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

shipment would make four hundred and
forty dollars.
Mr. Ripley: That Is altogether false
basis ON which to do tho figuring, that Is
perfectly legitimate and perfectly correct.
What does that packing house pay ON Its
product after II Is cut up
Member: They take car load to Chicago
for fifty dollars The price OF shipping from
the point where the hogs are hauled through
the place where they arc now being packed
TO Chicago would be about the same. Start
ing from the place thirteen miles north of
Atlantic you would carry II through Atlantic
to Chicago ut about the same rate Us you
could from Atlantic to Chicago
Mr.. Ripley: This Is the way II looks To
me; IL the adjustment of rates from Atlantic
on the packing house product Is rs II should
be, the packer at Atlantic is perfectly able to
pay that price for hogs and pay the rate on
the branch line. believe he is. believe
II packing has been unsuccessful at Atlantic,
Il has been for other reasons than the ques-
tlon OF rates. think | know my friend,
Mr.. Sage well enough 10 know that he would
not allow the rates to do II.
Member: The packing house Is running
all right liz not that having u tendency to
discourage local industry.
MIR. Ripley: Not Mt all. deny that any
thing has been done by the Iowa rates tend
ing to,dry up amy industries In the State.
deny the fact. You say the rate Is thirteen
dollars from the station TO Atlantic, and tho
rate IL fifty dollars ear 10 Chicago what
Is In that car?
Member; The hog product.
Mr. Ripley: How muchp Twenty-four,
twenty-five or twcnty-six thousand pounds.
| How many pounds Of pork IN AGAR of hogsg
| About fifteen; that Is the difference. That
| Is where the packer can live, and by con-
| dcnsing the product can afford Ia pay what
| would seem high local rates In comparison.
| The railroad does not make any money by
| having the packer there and carrying his
salt, etc, and having the people there, the
RAILROAD loses by them.
| Member | wns satisfied that that was
the reason, and thought that was tho rea-
son they preferred TO have tho pork packed
| In Chicago.
| Mr.. Ripley: DO they prefer It? The
| packers In Chicago are complaining that va
are fayorng Iowa packers. They had
meeting there and complained that the Iowa
packer could ship the packed product into
Chicago and sell II cheaper than they could.
They made very good ease, too.
Member: want 10 be understood rs say
ing that the Interstate commerce. law has
helped us very materially In the respect
refer 10, that we are enabled to do business
IN that line that we were not before.
Mr. Ripley: donot think that W far NJ
that particular line IL concerned, that tho In
| state law lms made any difference.
Mr.. Sage: Atlantic always had IL " cents
less than Council Bluffs before the Interstate
commerce law. | will explain that when |
| speak.
] MI, Ripley. The pork packing interest In
| Iowa has certainly not been treated badly by
the railroads. Nor has any other Iowa in-
| 40. ,,.xg lynA l.I.r l..t.'i hali.
| the gentlemen representing IL will tell diff
foIent story--wc have been accustomed for
good many years to take those having
| houses located on the various lines, ut At
| lnntic, Mafshnlltown, Des Molnes, Cedar
! Rapids, Oskal0osa and other points Into our
| councils and talk up every ono OF those
| points with reference 10 the other points and
with reference 10 the Missouri river, and
with reference To the local and through rate
ON hogs and everything else, and discuss
the matter with them and arrive ata satlsfac-
tory.basis, and think we have always done
II. The disparity that has been spoken Of be-
tween the local and through rates Is not,
think, great; II II were not for this last
rumpus We have got Into, II would DO moth
Ing at all. The local rate as II has existed
for many years In Iowa, based upon tho
through Interstate rate Of ninety cents tn
Council Bluffs, has been well adjusted;
there has been little or no complaint about
| IT, When the rate 10 Council Bluffs was re-
duced 10 seycnty-lyc cents or became re-
duccd, they were graded down about TWEEN
ty-Gye per cent. Now that we have broken
away from that and are making all sorts Of
rates, | don't know what the rate Is to-day.
Local rates In Iowa have been reduced every
day. ! think the maximum rate to-day from
| any point To any other point In Iowa ON irst
class IL TN cents, and on fourth class not
more than eight cents. The local
rates have steadily kept pace with
the reduction on through rates
and they will probably always do 10. Our
condition now IL temporary, while anything
you may do IL permanent The same con-
dition exists In this freight matter. Ii there
Is any reason why Iowa should have better
rates than the States north and south of II,
we have not heard OF IT, II Is getting 10 DO
a struggle between the States 10 see who can
hit the hardest. sincerely hope Iowa won't
take the lead.
Member: The public sentiment has been
assisted In Its formation by the facts that
they have observed that the railway rates
are not made by taking into account tho
capital invested or anything Of that kind ~
basis for IT, and are subject TO caprice, To
circumstances, and accidents, and c0mpetit-
ion and all that, and the public seems 10 feel
that II would be better to have tho rates reg
ulated by an authority that had not anything
invested In the property.
Mr.. Ripley: What does the regulation
by State authority amount to? Docs 1t
change the caprice or competition? Does Is
do anything more than TO fix maximum,
above which we cannot gop
Member: No, sir,
Mr.. Ripley: Does 1t result In any moro
stability Of rates?
Member: There has been more stability
OF rates since the enactment of the Interstate
commerce law than formerly. There has
been no bad cut until within few days.
Mr.. Ripley: This is simply the cumula-
ton of what has been coming on for six
months, more or less. IL Is something. that
almost everybody foresaw. The Interstate
law IL by no means an assured success In tho
direction OF assuring the stability of rates.
II Is very much of an experiment, TO say the
least.
Member: The point l was trying to get
ut was this, that the banker charges the rate
of interest that would bring him u proper re-
turn for tho money he has. The merchant
operates somewhat on the same basis. Tho
manufacturer charges for his goods what he
thinks Is necessary to pay the operating ex-
penses, and TO pay his employees and tho
proper interest on his capital, and great
many people have concluded from what they
have observed that the railway interest,
which is In some respects the best managed
In the wcrld, does not regulate its prices
does not regulate its charges, on the same
basis.
Mr. Ripley: Is 1t true the banker. tho