St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-04
GAUSES Ut GkUWI II.
Some Interesting Statements
From the President Of the
Farmers Alliance.
Gen. Barrett Claims the Rail-
roads Have Not Built the
State.
The Problem of Making Rates
to Minneapolis and to
Duluth.
A Gentle Touch on the Rail-
road Commission and Ger
tain of It's Acts.


annual address before the Farmers
and only the most important points are
given below. They will be read with
interest by the farmers of the state.
Minnesota has great natural advan-
tageS; her soil is fertile, her climate in
MIGRATING. She has vast forests and
vast mineral deposits; she has magnifi-
cent quarries. On all her three great
rivers and their numerous branches are
many water powers.
We are often told that Minnesota
owes her rapid development to her rail-
ways. that without them she would still
be wilderness; and because of this it
is unwiSe and in hostility to the best in
tereStS of the state TO attempt to control
them 10y legislation. Well. let us once
more open the census reports.
In 1890 the state of New York had'a
population of 80. l20; in 1920, thirty
years later. she had l.372.111, having in
creased l.03l. 99l. or 257.295 more than
Minnesota increased in thirty years
ending 1850: Ohio had in 1900, s., 365
people; thirty years later she had in
creased to 937. 1913, OutStripping in her
first thirty years the grow tn of Mime
sofas first thirty years by 1882; there
were no railroads i'll either New York or
Ohio during that period.
1t IS fair. therefore. to conclude that
had railroads never existed, great states
would have grown up in the West, as
before the days of railroads, great states
did grow up in the East. 1t is not the
railway. but the people, who make
states. While certain localities in Min
nesOta have, during the last few years.
hni =
corporations, it will not be denied that
other localities have been deprived of
their natural growth through the same
influence. 1t has been the policy of
most OF the great corporations to extend
their lines into the unoccupied terri
tory west of Minnesota and to
so manage their traffic as to
throw upon the citizens of
Minnesota an undue share of the costs
of sustaining the roads: while the de-
Nelopment of agricultural interests in
Minnesota because of this has Ian
gulShed, that very interest has been
made TO pay the cost of building up
rival communities. As compared to the
rates levied by the roads on traffic from
Minneapolis east, and on the traffic west
of Minnesota, the great body of the peo-
pie OF Minnesota, especially in the CEN
trail, southwestern and western parts of
the state as far north as Moorhead, have
been Systematically Disseminated
against.
Leta few figures taken from the ex-
listing tariff reports be our witnesses.
The rate on grain, flour, feed, fax seed
and potatoes in car load lots over the
Northern Pacific from Moorhead to
Minneapolis is eighteen cents per 100
pounds: the distance is 266 miles. The
rate on the same articles from Bismarck,
Dakota, to Minneapolis is thirty-seven
cents per 100 pounds: the distance from
Bismarck to Minneapolis is 461 miles.
II the same rate per mile were charged
from MOOrhead to Minneapolis as is
fixed for the service between Bismarck
and MOorhead. the charge would be a
traction over 124 cents per 100 pounds
instead Of~eighteen cents. The rates or
the st. Paul. Minneapolis & Manitoba
road from Moorhead to Minneapolis on
grain. flour. mill-stuffs, flax and
potatoes in car load lots is eighteen
cents per 100 pounds: the distance is
24l miles. The rate on the same road
for the same articles from Neche, Oak,
to Minneapolis is 81 cents per 100
pounds. So for the 159 miles beyond
MO0rhead in Dakota the Manitoba taxes
cents per 100 pounds. or Just One-siXth
what it taxes for PAL miles between
MOOrhead and Minneapolis. If the
same rates were applied to shipments
from Moorhead to Duluth as are paid
for hauling over that part of the line
between MCOrhead and Neche. the cost
of sending wheat from MoOrhead to Du-
Iuth via st. Cloud and Hincklev would
be tritie less than 80 cents per bushel.
The fact that st. Vincent. Mimi. is
reached at the same rate as Neche, Oak.
VIII not relieve the Manitoba from the
charge of discriminating against the
great body OF Minnesota producers. The
Milwaukee q st. Paul road taxes the
people of Sacred Heart ID cents per 100
pounds for carrying wheat from Sacred
Heart TO Minneapolis: the distance is
Ill miles. The same road taxes the
people of Aberdeen, OAK. 20 cents per
100 pounds for carrying wheat to Min
neap0lis. and % cents per 100 pounds
for carrying it to Chicago. 1t appears.
then, that the service rendered is paid
for as follows: For that part of the
road between Minneapolis and Chicago.
distance of 420 miles, scents per 100
pounds is enough: for the III miles
between Sacred Heart and Minneapolis
10 cents is required: for the 1T
miles west OF Sacred Heart cents per
100 pounds will do. The rate per ton
per mile Oh the Ill miles west of Min
neapOlis is more than eleven times the
rate per ton per mile on the 400 miles
between Minneapolis and Chicago, and
the rate per ton per mile for that part
of the road west of Sacred Heart. III
miles to Aberdeen, Oak, is little over
One-fifth as much for that part of the
route nearest Minneapolis.
a railroad manager would probably
explain the diminished tax east of Min
neapOlis because the volume of bust
ness on that part OF the state is large.
Wei. what sort of explanation WOuld
he give for the diminished tax for serv-
ice on the western end? Would it be
because the volume of business is small?
The st. Paul d Duluth road, under date
of Jan. /, 1888, advertised to begin on
Jan. 10, 1888, to carry wheat from Du-
luth to Minneapolis for cents per 100
pounds; on Jan. 10, 1853. its tariff for
carrying wheat from Minneapolis to
Duluth is 10 cents per 100 pounds. With
these rates published on all their tariff
sheets. will it be denied that the great
body of the producers i'm Minnesota are
being Disseminated against? Can any
fair-minded man Justify such discrim-
ination? Why this singular and SEEM
mgly inconsistent system of rates? Let
us for moment look into the matter:
there is method in this madness"
Both the Manitoba and the Northern
Pacific roads have connections which
reach Duluth. They both pass through
M0orhead. The Milwaukee & st. Paul
reaches Fargo, in Dakota, one mile west
of Moorhead. The Manitoba also
reaches Aberdeen and other points in
Dakota and Minnesota common to the
Milwaukee road. The Northern Pacific.
through It's branches, strikes points
common TO both the Manitoba and Mil
waukee roads; thus these three roads
penetrate the same territory and are
linked together in their efforts
TO CONTROL ITS TRAFFIC.
The distance from Fargo to Chicago
Is TIC miles; the rate is 90 cents per 100