Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-02-20
RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS.
TEE QUESTION OF PASSENGER RATES
ecNsgDERKD.
Letters rom General Manager Towne-
How Rules Introduced-com-
plants Heard-Etc.
[sneciai to the REcoRn.uSlon


San Francisco, February l9sh.-The Rail.
| road Commissioners met this morning. A
| full Board was present, and Chairman Car
penter presided. The minutes of the last
meeting of the Board were read and approved.
A letter was received from w. S. Frierson,
containing several suggestions. Among other
things it was thought that the railroad CON-
panies ought to supply lamp-p0sts, a1d keep
! burning lamps for the convenience of pssser-
gers who are obliged TO change cars after
dark and it was also claimed that there was
lack Of proper care shown to second-class
passengers.
Mr. Foote read letter from correspond
ent at Giroy, giving instances CT extortion
on the part Of the railroad company, espe-
cially on the freight tariff for crackers,
bacon, tobacco and whisky. Bacon, he said,
was sold at 40 cents per pound and lard for 70
cents. Mr.. Foote also read letter from J..
Samuel, of Concord, who said be sent 80
sacks Of wheat from Martinez to lbs Apge-
| les !; that his brother st the latter point WAC
obliged to pay S41 freight more than the
value of the wheat that in return bis brother
sent c, 200 pounds of corn to San Francisco,
and the consignment was shipped from thence
to Pacheco and that the total charges on the
corn delivered at PGcheco was only S19-less
than half the amount charged for less
amount of freight bv rail.
I. H. Goodman. General Passenger Agent
of the Central Pacific Railroad, appeared.
aud in the absence of General Manager
Towne, on account of illness, read letters
prepared by the latter. and stated that others
were under preparation. The fest letter was
as follows:
SAN FRANCISCO, February JIG, 1888
Honorable Board Railroad Commissioners Cen
tlemen However much you may feel chagrined to
hear that Misrepresentation has been made, either
maliciously, ignorantly or caTeesslY-more than
likely the latter-re alive TO '' the claim that the
roa is depressing" the people the vicinity OF
Bakersfield am that you will be glad to know
the facts as am able to give them, and permit me
to correct the false impression that seems to prevail
in regard to this matter.
So successfully were these stories coined and cir
cuated in their gross misr presentations that your
predecessors who gave the matter much thought
and attention, were at first seemingly more or less
Influenced by the vain and frivolous accusations
If you were to examine carefully into the spirit Of
them think you would find them to be Of. gen
eral nature, so common to many OF those who
expected to pay for the railroad services they
enjoy.
These can only be met by general denial, but all
specific cases we will endeavor to meet and salts
factorly answer. so to materially modify the
opinions formed from hearing eX parte statements
It is charged that the people care not raising ar
tices that transported by the railroad but turn
their attention to stock, and things that can be
driven to market"
FIGURES FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR.
For the calendar year OF 1882 find that there
were 1850, 900 pounds of cattle shipped to common
points from Sumner Zone mile from Bakersfield at
an average rate OF / 6S cents per ton per mile
There were 100000 pounds sheep and 100000
pounds hogs at an average rate of LAG cents per
ton per mile.
Here we have in these three items alone o,s40, COO
pounds which were not driven to Market" nor
''sold to people to drive, as is alleged.
Referring to the article OF hay. you ssy it can be
raised good deal cheaper there Kern county, than
it in Alameda county, because they can get four
or five crops Of alfalfa and raise several tons each
acre. This is all very true. And further, you ask
if it would net be more profitable crop if they were
pete with chose other places that they cannot now
compete with.
As matter of fact they are able to compate with
other places, as will be shown from the shipments
from this station alone.
SHIPMENTS OF HAY.
Sumner is the third principal hay.shipping point
in California and there shipped from tn
ton during 1882 $40 900 pounds.
There was also shipped 76S,0o0 pounds flour,
1923, 700 pounds wool, together with 1856 900
pounds grain the latter at average rate of 81 So
per ton per mile.
: thus YOU viii see in these few items alone Tiers
was grand total of q, 397, 200 pounds.
KERN COUNTY.
