Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01
to show You what tle efrect Of that vim be,

! to show you what the effect of that will be,
| If l can. L think its first and immediate
| effect will be that every railroad west OF Chi
| cago and east Of Denver must come TO the two
| cent rate. / think it is wall built of such
loose brick that if you take out the interme-
| date one of the State of Iowa, the wall must
! inevitably fall and why? DO you suppose
| that the State of Illinois will allow the Chi
| cago q Northwestern Railway Company to
charge its people three cents mile in Illinois,
and when we get into the State of Iowa to
take two cents; and when we get into the
State of Nebraska, on our western extension,
do you suppose that they will allow us to take
three cents again? Or when we get into Wis
consin, Michigan or Minnesota, can we charge
three cents a mile, and only take two from
you? l will venture TO say that they will
call special session of the Legislature with
in sixty days if we do that, and in Missouri
| and Kansas, too. So that this proposition to
make two-cent fare, gentlemen, results in
this: 1t is cutting Off practically one-third
of the income of the roads from their pas
senger traffic, and if they are not earning
too much at present il must be made up
from the freight traffic. Does anybody want
that done? l think not. The different
roads show different results, but think all
the roads will show that they do not receive,
perhaps, two and half cents mile on the
average for all of their passenger fares now,
because they give to all sorts of conven-
tons, all sorts of industrial societies. all
sorts Of county and State fairs cut rates on
passenger traffic, and they give communication
tickets out of cities to such an extent that
their entire traffic is already reduced now TO
two and half cents mile, even on three
cent rate. Now, gentlemen, if we should
make two cent rate in Iowa-and you have
the power TO do that; it is undisputed you
could make it one cent, if you chose, and we
should he bound to live up to
it; you have the absolute, sovereign power
to make us carry at such rate that our prop
erty would be cOniiscated; we have to trust
TO your honor and honesty and fairness that
you will not do that-do you want us to take
the two cent fare and then refuse to reduce
rates to these societies, and the State Fair,
and for all these industrial societies which
meet from time to time? / think not. But
could we do that if we are reduced to two
cents? Would it not affect the COM
mutation system, and the giving
of special rates to organized societies?
Would not that reduce our rate to one and
half cents a mile, and could we live on
that? i am told that the net earnings of the
passenger business in the State of Iowa are
n very small fraction of cent per mle and
barely making living now at three cents,
and he is under the classification you made
in 1872, class and c, and under the law
could charge more, but practically that can
not be done now. The b., c. Il. II n. road
and these other local roads are all of them,
Part of some through line to Chicago, and
they cannot charge any more than the par
ent trunk line charges. If they did, nobody
would use that road, except for local stations
between small points. Mr.. Ives could not
sell ticket from Chicago by way of West
Liberty, if he should charge three cents
mile, If the Northwestern would carry the
passenger for two. SO when you make a
twO-cent rate, you must understand you
make rate for every road in the State of
two cents, and for every road between line
drawn north and south through Chicago, and
| line drawn north and south through Den
| yer. And the question is, whether you eau
afford to do that, whether it is just appor-
| tonment of the earnings of the road, be-
| tween freight and passengers l leave that
| subject, because / am advised and aware that
| your time is limited and that you want just
| as much speed made in this investigation as
| possible We have very large number of
| gentlemen here who have large amount of
| detailed information, which we think it will
| be necessary for you to understand before
| you can intellgently make a maximum
rate, or before you can determine
| you will not do so, and therefore desire to
| economic the time for myself as much as
| possible
One other point and give way. The net
earnings of all the Iowa roads was less than
| thirteen millions, last year, which gave less
| than per cent interest on the cost of the
| roads. But, perhaps some gentleman will
| say, the roads did not cost $50, 900 per mile,
| and that we are asking interest on watered
| stock. Does the farmer figure only to make
| interest on the cost of his farm at S1.25 per
| acre, because he entered the land at that
| figure, or does he want interest on the pres
| ent value of his farm? AS have said, a
| railroad is worth what its traffic will yield
| over operating expenses. by charging fair
| rate as compared with other roads like stu
| ated. We have seen that the Iowa rates are
| fair and reasonable as compared with her
| neighbors. Some of the Iowa roads did not
earn more than operating expenses, while
| others earned a surplus over fair rate of in
| terest This came because the plant was a
| good one in the one case, and bad one in
| the other. The c. q n. w. has earned a
| surplus for several years past, but it has put
| the surplus back into its road in improving
| it, and Iowa has had her full share of it in
| the way Of improved track and improved SER
| vice. Mr.. Wicker, our traffic manager, will
| give you more in detail about this. i am
| aware that you want facts to show you that
| our rates are reasonable and just, and l give
| way TO the gentlemen who have them in
| abundance for you. / thank you for your
attention.