Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01

daVitS, however, that we knew or no snch
occurring. We asked for the special case
The Commissioners replied that they failed
to get specific case.
Judge McDill informs me shat he and Mr..
Dey actually went along the line TO see if
there was any such case.
AT that time Council Bluffs was in pool
on shipments to Chicago. We have no pools
now. III | had made a rate less at Council
Bluffs / should be obliged to share 1t with
the representatives of all the roads at Coun-
ell Bluffs. Clearly, therefore, it would have
been foolish for us to do so. AS matter of
fact do not think that from Council Bluffs
there are more than twenty-five cars of live
stock shipped in year. Passing that mat
ter, would like to take up another charge,
in regard TO packing houses. The people
Of Atlantic desired to develop the town by
Industries, and some Of the influential citi-
zens of Atlantic waited on me in Chicago,
to consult as to what industries they could
successfully start there, for the purpose of
developing the town. l told them that in
dustries like agricultural implements, etc.,
could scarcely flourish there, that Atlantic
was too far west. The material would have
to come from the east and therefore they
would be at a disadvantage. Bnt such in
dustries as would require grain in the man
ufactufe, or live stock, would certainly be
something that would help Atlantic, such as
starch factory, to use corn, or
in old times, distillery For
cattle and hogs, the only thing would be
packing houses 1t was decided to build
two packing houses. One never was sue
cessful. There were great many partners,
and the house finally burned down. The
other was started by the owner, who was
not practical packer; he soon got tired Of
4 nod
was started up 10y gentleman whose BUSH
ness was supplying meats to the South. lie
thought he should have the same rate from
Atlantic as he could get from Council Bluffs
or Omaha. AS L could not haul the STUFF for
nothing from Atlantic to Council Bluffs he
thought twas adisadyantage, and he stopped.
! looked up Il Chicago packing house, one
that would want to send but little to the
South. but would bring the product to Chi
cago. | hit upon a very old firm; one of
the members, a personal friend of mine, and
| induced him to go there. He is there now,
and is doing all he can. | saw him within
week; not only was there no complaint, but
he says he would like to increase the size of
the place, and would like to buy the house.
Yesterday 1--we stock dealer came to me
and said he was willing to go before the COM
mttee and state a conversation he once had
getting good rate to ship hogs to Chicago
and so beat the packing house at Atlantic,
and he remembers my distinctly stating to
him that we were not fighting the packing
house at Atlantic, and he went away with
out obtaining lower rate.
We do not get to see the country papers;
If they are sent to us, we have not time to
look at them, and / am certain that every
man, woman and child in Atlantic will say
Il have been connected with the road before
there was house there-that have stead
lily done all in my power to assist manufac-
lures in that town. | ask the Senator to
note that in making these charges they are
not in accordance with facts, and am GER
tain every business man in Atlantic will
bear me out in the truth of this statement.
Senator Young: would ask you again
if you deny that for ninety per cent of the
time within the past fourteen years cattle
and hogs have been carried from Council
Bluffs to Chicago cheaper than from Atlantic
to Chicago?
Bir. Sage: i will explain to you what l
do not think he got yesterday from Mr.. Rip
ley. For instance, | receive business from q
narrow guage road north of here for Chicago
The rate north of here is the same to Chi
cago as II is from Des Moines, actually the
same. We will say, for the sake of argu-
mcnt, the rate is fifty dollars-ffty dollars at
DCs Moines and fifty dollars at Fonda at the
moth end of the narrow guage road. Clearly
the road that hauled from Fonda to Des
Moines cannot haul for nothing. There is
only one thing for us TO do, and that is to
divide the fifty dollar rate. There is a
straight line from Fonda to Chicago, via tile
Illinois Central, and the narrow guage has
to take fifty dollars, the Illinois Central rate,
or not take the stock.
If you will allow me, will explain what
the people in the vicinity of Atlantic sup
posed we were doing, and what we We're not
doing. The rate was seventy dollars at
Council Bluffs at that time, but when you
went ten miles west Of Omaha on the Union
Pacific, il got to be seyenty-five and further
on il got to be eighty dollars. The rate as
you went westward in Nebraska, ran up to
about one hundred and fifty dollars a car.
The Union Pacific would not haul from their
twenty mile station west OF Omaha for the
additional five dollars. They come to the
Rock Island and other connections and said,
gentlemen, we must live; we want di-
vision of the freight rate of seyenty-five dol
lars per car We cannot haul il for five
dollars, because If we haul it for five dollars
to Omaha proper we will get more. So we
gave them q division out of the through rate,
which was about equal to what they would
have got if they hauled the car locally into
Omaha. You see, therefore, that the rates
in Nebraska gradually go up higher than the
rates in Iowa, as if it was one road from
Nebraska and Iowato Chicago. The rates at
Iowa City are less than at Grinnell, less at
Glinnell than they are at DeS MOines. They
gradually rise westward in Iowa and Ne
braslla. The Union Pacific road must have
the division of the rate ct least equal to the
local rate of Omaha. Those divisions do
not give us by any means seventy dollars to
Council Bluffs. On the seventy dollar rate
we would probably get something less than
fifty dollars. They would get the twenty
five dollars. Now am showing you that pro-
portion of the freight rate that the stock ship
pcrs in Nebraska paid was the cause OF what
the gentleman at Atlantic thought was a
lower rate at Council Bluffs. From Council
Bluffs proper we do not carry twenty-five
cars year. This was simply the division
Of the roads from Nebraska TO Chicago.
Senator Young: / do not get an answer
Either you do not understand the question
OF do not get correct answer. / do not
want il explained | want it answered.
Mr.. Sage: At Council bluffs we did not
cut the rate under seventy, because there
was four or five roads in the pool. / would
simply have carried it and got One-fourth
earnings | had no interest in cutting Coun-
Gil Bluffs against Atlantic, and the other sta
tons east OF Council Bluffs.
Senator Young: How long was the pool
in operation?
Mr.. Sage: To the FIRST of April last; al
most to the day the Burlington road went
into Council Bluffs; within month of that
time. There were few intervals so to
speak, when there were no pools, but of
short duration.