Referring to the few large landholders in that
county having taken the water from Kern river,
and made that county very fruitful, who, as you
say have very much increased its value, and who
paw perhaps onethird OF the taxes of that county,
permit me- in this connection, to state that the
sessed value Of all property in Kern county for the
year 1880 was s. s5SSSl; of this S2037, 26l SO is
assessed railroad property, or at the rate OF
| "a so per cent. of the whole
1t is we'll known fact that railroads do very much
to equaze the value of lands for agricultural pur-
poses, and although it would seem hardly possible
| for them TO place land in that vicinty-3l4 miles
removed from this Commercial eeuter-on footing
for agricultural purposes with those contiguous to
| the Bay OF San Francisco and San Pablo from which
rates OF transportation on the product to market
] are nominal vet it is done when we take into con-
sideration the value of these lands arourd those
| bays and the cost of those of Kern county occu-
pied by the certain capitalists" referred to, and
who as YOU state, do not claim to be benefited by
| the road at ALL
LANDS NEAR SAN PABLO.
Take, for example, the lands near San Pablo sta.
ton cultivated for grain, in plain sight of the city,
| which are wtrth, am informed by those familiar
with land in that neighborhood $3.50 per acre
The distance to San Francisco IS eighteen miles by
lail and the freight per ton is fifty cents or s
cents per ton per mile Allowing sixteen centas of
grain per acre as the average yield, ard 81 p per
| GENITAL, the return is $40.
result is SIG 60 per acre, or something less than
per cent. the capital invested.
On the other hand. much OF the land in Kern
county purchased at So 80, but, to be liberal,
call it 81, per acre Add to this the expense of in
! PRODUCING water say SI0-and we have total cost
Of the land, say ga per acre.
The distance to the nearest tde-water, Port Costa
! is 2S2 miles.
. Grain rate from Sumner to Port Costa is 81 40 per
| ton, or 19c per ton per m lie.
COST OF PRODUCTION.
| Assuming the cost of production to be the same
in both places and adopting the anne yield, namely
I6 centas, and freight to Port Costa at 81 40 per
ton it leaves a return of $40 4s per acre or over
| o.,,4 ont ba orioinal inv
| In other words, capital invested in grain land in
Kern county, 3l4 miles from San Francisco. and 2S2
miles from Port Costa, the nearest tide-water,
Yields 100 per cent. more than lands bordering on
the bay of San Francisco.
THE RATE ON GRAIN.
The rate on grain from Sumner to Port Cos a is
II cents per ton per mile from San Pablo to San
Francisco it is 2 0S cents that from Sumner being
nearly so per cent less per ton per mile than the
rate from San Pablo where the railroad comes into
competition with water transportation.
1t will be noticed that Sumner is seventeen times
SIS far from San Francisco, the common market, as
San Pablo, and to eqlalize the rate according to
distince on grain from Sumner to San Francisco
tine freight should be s. %, while it is but 81 80
per ton and this is what is clllei discrimination
in favor of Sumner of s. 60 per ton, and some sig
nifeance might be placed on the fact that during
the term Of your predecessors the rates on grain
from Sumner to Port Costa were reduced 81 per
cent.
THE RATE ON HAY.
Referring to the production of hay in Kern
county, would say that hay fields in the vicinity of
Haywards distant from San Francisco 81 miles, are
wo tn $50 per acre.
The rate on hay is eighty cents per ton or three
and eight-tenths per ton per mile.
The average yield per acre is, gay two and one
half tons, which has value in San Francisco of SIS
per ton, making return of S37 80 per acre, or 25
per cent on the investment
Farming lands in Kern county devoted to ra' sing
hay will yield six tons to the per year, giving
return of $50. which, less the freight to San Fran.
cisco of 2 16 leaves S57 81 per acre, thus yielding
IN one year more than four times the cost of the
land.
Markets IN ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO.
Even with all these advantages in their favor, the
farmers of Kern county have not awaited themselves
OF this market for their surplus hay the for
which being that they found even more profitable
one in the southern part OF the State in Arizona
and New Mexico, and for which necessary rates
were made over the Tehachepi and other mountain
ranges.
HAY was shipped from Sumner to Mojave. over
the l1Sfoat grade, 60 miles, at rate of 50 cents
per ton per mile. To CllicO, the Mojave desert,
i4s miles, at ess than p cents per ton per mile !;
also to Los Angeles at less than cents per ton Fer
mile and at much lower rates the long hauls into
Arizona and New Mexico
TONNAGE OF PRINCIPAL PRODUCTIONS.
/ have given you the tonnage of the principal
productions shipped from this station for The
calenear year So ; and further, hope you will
permit me to add thereto the shipments from that
8 alton for the yens 1875 to 1852 inclusive, which
I "a ~ IN