The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-07-27

a former railway agent, making some
assertions which seemed new or incom
prehensible to the commission. He
afterwards agreed to draw a diagram,
for the use of the commission, which
should show his positions to be correct.
The diagram which was drawn from an
official map of the government, has
been finished and forwarded to the COM
mission, and it shows not only glazing
inconsistencies. but outrageous discrim-
nations against Kansas in many things,
and completely annihilateS the Missouri
river basing-line policy of the roads.
There are points on the Missouri river
far west of Wichita; points re-
ceiving the benefits of such basing-Iine
discrimination that brought straight
south would bring the base near central
! Kansas.
! The map or diagram contains not only
distances and freight rates from Wichita
/ to the lakes, Atlantic and gulf ports, but
shows in figures the grain products of each
western state on its face for the year 1890.
The rates are from the published tariffs
of the various roads, and we note some
important facts for benefit of our Kan
sas readers.
Kansas produced as much corn last
year as Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico
and Texas combined, or more than 100,-
100000 bushels more than Nebraska, and
Kansas had a larger surplus for shipment
than any state west of the Mississippi
river, Iowa possibly excepted. But
Kansas has to force her corn through the
corn fields of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana
and Ohio to reach a forced eastern mar
ket at the end of long haul, TO not only
compete with those states of shorter haul
but forced to pay a higher freight per
ton per mile than Nebraska with Ne
braska's small surplus, and all because a
little corner of Kansas happens TO be
touched by the Missouri river, the
blasting line. While Colorado, New
Mexico and Texas are natural markets
for Kansas corn, and are much nearer,
the rates" to these markets are so
nearly prohibitory as to discourage the
use Of such product by those peoples;
such markets, which would consume
Kansas surplus corn if they were fur
nished it at the same rate that it is
carried east. The diagram shows further
that Kansas City, Missouri, two hundred
miles farther east has the same
rate to Colorado, Texas and New
Mexico and 50 on, as Wichita,
while in going in the other
direction or eastward, Wichita is COM
PEELED to pay differential of cents per
hundred pounds. In brief, the railroads
attempt to force Kansas products into
speculative markets and gorged import
ports instead of permitting us to go to
more near consumers who need it. Kan
sas rates to Colorado should be lowered
to 90 cents per 100. Rates to Texas points
should be cut from 81 to % cents for
Southern Kansas and not made more
than 80 cents from Northern Kansas, or
otherwise too little is being charged on
eastern lines. Kansas rates east should
be as low as Nebraska, and if there is
anything in the railroad song of tonnage
then Kansas with her larger surplus and !
greater tonnage is entitled to a |
lower rate east than Nebraska. !
As it is Kansas pays more for corn to
the st. Louis market than does Ne
braska.
1t looks as though the railroads or their
traffic associations, had gone daft on the |.
LONG haul" craze. To the long haul
they sacrifice everything, including the |
local development to the belts of the /
country to which they look for support, |
and also, all possible dividends for the 4
common stakeholder To have an I'M |
broken train from one basing line to an
other. is a craze for which the local deal |
ers and shippers have to pay. 1t is not |
the long haul, but the local haul, that IS
of the first Importance to railways, their
owners and their managers. and they are
sacrificing their best present interests,
and truest futures, by making everything
bend 20 long haulS and basing lines If /
Iowa. Illinois and Nebraska are allowed .
to ship TO the gulf at the same rate
charged Kansas, then why. under the
long haul craze. and why. in the name of
common decency. is not Kansas allowed /
to ship north and east at the same rate
charged those states.
We sincerely hope that Wichita. in
conjunction with Governor Anthony. has
succeeded in beating some idea of west
ern fairness into the heads of a commits
sion which. in all its history up to within
a few months has never proved of any
benefit TO anybody, If We except the rail
ways.
---