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


the $500 line, she would have through
line to the eastern sea board If Wiscon-
sin should make maximum rate, she has
market at Milwaukee with water route
to the east which places her in line with
the lowest rate to the seaboard and to Chi
cago. Iowa alone gentlemen, must cross
her state line for any market. Now taking
that geographical situation, the question
comes whether Iowa can enter into a COM
petitive race with these other states
to make maximum rates for our
local freight, because, gentlemen, it turns
out when we look into it, that only from six
teen to twenty-five per cent of the traffic of
the Iowa railways can be governed by you
at all by any rate you may fix. All the bal
ance of the traffic of Iowa goes to Chicago
and to st. Louis and Minneapolis and to ST.
Paul. Last year there were nine millions
of tons of freight moved through Iowa, east
and west. When you come to take out a
little less than three millions which crosses
the Missouri river going both ways, il leaves
the enormous amount of six million tons of
Iowa freight going across the Mississippi
river, going and coming back for the use of
the people of Iowa. A large amount of
these three million tons which cross the Mis-
souri, river is traffic from the Mississippi
river cities in lumber that passes into Kan
sas and Nebraska and territories west, and
as matter of fact, in my judgment it will
come nearer seven millions of tons of Iowa
freight, than six millions, shown by the
tables, because, as / think, con-
siderably more than half of the
two million tons of freight which passes the
Missouri river going west last year, came
from the lumber cities of Iowa, ranging all
the way from Keokuk TO McGregor. That is
the situation, as it seems to me, of this
fratlfn tl,a lit,,it tod ,f al
freight in Iowa can it be demonstrated that
you gentlemen should pass any maximum
freight rate to govern that? Are not the
laws of competition so actively at work as
to relieve you of any necessity of going into
that business?
l come to another subject. But, before.
going to that, ] desire to submit to you
some facts, which seem to me to be facts
tending very strongly to show that the rail-
roads of Iowa have not been guilty of ex-
tortion or unjust charges.
Member: Before you leave that point al
low me to ask question. Where do we get
the competition now, so far as our local rates
are concerned and if we have a fair local
rate in Iowa so that our local cities can do
business in Iowa, won't that tend to help us
out of the situation we are in now, and
won't it tend to help the railroads themselves
and get local traffic, and also furnish it to
the railroads in doing it.
Judge Hubbard: think that is a very
pertinent inquiry, and the only answer de-
sire to make to that is this-and | thank the
gentleman for asking me the questiOn-we have
always, and as | was about to say, have now
followed the general reduction made by the
interstate law and by competition in all the
local rates of Iowa, and we always expect
to do that, and we could not afford to do
anything else than that for the reasons
that | have already stated; but the only
question when we come down to that is, who
is the most competent to judge just how that
ought TO be done. When | get little fur
Their on, think | shall show that the max
ing of freight tariffs is one of the things that
is perhaps the most difficult and most com
pick of any subject ever undertaken by the
human mind. believe a member of Parla-
ment said, when they had Railway Com
mission of five that five angels could not fix
a tariff rate that would last twenty-fOur
hours l agree fully that whenever these
Interstate rates are cut by competition from
the Missouri river points to Chicago, that
there ought to be corresponding reduction
in the local rates of Iowa. and what
i was about to say was, this has
always been done and is done now,
anu 10 uOlt, III JuuBHtHl, W very
reasonable degree that is to say, il is not
Que pro rata of the Interstate rate for
the same distance, because the pro rata of
the Interstate for the same distance, as
from Chicago to the Iowa point, is not fair,
for this reason that the large amount of
through business from Chicago is in car
load lots which have not broken bulk from
the seabOard, whereas all the local traffic in
Iowa for the same distance is necessarily
loaded and unloaded by the railway COM
pany and put into local freight train,
which makes it cost us more to haul it, more
to load it, and more time for the car and
more everything than it does the other.
want to show you, gentlemen, some facts
which we have been at some pains to pre-
pare, in order to reblS the charge that there
has been no appreciate reduction in rates
of freight or fare since the Iowa railroad
system has been built. | have taken this
by commodities instead of by classification
of the railways, because | suppose you gen.
tlemen, like myself. would not understand
the classification, and therefor l have taken
the commodity rate without reference to the
classification, and | have taken such as |
could believe the people of the State of Iowa
are more especially interested in. Here are
the rates, and l will read a few of them
only. From Chicago to Cedar Rapids flour
1883, IA cents per hundred decrease II
cents. From Chicago to Marshalltown in
1871, 81 cents in 1888, 10 cents per humid
red pounds decrease 81 cents. Flour from
Chicago to Ames in 1871, 80 cents in 1858,
10 cents decrease 20 cents. From Chicago
to Boone in 1871, 40 cents in 1883, 81 cents
decrease 10 cents. Flour, Chicago to Car
roll, 1871, Al cents in 1883, "a cents. Chi
cago to Denison, 1871, IS cents 1883, 81
cents. Now, l will read one other. Cattle
per car from Chicago to Cedar Rapids in
1871, S64 per car; in 1885, S45 per car; de-
crease $40. | will not stop now to read all
these articles We have printed a large
number of these, which we propose to sub
init to members of the committee and of the
House for their inspection, so they may see
from these rates just what the decrease has
been from 1871 to 1855 at all the principal
stations in Iowa from Chicago, on the Chi
cagO & Northwestern Railway. / will, how.
ever, call attention to one other article which
farmers are deeply interested in coming tC
Iowa from the east; / take iron, bar, bands
etc. castings, boxing, chains, hoops ant
sheet iron, horse shoe nails, nuts, bolts
pipes, rod iron, roof iron; all this was ship
ped from Chicago to Cedar Rapids In 1871
at 55 cents hundred in 1888 they are ship
ped at 20 cents per hundred, making a de
crease of 35 cents per hundred, and that fol
lows through in the same ratio to all tin
principal stations in Iowa.
Member: Are these later figures, 1888
the present cut rate, or the rate before thi
present competition
Mr.. Hubbard: They are the rates of Dec
ember 25th last, before the present cut o
a few days ago. We could not have the LAT
ter printed since the cut.
Member: Have you the rates as the