The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-01
Could Teams Do the Hauling
Cheaper?

CAe0per!
The same letter writer who has
been quoted in this paper as stating
that the railroads are not to blame
for the wheat robbery going on in
the shape of differences between Min
neapolis and the local market, put
the following sentence in his letter:
"You will be claiming that freight
can be hauled cheaper by teams pref
ty soon."
Well, we have referred to this mat
ter elsewhere, and we say now that
teams would have hauled the freight
cheaper from Pope County to Mime
apolis than the railroads for over
year preceding last July. After our
racket in the county the difference
has been reduced from 1927 cents to
about IA cents. So much for one of
the "barnacles which had fastened it.
selfupon the alliance
If, however, the real prosperity of
the wheat raiser is meant, we say
without hesitation that it would be
vastly better to have the old fashion
ed state turnpike wagon-roads. than
the railroads. A farmer can afford
to haul wheat in the winter time, on
good turnpikes, at $40 a week. A
load of 60 bushels, on a difference of
only Is cents, will furnish nine dol
lars for half the trip!
But that would not be the advan-
tage. The real advantage would be
that the ten million dollars now spent
to build vast cities to corrupt men and
officials, and saddle debts upon agri-
culture, would be distributed among
the grain producers. 1t would buy
wagons, raise horses, hire men, and
in a thousand ways add to the wealth
OF the common people.
We know that personal opinion on
this pint is not SO valuable as a ci-
tation from authority. An actual il
lustration of when q team hauled for
5000 what the railroads charged
81, so can be furnished. 1t occurs in
IT,, following article on the "classif-
ca zion of freight and is the state
ment of Mr.. F. C. Wilson, & l}ber in
tanks and cans ut Cnleago. It was
given Under oath before the senate
Interstate Commerce Committee:
THE CLASSIFICATION OF FREIGHT.
The greatest evil of the freight ques-
ton appears to be in the matter of
classification, which appears at pres
ent to be purely arbitrary and based
more upon "what the goods will
stand" than upon the cost of the SER
vice. 1t costs no more to haul a ton
ofgOld than the same weight of coal.
The extra expense is incurred in it's
care or insurance. So far as weight
and space are concerned, iron and
silver are about equal. The actual
cost OF transporting by rail is suscep-
tible OF demonstration to a nicely.
The car load should be the lowest
rate, as it costs no more to haul fifty
cars for fifty different persons than
fifty cars for the corporation Any
goods that are of such bulk as to load
AGAR to the minimum weight should
be hauled at the same rate for dis
tance, the value to be inserted in the
bill of lading, and such additional
charge made for insurance will cover
the risk
1t is impossible to make an arbi-
trary classification that will cover
the thousands of forms that mer-
chandise is put into. Some time since
we had a quantity of wire shipped
from Cleveland to Chicago, rate, Is
cents per hundred. We desired to ship
it to Riverside, IL miles out on the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Railroad. The rate was about 25
cents per hundred. 1t was worked
into different shape, and desiring to
reship it to Chicago, the rate was
three times first class, think 75cents
per hundred, amounting to about
81. so to return it. A team was hired
which laid the lot down at our fac
tory for -.
A system which permits such things
is not worthy of the name. A gener-
al system could be devised for guam
titles less than carloads, based upon
distance, weight, Dulk, ana value,
(the latter to be determined by the
shipper, who could recover no more
from the railway company, that
could be applied to allclasses of goods
and give vesatisfaction to all merchants
who are willing to compete upon even
terms. lido not say that such a sys-
tenn is practicable in view of the con-
dition of things at the present time,
but it would be just, and eventually
the people would have it.
Here was a case in which it cost,
Is cents per hundred to ship from
Cleveland to Chicago, say 300 miles.
But to take the same goods IN THE
SAME CAR, IL miles, west of Chicago,
cost 25c. hundred. And then, when
manufactured the identical stuff was
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