The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-10-22
CONTROL OF RAILROADS

as the merchants and other classes oil
our citizens, are directly interested in
knowing Just what the railroad and grain
laws passed at the last session of the
legislature have accomplished i'm the
way of saving money to the people. In
the outset, let us impress upon our read
ers the fact that Hon. T.. q. Spaulding
was at the time of the passage of these
laws member of the legislature, and
he did everything i'm his power TO secure
the enactment of the bills, which have
saved to the people of Minnesota i'm II
| little over one year and a half over Il
million and n half dollars. Mr.. Spauld-
ing is now candidate for the State
Senate, and we ask the voters and tax
payers of Blue Earth county To read the
subjoint reports, taken from the records,
and published i'm Saturdays Pioneer
Press, and then determine whether or
not he has been true To the trust reposed
in him.
FIrst-The first business of the COM
mission, under these laws, was the estab-
| fishing of Estate grades" and the organic
alton of the machinery to effect the in
spection and weighing of all grain
handled ut the great terminal points of
81. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth. Rules
and regulations of far-reaching import
ance in their character, were to he
adopted for the government of new
system which was To fundamentally
change the modes and methods of the
entire grain business of Minnesota and
i Al i...t
| the machinery which was Ia handle
sixty millions of bushels of all kinds of
| grain, were Ia he established with pru-
| Dental care.
| The grain grades were so successfully
settled, that, at the expiration of the
| first year, when the law required grades
| Ia again he established, the farmers of
the State, with singular unanimity, pc
ttioned the commission TAI make no
change in existing grades, claiming they
were eminently satisfactory. The meth
DDS. too, proved satisfactory To the pro-
ducers What before had been in the
hands of various discordant boards of
trade, was now in the hands of the state.
The inspection and weighing was con-
| Quoted Nv sworn officers of the State,
under oath and bond for the faithful
performance of their duties. These par
lies are wholly disinterested, never
knowing whose gram they are handling.
| Under the previous method, that work
WAS done by parties direct in the en-
ploy of purchasing the grain. This
change has been u revolution, ami has
met with complete success, rendering
entire satisfaction. The report from
farmers alliances and every section
challenge contradiction as la those re-
suits. For the first time i'm the history
of the State, uniformity in grades has
been secured. In the testimony of the
Hon. IL. Il. Clarke, senator from swirl
lcounty, that never, till the enforcement
of this law, in his long grain experience,
did he receive Just and fair weights
without trouble and without contention.
Such is the uniform testimony from all
sections of the State. The expense of
these two methods, the old and the new
have also been made the subject of care
full investigation. Under both systems
the gram was taxed for inspection and
weighing, and the charges Incident are
substantially the same in each case. So
that the grain suffers no greater tax by
reason of the State service than IT did
when handled by boards of trade in their
own interest. The service is thus shown
To he self-sustaining, imposing no burden
upon the State treasury.
4
railroad law, one of the first evils To
which the attention of the new commits
SION was directed, was the alleged eX-
tortionate character of existing wood
rates In response to complaints, the
whole subject was carefully investigated.
Fuel was treated as one of the necessI-
ties of life, which should he made avail
able To frontier settlers upon the most
reasonable terms. This investigation
resulted in an amicabIe arrangement by
the commission lin September 1881
with the several railroad companies, by
which reduction was secured of from
two To five cents per Wpounds, or from
75c To - per cord Of wood shipped. The
net annual results of this saying Ia the
people of Minnesota, upon the volume
of that traffic, is over $lOO,OOO.
Third-The attention of the commits
sion was early called To the ingenious
, device, known AZ Transit Rates" This
WAS a continuance to kill local rates. The
theory of the transit road was that when
they got Il bIshel of grain within their
control they must haul IT Ia the last
terminal point on their line in order to
yet all out of it possible. Under this
pernicious system the local shipper was
, compelled tn pay freight through to
Chicago though he desired that it might
points, and was subjected to the necessi-
iy of selling this unearned freight, often
AT Il loss, and always at great lncon
,, yenicncr Such cOntrlvlnce was IN
o. violation of the common law; that the
shippcr must he permitted tai select the
destination of his freight and the route
2 bv which it shall go. The system was,
\ therefore, upon complaint, diligently
considered by the commission. Its eff
feet upon business was studied. 1t was
found Ia be compulsory in its character
: and resulted in reducing the price oi
= grain at local points. The result was the
, PRONUNCIATION Of the first order of the
l commission regulating rates, which at
tracted universal attention, not only IN
|. Minnesota, but throughout the country
To the work under the new law. THIS
, order bears date Oct. 1885, and was the
! death kneil to transit rates. Ii has since
= striven to exist ~ Il voluntary eXpedient
e. But events from umc 10 Time demon
stratcd clearly the iar-reaching effects
of the order of the commission. TIL
net results of the saving to the producers
}; Of the State by this order has been care
j; fully studied in the light of the volume
: of business affected by the system, and
!, is found TO reach Annually more than
$50 900.
. Fourth-Formal complaints having
: been filed with the commission, alleging
i that freight charges on the st. Paul
; Minneapolis * Manitoba railroad upon
grain, live stock, lumber and farm pro-
j ducts were unreasonable and excessive
, the investigation was undertaken, and
the discussion with the company was
: complicated and laborious. The investi
CATION was necessarily prolonged
; through many months, and extended u
IA Il.
tatiOn, and comparison with other
railroads under like conditions. The
, grand results of this great contest are
shown in the order promulgated by the
commission June -, 1856. The road
finally made such Il concession as has
) never before been granted to any rail
road commission. The ends thus
achieved came with results alike honor
able tO both the road and commission.
For the board To have pursued the mat
ter further, would simply have carried
il Ia the courts and left the people with
out any present practical results. Not
: withstanding some impatience on the
: part of the public, the commission seem
To have been governed 10y Il sense of in
telligent responsibility. They sat as II
semI-judical body, and were bound to
determine questions of fact and law as
between the people and the roads. They
were To determine between the contest
ants without reference to public clamOr.
We believe that this work was faithfully,
conscicntiously and eiTetually done. In
responding to the complaints of the pub
lie on this matter, the commission deem
ed il best to deal with the roads separ-
ately. They therefore began the con-
Al l. n