Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-18
AFTER LOCAL TRADE.
Effect of the Interstate Commerce
Law Upon Manufacturers.
no MORE HELP FROM RAILROADS.
Row the Companies Made and Fostered
Business in the Past.
A NEW ROUTE INTO TIE COKE FIELDS

When G. s. Wight, General Western
Freight Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio
road. is not busy, he is always willing to
talk, and he seldom opens his mouth with
out saying something. In general conver-
sation yesterday about the railroad business
he said:
Gas for the volume of business being car
ried by our road at the present. notice by
reference to the report for the first week in
September that it is up to what we did last
year. We have all we can do to
handle the traffic and cars continue to
be very scarce. The general tendency
of railroad rates these days is downward.
This is the result of competition from other
roads and from territory. I can explain
what mean by the latter expression by
citing an example. To-day the Central
Traffic Association is asked to reduce the
rates on coal from Detroit to Chicago by the
Detroit people. They state that formerly
their com petitors in manufacturing were in
Central New York, but the New York peo-
pie have gone into Chicago and farther
west
FORCED TO GO WEST.
"The Detroit people now claim that they
can't compete, and unless the rate on coal is
reduced they must either move to Chicago
or go West. In the same way the Mahoning
Valley pig iron has been shut out of the South
ern markets by the growth of the industry in
that section. We are not carrying much pig
iron any more from this valley to Southern
points.
Before the davs of the Interstate law the
make trade in New York. and manufacturers
III the latter State to go to Illinois, and then by
system of through low rates to take care of
the business after it was created and the rates
But you can't do that now under the law. The
rates all along the road must be changed,
The business men of this country are learn
Ing that, as the West is growing and becoming
able to take care Of itself, they must
depend ON the local markets to
keep up their trades. It is impossible for the
railroads to help them much longer by reducing
the rates. They are down to hard pan now.
The great railroad problem is how to reduce
expenses. 1t is true the gross earnings of roads
are large. but on account OF strikes, the higher
price of labor and other causes the operating
expenses are larger.
RAILROADS MAKE CONCESSIONS.
"If the Government controlled the railroads
business men would be worse off than they are
now. Uncle Sam would probably fix a
MINIMUM rate OelOW which IL WOulQ De
impossible TO 90, while the railway managers
at present are willing to strain point, if it can
be done.
"By the way, on this question of wages, for it
enters into the problem, gentleman from
Europe remarked to me the other day that we
Americans had no idea how we'll off we were.
Our workmen are well fed in comparison to the
laborers in the Old World: in fact the average
American mechanic fares as well as the wealthy
people of Europe. and the rich of this country
live away ahead of the kings and princes. II
America man can marry whoever he pleases,
but few stop to think how the liberty of the
titled classes are curtailed in the Old World.
They are bound down by social rules and
questions of political policy to such an ex-
tent that their wills are not their
own. Only the other day was amused at a
ridiculous thing. The Prince of Wales in
tended to visit a wealthy Hebrew in Austria,
because he liked the man. When the Austrian
nobility heard of it they wrote to Wales that
he was not permitted by the court of etiquette
to do it and he didn't. No such social laws
would be tolerated in America. After all we
ought to be happy"