Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-25

AND TEXAS.
To the Gazette.
Time and experience teach us that in
all business relations there occur more or
less friction, and 10 prevent this we need
good laws that will in such instances pro-
tect the weak against the strong.
Some people are so sordid and grasping
that in any business relation with rail-
roads they try to take advantage of them
Ana we find some railroads trying to Jake
advantage of the people. Both, the peo-
pie and the railroads must pros per alike ::
or one wilr3 profit at the expensesof the
-other. That this statement is true
no. one vii deny That we need
laws to SreveRt shch, ali must agree.
limits OF a state, natiOIialaIaw is neces-
sary, so also is state law Hecessary TO
adiudicate the differences arising en-
tirely within a state.
Since the enactment of the interstate
law the railroads in their fight TO make
il odious, have done some very arbitrary,
hurtful and odIous things. And in tins
fight they have taught the public. two
things First, that this law is d neces-
sity; ana secondly that it is failure
add should, be so amended as 20 make
theTsadsiGAal fairly with each other and
with fhseBsSf4e. IN
All the interests of the interior of
Texas-the commercial, manufacturing
and agrlcuItural-are in q state of con-
fusion and uncertainty; and all on ac-
count of the combined workings of the
railroads to make this law OdiOus-
Now let us examine into some of these
irregularities and see for ourselves.
A ticket over the Missouri, Kansas and
Texas from st. Louis to Dallas is con-
siderably less than TO Fort Worth, yet
Dallas is farthest.
First-class goods from New York to
Fort Worth, when we had but one road,
with no competition and no pool, was
81 30; and now with eleven roads into
Fort Worth the rate is Sl.78.
Barbed wire used to cost lis at the fac
tory So per 100 pounds and a freight of
50 eepts.. or a little more than per cent.
on its teSt. snow its factory cost Is only
81 50 per 100 pounds and a freight of 20
cents, or upwards Of 26 per cent. on its
cost.
The railroads give a low. commodity
rate on bagging TO this state, but deny
this to our Fort Worth factory because 1t
is small and does not ship in carloads.
Our cracker factory two years ago was
throttied in this way. The railroads in
their anxiety to get money are forgetful
of all interests but their own.
The freight from st. Louis to Fort
Worth and Austin is the same, but if
Won ship to Fort Worth and reship to
Austin the fTeights are doubled. But
in a shipment from Fort Worth to
Norman. l. T., the rate is SO cents,
.,,rl,5, 70
Norman, fifteen miles further, the
freight is only 50 cents or - cents less.
The freight recently paid on a car of
wire from Pittsburgh, Pa, TO Har-
rold, Tex. was ISL. Of. The prorate to
Caro-, about half way8~was lG cents
and from lf,airs to BaEF6ld, the other
half, it was SIS cents. We here see a
com arisou of fTeights between North
ern roads and Texas roads. The differ
ence Is upwards of 430 per cent. higher
in Texas in this instance.
The freight in car lots on nails, horse
shoes, iron, wire, etc, from st. Louis
through Sherman to Galveston is, as
am told, 40 oeuts, but to Sherman, about
half way, il Is 20 cents, or nearly double
am informed that q similar case to this
recently existed between Greensboro,
Ala, an interior town, and Mobile
-
made to the Interstate commissioners
and they decided against the railroads
Now sherman, Fort Worth, Dallas and
Waco are all charged a 70-cent rate, as
against a 4O-ceut rate TO Galveston. Why
cannot these tOBas make like appeal tC
the commissioners?
Last March the freight on household
goods to Texas was raised from first tC
one and one-haff times first class, or 81
per cent. Was this done in the interest
of immigration. to- our state or not!
Less than one wear ago some Of our roads
wanted a higher Texas freight, and thi
is the way they got it: They cut The
freight on nails and wire This rate wa
80 cents from st: Louis, they cut it t,
30 cents. The other roads met this cut
were fun of excitement, wanted to know
what was the matter, what was up
Then If was, "Meet5us aud we will tall
about it. - Result s5Wire and nails wer'
advanced 70 20 cents, and everything
else pTOpOTtlOnalIy. Now were thes
three rates of 90, 30 and 20 cents the re
suits Of the enforced requirements of tht
Interstate law, or of the manipulation
of the railroads? -
From the Northwest TO deep water al
Galveston the distance is only abou
half of what ii is to New York and BOs-
ton. The builders OF the tOrU W OrII
and Denver road had an eye to this, anC
as soon as their road was completed the.
made Il cheap freight from the East b.
way to Galveston to this section, but In
strong competing roads from the Eas
combined against this, and because 0
their long purses they mashed the Denve
road flatter than postage stamp.
Now this road certainly needed pro
lection, but the Interstate law did no
do it, and this same condition of affair
exists throughout the country
the strong roads are every
where forcing the weaker one
into huTtful terms of agreement. 5
hurtIu that we certainly need nations
law that viii prevent such.
50 much for the needs of an inter-stat
law, nowswhat about a state law? 80
While through fTeightS are high sfFoca
rates on small shipments are almost pro
hibitory For instance, the freight on.
ton of coal from Fort Worth TO Aledo
s. 20, ana since coal is delivered in Fol
Worth for S3.75, this freight for a
eighteen mile haul is confscation an