The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-02-16
and forced to succumb to the "pow

ers that be-" This mode of consolid
alton has to great extend lessenet
competition. and where competition
is shut out, monopolies are liable t.
grow up and defy public sentiment
II Is a natural result of concentration
and Capitalization, and the hue AND
cry against railroads ut this present
time has been occasion more from
this cause than any and all other
But Notwithstanding all this. rail
roads should be dealt with literally
and justly, and at the same time thu
rights of the masses should he al
scrupulously guarded.
The gentleman. In his report. n
views ut length special and reduced
rates, claiming among other things
that "to prohibit special rates woult
be to prevent the development Of in
dustries Of great value " the public
that could not be brought into exist
ence without such aid" In cases OF
this kind no one will question the
propriety of any railroad granting
special rates, and for SO doing Il
should be praised instead Of cursed.
The elevator question Is one that Il
perhaps of as much importance to the
farming community as any one fea
ture touching upon the railroad sub
ject, and inasmuch as we gave. near
ly rerJatim, Gen. Bakers views upon
this point. we give the other side FOL
our readers to consult. Here Il Is:
To permit cars to be loaded from
wagons. would render the construc'
ton or continued use of elevators i'm
possible; would require u very large
increase of rolling stock aud train
service to move the crop, and would
Il very large Increase In
the tariff to protect companies from
loss. When railroads were hrst con.
through u spsrsely settled
great difficulty was expert
enced in securing proper accOmmO.
dati0ns for storing grain ut stations,
and 1t became necessary to offer In.
to capitalists to erect ele.
vators by giving them some giaran.
tees and special privileges. The us.
ual stipulation WAS that fan elevator
of given capacity and cost should be
protected TO the extent that no other
party, at the same point, should be
permitted to erect an elevator OF in
ferior capacity or cost, but the field
was left open to competition to par.
ties who were willing to erect eleva-
tors fully equal in every respect to
those previously erected. The reason
Of this must be obvious. A party
say $20,O0O in the con.
struction Ut an elevator might have
his investment rendered uuprOduc-
tive and prices disturbed by some
one who. in spirit ut rev enge, might
erect II building If onr.twentieth Gu
pacily and cost, simply for the pur.
pOse 0t demoralizing rates and affect.
ing prices, and who could afford to
lose Il small amount to force the
owner of the elevator to lose u larger
sum.
Demands are constantly made upon
companies to furnish cars
and allow grain to he loaded to such
cars directly from the wagons. The
objection to this arises from the fact
that if such practices were permitted
no elevators would be built, railroad
would be expected to
furnish an equipment sufficient to
move the crop during the short period
that intervenes between harvest and
the close of navigation. This would
require an equipment of ears and on.
gInes three times as great as would be
needed IL the business could he uni
formly distributed throughout the
whole year. The cars and engines
in such transportation dur.
ing the wheat season would remain
idle for the balance Of the year; the
skilled engineers and firemen EN-.
ployed during the season, IL dis.
charged at its close, could not be re-
placed at the commencement of the
next season when required /; the EN-.
ployment of new and inexperienced
men would lead to endless collisions
and other accidents; the weighing,
billing and receipt:ng OF the grain. II
from wagons into the cars.
would require large increase Of
clerical force at each station or side.
track. In fact, the business could
not he accommodated in this way,
and a railroad company could afford
to pay $500, 900 or more per annum to
get rid of the business rather than
attempt to accommodate 1t at exist.
ing rates Ii such accommoda tiOnS
were required as proposed Legislation
contemplates.
Not being one Of that class to sup.
pose that our Legislature will ask a
company to stop at every
crossing to take on wheat, or that
hey will go farther and exact that
side track be run up to every farmers
,rainary, we do not believe it to be
light for corporations to file ObJec.
ions to any mans building a ware.
house or elevator at depots. provided
10 conforms to rules and regulations
hat are fair and equitable. If such
Injustice has existed or does exist, II
'hould be tolerated no longer.
Finally, we believe that the present
legislature has no disposition to enact
laws or impose onerous
luties upon the railroads, for by so
Icing it would simply incur hardships
ipOn the country that 1t is not pre-.
pared To endure. and cripple corpora.
ions that should he sustained and en-
outraged. JndIcious legislation where
lhuses are known to exist Is all that
$ wanted. and this is demanded.
Legislative Matters.
FRIDAY.
Friday, the legislature voted $4,000
or the suspension Of small pox, the
mount to he distributed under direc-