Omaha daily bee., 1888-05-14
STRONG FRIEND ON THE BOARD
The Railroads Have a Plant Tool In
Secretary Ager.
sQuARsLY AGAINST THE PEOPLE
Some Figures Cited to Prove the
Falsity OF His Statcments-Prepar-
ing For the Annual Clam
Bake-City Briefs.
LINCOLN BUREAU OF The OMAHA BEE,
1929 T. STREET, \

rates in Nebraska for the purpose Of afford.
ing the people some relief. During all these
months from one particular quarter of the
board there has come constant, ingenious and
persistent efforts to thwart such reductions.
The apparent success achieved by the delays
has given one of the secretaries of the board
courage to come out In a long article in which
the true inwardness of the delay is manifest.
The article was read Thursday last at the
board meeting and has been largely pub
llshed. IL is the work Of Secretary j. II.
\ Aeer, the one member of the board whose
every act and word since he went upon the
commission has been against relief for the
people. The record of the board on all i'm
portant questions shows this. In the contest
made to determine the power of the law he
was always against it, and when Secretary
Mason was furnishing to the public the exact
facts and figures that showed how Nebraska
suffered in comparison with other states, it
was Secretary Ager who attempted to
throttle that work. In the light of the rec
ords Of the board and the knowledge of every
man who has watched the complexion Of
the board it will not be surprising
that MIR. Ager comes out before any perma-
nent relief is gained and asks hat the board
cease work, that 1t do not attempt to lower
rates and that it content itself with mending
pump handles and the drawing of salaries.
Mr.. Ayers article summed in a sentence ad-
vocates that the board make no efforts to re-
duce local rates in the state through adopting
| a distance tariff.
There is a similarity between the specious
plea of Mr.. Ager and the printed argument
of Thomas L. Kimball before the legislature
that is very striking in its character. But
the manifest untruthfulness of Mr.. Ayers
article is equally remarkable. His state
ments are equally contradicted by facts and
figures in possession of the board, that were
published months ago and were unchal-
lenged. Mr.. Ager states that since the 9Th
of April, 1887, there have been substantial
reductions in both state and inter state rates.
This statement is not true. Both the rec
ords and evidence prove the statement false.
The following figures Of record disprove the
statement of reduction: At Omaha the
lumber rate prior to April 5, 1887, was from
s to 10 cents net. On April 5, when the in
terstate law went into effect, the rate was
raised to 20 cents. 1t was reduced by COM
promise to Is and by competition since to 16
cents, leaving it still nearly double
the amount prior to April 5.
law, Omaha on lumber and packing house
products was on an equality with Kansas
City and other Missouri river points, but is
not now on rates on those products.
The rate on hard coal to Omaha prior to
April 5, 1887, was net $3.50. 1t was elevated
at that date to 81, and has since been reduced
by compromise to S3.45, leaving it still 95
cents higher than it was a year ago.
Merchandise from Chicago to Omaha, in
car load lots, was, prior to April 5, 1887, net
20 cents, on that date advanced to 80 cents,
since reduced to 25 cents, 5 cents higher than
before the date cited.
Grain, Omaha rate prior to April 5, 1887,
was Is cents. On that date it was elevated
to 20 cents and has remained there.
With the above figures on Omaha rates
the following Lincoln rates are in the same
proportions: Lumber rate prior to April 5,
1887, net rate IA cents, raised April 5 to 26
cents, reduced by competition to % cents,
and by competition since to 10 cents,
being still 8 cents higher than it was April 5,
1887.
Hard coal prior to April 5, 1887, net rate
was so outrageous an advance that
the roads were ashamed Of it and reduced it
to 81, and the compromise brought it down to
$500. leaving it still so cents a ton higher
than it was April 5, 1887.
The Lincoln grain rate prior to April S,
1887, on corn, was net Is cents, raised that
date TO "a cents, and since reduced to 90
cents, AGENTS higher than formerly.
On other articles of shipment the same
character of reduction is manifest and in the
same proportion as these figures show are the
people paying higher rates. These figures
are of record, and 1t is very ingenious in Mr..
Ager to insinuate that rates have been re-
duced.
1t has been the desire of a portion of the
board to get relief from these advanced inter
state rates by reducing the local distance
tariff in the state and by adopting an equal
lied local distance tariff for relief and some
degree of equity for the people. The fact is
notorious that Iowa, Minnesota and the ter
ritory OF Dakota enjoy far more reasonable
rates than Nebraska, and where both the
volume Of business and population should
give this state the lower rate. The railroads
in Nebraska-and particularly the Burling-
ton-haye a basis that they act upon that
from, and from this they make the fourth
class rate from 60 to rs per cent
of the first class rate. In the fourth class
two-thirds of the local shipments are made,
and a reduction in the fourth class would
reach largely every consumer. 1t is an estab-
lished precedent with roads over the entire
country that the fourth class rate shall be
80 per cent Of the first class, and III
Iowa, Minnesota and Dakota this
plan is adopted, while in Nebraska
the fourth-class is made a third higher. TIL
Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul tariff sheets
on file at the office Of the board of transpor-
tation show the fourth-class rate on that
road less than 80 per cent of the trst-class.
The SAME is true of the Chicago, st. Paul,
Minneapolis & Omaha railway, and the same
is true on the Chicago, Burlington IL North
ern, a part of the Burlington SYSTEM, that
gives to Minnesota a fourth-class rate 80 per
cent of the first, while in Nebraska a fourth
class rate 40 per cent of the first is exacted.
One illustration is very pertinent on this
point. The local distance tariff on live stock
on the Chicago, Burlington 81 Northern for
a distance of 260 miles is S4G.20, while the
local distance tariff on live stock 26O miles in
Nebraska is SIS.
In the face of these facts of record the
hypocrisy of Secretary Ager in stating that
rates are low enough in Nebraska, shines
with the more brilliancy. In the face of the
fact that counties in Minnesota and Iowa
with a population no greater and no greater
volume of business than counties all through
eastern Nebraska, have a local distance and
distributing tariff 20 per cent lower than the
Nebraska tariff on all the commodities that
make the bulk of trade, it would seem that
there is a demand for local reductions in this
state. Much more strongly does the argu-
ment come when Nebraska is compared with
the s~parsely settled districts of Dakota in
the same unenviable light.
The public who have watched the facts in
regard TO the excessive rates IN this state as
they have been brought out in the cases
heard before both the state board and the
interstate commission, read through the
thinly disguised plea for the railroads made
by Mr.. Ager, and will await the action OF the
board on the proposed local distance tariff
question with added interest, 1t is very EVIL
dent that the roads could not select u more
eager and plant tool to represent them than
1 Ga,a.asnr, A ,n. Eau .,pntEaI htnGnlf IN me IN