The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-03-16
OUR PRESENT TARIFF.

| When the present tariff rates were frs
instituted by our wise board of railroad
and warehouse commissioners the ARGUi
was the first to denounce their action a
unjust on business and shippers. Sine.
then corroborating testimony has come il
| from all quarters; the latest being from
the Centralia Democrat as follows:
In January last Mr. Jacob Kohl, furni
ture dealer in this city, purchased a lot Of
chairs in New York and had them shipped
here by rail via Chicago; the freight cost
exceeding 1000 miles, was S1.43. The
freight rate from Chicago to Centralia, Csc
miles, some one fourth the distance be-
| tween New York and Chicago, was 81. 20,
nearly three times greater over the less
than the greater distance. Mr.. Kohl called
the attention of the Illinois freight mana
gers to this marked discrepancy, and re-
ceived the reply that the fault laid in the
new traffic rulings adopted by the state rail
road and warehouse commissioners, and
that they could not alter their charges.
Whereupon Mr.. Kohl forwarded the cores
pondence with the /. G. r r. with the fol
Lowing letters as therein Indicated:
CENTRALIA, H., January "a, 1882.
". II. Smith, Esq, Chairman Railroad and
Warehouse Commissioners, Springfield IR.
DEAR SIR:-Permit me to cali your at
tention to enclosed correspondence with
the /. G. r. r. Chairs sent from New York
to Chicago cost freight, 81 .43; and from
Chicago to Centralis, 81 go, as per receipt
herewith. The officers of the l. c. r. R.
claim that such is the tariff laid down by
your board, and refund or correct nothing
The object of nay inquiry is whether such
is actually the fact. | viii thank you for
an early reply and the return of the pa
pers. Respectfully yours,
JACOB KOHL.
To the above Mr. Kohl received the fol
lowing reply:
STATE OF ILLINOIS,
RAILROAD AND WAREHOUSE Con-,
SPRINGFIELD, H., March 4, 1882.
J. Kohl, Esq. Centralia, I'll.
DEAR SIR:-Your letter to Commissioner
Smith. with accompanying correspondence,
has Been considered by. the board, and /
am advised to say that the outrageous price
charged you on shipment of chairs is caus-
ed by the railroad taking advantage of an
error in our classification of maximum
rates. The classification is now being re-
vised, and an effort viii be made to cure
ali SUN dSlSCIS
Very respectfully yours,
J. OTIS HUMPHREY, Asst Sec.
The above is practical illustration of
what occurs every day with the business
men of Illinois. The consumers of this
state are now paying these enormous and
rates to the railroads, owing to the
lack of conception and gross imprudenee
Of the Railroad and Warehouse Commits
sioners, and this is largely owing to the re
publican partisan demand that there should |
De no democrat on this board. Any man |
Of common sense knows that on such |
boards, and all others having to do with |
he financial interests of the public, that /
he latter suffer more or less as these |
boards are, or are not, partisan in their /
There should always be q
minority membership from the opposite /
party to secure keen scrutiny of every
Important business transaction. So far as
he schedule of freight rates affect the
business man and through him the con-
inner, the above correspondence shows
hat as between the railroads and the com
nissoners it is: You did It'll / did notl +
idntl You did! and relief only comes fer
he future, perhaps, and not for the past
r cases under consideration. The sooner
he commissioners wipe out their schedule
nd make new one, that win at least
lease the people as well as it does the
abroad the better. I