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

tional freight on flour within the state.
compared to the rate from abroad.
Now our sea coast is the only channel
through which this can be corrected.
All our Eastern states have
cheap freights because of their
deep water The roads have
to make competing water rate TO get
their freight. What is the prime cause
of the prosperous country and large cities
i'll the East? 1t is the cheap frelghts
Why cheap? Because their deep water
freight forces q like railroad freight.
Then let Texas profit from the eXpe-
rience of the East. If our lawmakers
should make q reasonable maximum
freight this alone would almost settle the
question l don t mean cent per
pound per mile as it is now. t present a
haul for COO miles on ten bushels Of corn
would allow d charge of So per 100. This
is unreasonable. We have ire
Quently had 50-cent rate from
Galveston, this, with 80 cents from New
York would make 81 to Fort Worth IN
stead of 81 rs as is the case now. Then
why not the state of Texas make her own
freight laws, instead of allowing this to
be done by people outside OF the state
the railroad managers?
The roads have a classification sheet
that enables them to receive and forward
all the freight presented to them. They
have been correcting and adjusting this
for fifty years, and must have it down
approximately almost correct. Let our
state adopt the classification of some rail-
way association, but we don t want the
Texas classification as the roads doctored
this for our legislation last March. Let
It.us also have class freight rates, terminal
charges and transfer charges just as the
railroads have. If this plan is good
enough for them it is good enough for us.
1t is their way, let it be our way. 1t is
fetheiT law, let 1t be our law.
LAS soon as steamers land goods on Tex
as soil these goods are subject to the Jur-
| isdiction and control of Texas laws.
| Then, if we have a reasonable freight to
the, interior, the roads will make like
rate from the North rather than
| lose our freight. Galveston s 40
cent rate, for instance. And here
! will ask, why do the roads
! give Galveston this rate of 40 cents? L
| will also answer Because the steamers
! give it to Galveston. Then 40 cents from
| 81 rs, the rate to Fort Worth leaves 81. 80
| for the railroads from New York. This
! high rate is charged by the railroad COM
! bination to kill deep water, and force us
| to ship all rail from the North. In the
| spring of 1888 no one was louder for deep
water than the railroads, except the
! Fort Worth GAZETTE. Afterwards what
did the roads do? Last season the pool
| fixed the rate on cotton from Fort Worth
and Dallas by way Of Galveston to Liver
pool at S1.S5 per 100, and this
they would not cut. They then
gave an all rail rate via
! New York and Boston of 81. 60. They
thus turned the shipment of all Texas
cotton from its natural channel, over
their roads. But this is not all. The
season previous, this rate by Galveston
as fixed by the pool was 81 30, and at
| one time, if l am correctly informed, 1t
| was cut as low as 81. We therefore see
the intention of the roads is to kill deep
| water, and they made us pay from three
TO four dollars per bale on our last sea-
son s cotton to held them do this. So let
the state make laws TO govern our
lfreights and to govern our railroads.&c.
+ us make good maximum freight laws
first. Then let us also have railroad
commission to make our minimum rates,
! and to correct any friction that may
arise Let us profit from the experience
4 of the East. Our strong roads North all
point to our Eastern cities. Deep water
I built these cities, and they built the
roads.
Now one more point ard 1 will close
The roads say they cannot charge less
freight and make fair interest on their
investment. Now for answer 1 will say
But few people in Texas are making
fortunes. The masses are barely making
an interest on their investment, and a
great number of them are not only fail
ing to make an interest. but have t.
make mort cages for money TO pay theil
taxes.
Now since both the railroads and the
people are suffering alike, it is the duty
of the state to protect them alike, an(
not allow one to prey upon the misfor
tunes of the other.
.fT ! JOHNSON