower rates for local business than a
merely local road could afford. But not
withstanding the great amount of thi:
through business, competition has so re
duced rates that little can be expected from
that source in alienation of local charges
All that can be fairly asked is that each tut
shall stand on its own bottom. While thu
west may insist that we shall not tax he
business for the benefit of our own, we ma,
equally insist that western produce shall pa,
its way, if it comes this way at all.
conversation which we had last fal
with Mr.. Cheney, of the United States an'
Canada Express, enlightened us little OIL
this subject of high rates from Vermont +
Boston. He was telling how he carrie
strawberries by the carload from point ii
Ontario TO Montreal, distance of over tw
hundred miles by the Grand Trunk lint
and made a good business of it for tn
grower. We knew that small fruits were i
like manner carried over the New Yor
Central from Western New York to Me-
York city, and we also knew that Boston
supplied with its latest Strawberries from th
Province of New Brunswick by steame
We asked Mr.. Cheney why he could not Civ
transportation of late Strawberries froI
Northern Vermont TO Boston at prices thi
the growers could live by "Too many di
ferent railroads to go over" said he. b
the Grand Trunk to Montreal, and by I'll
New York Central to New York, are sing
lines, under one management. We belle,
this is the key to the whole situation, an
that we shall never be well and cheap
served by our New England railroads unit
the main lines to Boston are consolidate
Governor Smith has been unfortunate in h
efforts to consolidate by leasing; but we b
lieve he was right in the principle, and tn
the final result of this dissatisfaction wi
local rates will be the consolidation of oil
main lines of road under a single manae
ment Aud we know of no man whom ,
should SO like to see at the head of such
combination, or who would in our opini'
so earnestly strive to favor the developme
Of Vermont agriculture by reasonable rat
Of freight on farm products, as Govern
Smith.
Tx Indusi,ie Laitiere estimates the nu
Der Of mich cows in France at 5,000,0I
and the annual production of butter o,
2 o04 600 600 DOunds of which ona.third