Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-12-16

much cotton is brought for shipment. |
We will take Tnpeloi rs an illustration,
80 miles from Mobile. Now. If 81 a
bale Is reasonable rate for ninety-three
miles. the rate from Tupelo 10 Mobile
80 mlles-might very we'll be 81. III.
therefore, the Mobile and Ohio road |
completes In the market at Corinsh for
cotton, 1t viii be charging less for the
longer haul from Coriuth than for the
shorter from Tupelo. And. if the law
should step in and forbid this practice.
the Mobile and Ohio road would simply
have to withdraw from competition at
Corinth.
The shipper ut Tupelo claims that the
Mobile and Ohio road is discriminating
against him when it hauls Corinth cot.
ton for 81 and charges 81 from Tupelo.
But would 1t benefit him to have the
road give up all Corinth cotton and
withdraw from competition at that
place? It could not afford to reduce at
Iupelo. and twenty other stations
similarly situated, in order te secure Il
few hundred bales from Corinth at a
low rate. 1t would then be les able to
reduce rates at Tupelo, and all other
local points on its line; and nobody on
earth would he benefited but the Mem
phlS and Charleston railroad. which
would have a monopoly Of the hauling
OF Corlnth cotton, and Corinth would
lese the benefit of competition from
the Gulf.
The effect of any law 10 restrict the
freedom of roads TO act in this manner
would simply destroy competition.
Take another example, illustrating
the same thing, except that the com
petition is between Il railroad and
water route. Fond du Lac. Wis, is
las miles from Chicago. on the line OF
the Chicago 4 Northwestern railway.
The numbering interest is very large
there, and the products OF the saw
mills, shingle mills, and sash, door and
! blind factories are nearly all shipped
to Chicago, the great distributing point
for the northwest. A carload Of lum-
Der from Fond du Lac to Chicago, load
ed and unloaded by the owner. costs
| (>ay) S25. Green Bay is IS miles far
Their up the Inc than Fond du Lac. or
2l3 miles from Chicago. Green Bay is
largely interested in the lumber bust
/ AlNS1 sAAabs hul ~ li-iS lllt. stIlNdllthSG Ol
| being on the neck of Lake Michigan.
and ships nearly all its lumber to Chi
cago on vessels, which Is cheaper than
by rail. On 4 certain day the North
western railroad has Il dozen empty
cars standing on the side track at
Green Bay that are to be returned to
| Chicago. A lumber dealer telegraphS
the General Manager that he will paw
twenty dollars per car for their use
from thence to Chicago, and load and
unload them himself. the offer is at
once accepted, the service performed,
and two hundred and forty dollars is
paid into the treasury of the company
The price paid was, say five dollars per
car less than the rate from Fond du
Lac, with siXty-tive miles more haul.
But the choice was between two hun
dred and forty dollars and nothing, for
the cost, to 4 railroad company. be-
tween hauling loaded and empty cars
Is of nominal account. There is a little
more wear and tear, and a few pounds
more steam, but the extra expense
is mconsiderable The lumbermen at
Fond du Lac are indignant at what
they call " the uni Just discrimination :"
of the railroad company in favor of
their rivals III business at Green Bay.
and the rate newspapers at the former
place call loudly for pro-rata tariff
Nobody complains that $25 per car is
too high from Fond du Lac to Chicago,
but the idea that it should cost only
S2n per carload for haul that is sixty
five miles farther away from market is
what worries them.
Now, if the Northwestern Railway
company had been prohibited from
making this special agreement 10y the
enforcement of an inflexible pro-rata
tariff act, it would have benefited no
body but damaged ~ the railroad cor
| poration to the amount of $500, 600 to
be added for drawing empty cars); (2)
it would have injured the umbermen
at Green Bay, because it would have
deprived them of taking advantage of
competition, and placed them wholly
in the power of the vessel owners; and
(3) il would have damaged the lumber
men of Fond du Lac, because, being
prevented from competing with the
water route from Green Bay, the rail
road corporation must make up its loss
by keeping up its high rates at the for
mer place.
a.