Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1890-04-29

Wholesale aud at retail. How far will
thi. comparison hold goodf Most men
In mercantile business are content when
they can .erurc rrtall price that cxcec'is
the wholesale price by twenty-five per
cent. rherc are some lines, like that ~
the spoth.cary, in which the difference
between the Wholesale aud retail pricrs
run as high q. ANY to Que hundred per
cent or mor. Hut hsy. yet "a hear OF
any business cScrpt the railroad bu.lne..
In which II ever reaches O. much a. ~D
or .Oo per cent, aud IN. figure. ! have
given of the transportation rates In
Maine show that Ia the railroad bu.lnc..
u sometimes goe. beyond even that.
I cono.dc that the rsllrosds .hould bc
allowed Ca exact fair sum for the sdaie'i
proporilonste rNp-nsi,snes. 81 the ter
mlnal handling On short hauls bat other
wl.e, II seems "a me. the prices charged
dlnrrat shipper. should b. gaugs,i en-
tIrrly by the distance ani by the service.
Ierfornel-ln other words, should be
strictly pD rsts. The disparity ~ frall-
way charges which makes u lmpo..ible
fof the Maine farmer Ia earn fair rvturn
for ~. honest work seems me IA be cruel
IA unjust anl utterly inirfcnslble.
10 w measure remove tlils disparity
l. . vital bcc,.sity. aud the tssk \. well
worthy ~, b.'st energy noe only 81 Va"
farmers hut ~ every element IN the pop
ulailon n the state. for al aw directly
or Indirectly injured by IN" prrscni dl.-
trr.ss,l condition ~ the farming commun-
ItV, aud al will have a share In the bsne-
~. tint will result from the achievement
10 conditions under which th. farmers
xIll agaln thrive a. they thro,e b.for. the
var. Even the railway. ihcmssl'e., vel
a. they appear Ia D. doing nov, Will. !
h.ileyr. gain Instead of lo.e by the
rhsngr. For, after al, substantial prus-
perlty cannot b. contlnuslly enjoyed by
rallroal companle. Operating llncs which
run through a country whose population
AMI Industry arr steadily declining.
believe that the permanent prosperity ~
the rsllruad. "a we'll q. ~ the people ot
N.ine depends on the establishment of
freight chprgrs upon basis that viii
allow the farmers to do business NJ
pront. I believe that u the railways of
Maine continue a. mllniain their present
fuInous rate.. th. busincss coming a.
them sIlI .te1dily ani surely dwindl~,
L
have killci the goose that lsl'i the golden
eggs.
our wesirrn railroads, recognizing q
dlr-ct relationship between the prosper
ity ~ their patrons aud their own pros
psritv. frequently place rates upon
s.rtain klni. ~ freight, .ay saw Mill
machinery going Into a new country. AZ
[, nominal hgurr. depending upon the
development 20 future bu.iness for their
prnht.. Artuaiei by similar spirit.
they often carry se.,i corn and wheat Tor
nothing Ia district. along their lines
vb~rr the previous seasons crops have
failed.
Even we're ther- mo- ccrialn eNPecta-
ilon ~ Increased business, believe the
railroads of Maine could we'll aiord Ia
make tllslr charge. on trai'lc With the
farming district. lrs. hurlen.ome. ! am
toll that there Ia. b-rn virtually No ~
,lnrtinn In frrigh, rate. w Maine during
~. p,st tsrnty.nye yrar.. The cO.t 81
r,ilroid builling has b""n very material
ly r,luc,l during that time. In lSGl.
iron rail. ~ poOr quality cost ->Oto -ln
p-r ton. Nov the b-.t steel rail-. co.t
nnIy 80 p.r ton. The locomotiNe hhs
l.rn improved 90 that the freight engine
IL today carrie. lo,d four time. q.
heavy a. that ot the freight engine ~
/, qusrtrr of century ago. 'haunc"N
VI p~p~N, whom takr to be- . prrttv
goad authority nu railway matters, sAid
In on. of hi. inlmltable .Pc"che. not
long ago.-
"n,ilroad locnm1tion aud trinsporia-
linn arr. sro~Ing cheaper every daV, and
. r,llruah can nos do much With . profit
that fftcrn year. ago would have meant
I, lo... The modern locomoti'" has
bs-n brought to such state ~ peffec-
ton that n. cosi. on the Que side. and
u. maintenance. on the other, are bat
fraction II what they u.ei to b". There
Ia. l,s-n q similar improvement In cat''
frogs. switchc. aud ih- numhefle.. d'~
tall. whlch arr Involved la the bu.lne...
Nil Ia thl. the smaller price of labor,
th. gr-atrr amount of work done anl
thu low rate. of Interest on capital, and
you can easily .ec how revolution has
occurrrd Ia all railway travel within the
mrmOry ~ our own gcnsration.
Tie rallrUad hu.lnsss of the country al
large 4. 4. az done at considerably lover
rate. than wrrr current a quarter ~
century ago. notwithstanding the fact.
80 we'll .et forth by Mr.. Dcpew, u !. .
common thing to hear railway official.
claim that ths.e are evil day. for the
railway bu.iness. Hut official hgurr.
pr,.entrd by board. of directors to
.tockholIer. ar. a better Index to TACT.
than official utterancrs made Ia the pub
Ilc. The New York financlal Chronicle
| has lust publi.he,l tabulitcl statement
of the gro.. and net earnings 81 the
leading railroads ~ the United state.
for the y-ar lsSp. II covers siN-.eNcnths
of the road. ofthe entire country. Ih'.
statement shows that the ppnts oi
the roads mentioned Increased more tlan
% p.r cent In lS~g over lss-, notwith-
standing large expansion Ia ls,' a.
compared with the average ot recent
preceding years. Not only are the rail-
rad. not losing money, hut they arr
making IL faster than they did formerly,
when the average of freight rates VA.
higher.
let the whole lnfiuenc. of the people
of Maine, Ia the elite. anl towns a. well
a. Ia the farming communities, be direct
ell to bringing the attention ~ the rail-
uay compsnie. la the state Ia the necrs-
| .ity of lowering their rates, that the
farmer. may be able Ia live, and think
| ln view of all the facts, the companies
can hardly refuse "a do IL.
Hut surprising they should refu.ei Ia
that case u will remain for the people of
Maine to take course -imllar To mat
.,lopt.l by the people of Wisconsin In
lssj. The farmer. of Wisconsin organ
lre,i thcn.elye. into grange., and stand
in. shoulder to shoulder, ~ one man,
they exertci an influence that compelled
respect. and that made itself felt In the
| legislature of the state, which had preyi-
ou. Ia that time been .ub.eryient Ia the
corporations. II was this iniuence that
procured the passage Of the famous
Potter lava law that ixei maximum
prIc. for each of the several classes of
railroad freight, and provided penalties
for attempts Ia charge more. The con-
.tltutIonilliy II thi. Law was sustained by
the supreme Court of the United states.
The railroad companies claimed that the
enforcement of the law would be- imPos-
.lble. ani that they would become bank
rupt II they dli business In conformity
With Il. provisions. Hut the Law stood
on the statute book. for several year.,
ans. VA. strictly enforced, aud the COM
p,nle. continued to flourish. Not only
that, hut they are to-day voluntarily
charging much lower rates than those
pre.crited by the Potter law.