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

| as III is Impossible 10 1Orebee large numDer
of contingencies, they must look into what
their neighbors are doing, that are like sit
uated, comparing their rates with neighbor-
| ing rates ON other roads for the same
service in other localities, where they
have about the same population and
| the same or similar circumstances
and conditions. them they tell me, that in
all northern localities, for example, we are
| liable to deep and drifting SHOWS, and vast
expense in clearing our tracks. The North
western road, in the winter of 1880 and 1881,
expended 5000, 900, its whole net earnings
dnring the entire winter, in bucking snow.
All roads, at all times of the year, are sub
ject TO washouts and collisions entailing
large destruction of property; We are al
ways subject to damages for injuries to per-
sons and property, both of the employees
and others. These are some OF the contn-
gent expenses that never can be foreseen,
but must always be met. Then again, some
years there Is total failure of the crop
in some localities, and If road runs
through that country only, its
earnings are very much cut down on account
of the failure of the crop; a large system
perhaps like the Northwestern, which Is not
confined to a one crop state or to several
one crop states, is under different circum-
stances from that, but all these things enter
into the making of these freight tariffs aud
they are based on the observation of a long
number of years in determining the traffic
which that country produces, and as you see
by the tables have already introduced, just
as fast as the population increases, just as
fast as the volume of business increases, just
SO fast and just so certain have the freight
rates been reduced in Iowa from 1871 down
20 to-day. / can not produce anything back
of that, because the Chicago fire of 1871 de-
strOyed all of our records prior to that date.
take up this next comparative statement,
because we have heard no serious complaints
from those States. They have practically
the same condition of things in all those
other States, except Illinois, that we have,
viz. an advisory board of commissioners,
who hear complaints and advise, and what
ever grievances have been established and
pointed out have always been rectiGed, l be-
lieve, by the railroads of all these States; if
am correctly informed, there is no road in
this State that has ever disobeyed the recon-
mendatiOn of the Railway Commissioners in
any matter which has been called to their at
tentiOn. Now, let us take the old rates and
the new ones. / cannot read all of these,
gentlemen. / have them, all the way from
five miles up to four hundred miles, begin
ming with five, ten, twenty-five, fifty, one
hundred, hundred and fifty, two
hundred and four hundred. In every
single one of these local freight tariffs Iowa
is lower than any other State, except lllinos
alone. Twill, for example, to give you sam
pie of them, take the one hundred mile rate.
In Iowa. on first-cass, the old rate was forty
one cents, the new rate is thirty-nine cents;
In Wisconsin the old rate was fifty three
cents, the new rate is forty-two cents;
In Illinois the old rate was forty-one cents,
the new rate thirty cents; in Minnesota the
old rate was tifty-siX cents, the new rate
fity-sX cents; in Dakota the old rate was
ftty-siX cents, the new rate tifty-sX cents.
| only read one classification so as not to take
up your time, but all this will be submitted
TO you, and with such explanations as you
may desire from Mr.. Wicker, our general
traffic manager, who is here.
Now. gentlemen, / desire to take the 200
mile rate in the State of Iowa and tie State
of Illinois and compare them. In Iowa on
first class the old rate was 81 cents, new
rate 81 cents in Illinois the old rate was 50
cents, new rate 81 cents. If we take this
200 mile rate, also, and compare Iowa with
Wisconsin, we find Iowa 81 cents as against
20 cents for first class in Wisconsin, and as
against so cents for first class in Minnesota,
and as against SO cents for first class in Da-
ECta. Some of the rates between $50 and
200 miles in Illinois are very considerably
lower than the Iowa rates for the distances
between $50 and 200 miles and desire,
gentlemen, TO call your attention TO what
am told this grows out of it is to equalize
the distance of the several lines starting
from Chicago and going to the
Mississippi river For example, it is
1856 miles to Dubuque, 1873 miles to Savan-
nah, 1873 miles to Clinton, 210 miles to Burl-
ingtOn, $50 miles to KeOkuk, 260 milei, l
think, to Quincy, and 2S3 or 2Si miles to st.
Louis. Now at all these Mississippi river
points as far south as Quincy the roads all
compete with one another; and in order to
make local classification per mile, and to
overcome this extra mileage that the c., b.
q q. has of 80 miles to Burlington as
| against 1873 miles to Clinton, and 2l0 miles
to Quincy as against 1873 miles TO Clinton,
| they were obliged to make lower rates be-
| tween these points, because, on the entire
haul they hauled for the same that the Chi
| CagO & Northwestern or the Milwaukee &
| ST. Paul haul of 1873 miles; so that, as
read this and understand it practically
taking all things iuto consideration, and
| excepting this one circumstance of equal
| iZmg these rates, the Iowa local tariff
is now and has been all the time, by the vol
untary action of the railway managers, kept
| practically as low as the Illinois rates. Why
is in Iowa and Illinois? Because, gentlemen,
Iowa furnishes very vast traffic, very
much larger traffic than Minnesota, both of
| local and Interstate businesS-larger than
| Wisconsin, larger than Dakota; and so, the
| volume of the business being greater, they
are enabled TO make rates almost as low as
the State Of Illinois, which has a population
of 100000 and over, and we have only a
triile over half that number
Member: Do you claim that the rate is as
low in Iowa in proportion as it is in Illinois on
live stock and grain, and coal, and such arti-
cles as that?
Mr.. Hubbard: l think it is practically
the local rates are. As | said, it is practi-
cally, except the difference which has been
made in making all of these lines to the
Mississippi river 1873 miles long, as l under
stand. These traffic gentlemen are here,
who are better posted in that than am, and
who will be able to tell you more specifically
about that.
So that, gentlemen, when we compare oul
own local tariff with the local tariffs OF
other States, ii does not seem to me that thu
people of Iowa have anything TO complain
of. / am aware, gentlemen, that there ha
been and is a vast amount of prejudic,
against railways on account of ''watereC
stock' and the cost of railways. i find by
looking over Poor's Manual, which is &C
credited authority in this country, and quoted
by the Interstate Commerce Commission il
their report, that the entire mileage of tn,
United States when Poor's last report wa
made, was 1873, 900 miles; 1000 or nearl.
5000 more had been built, which was no
taken into the calculation because the dat
! was not at hand, but on the basis OF 1873, 90
miles of railway they find the actual con
struction account of these railroads was sew
| EN- Thousand and odd millions of dollars