Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-07-12
GRAIN RATES.
The Long Haul---How the Rail-
roads Work the Rabbit
Foot
ON THE MILLER AND CONSUMER
Almost a Miracle How Any Business Has
Been Done in Texas at all With
Freight Rates all on the Long
Haul andSkim- EN- Basis.
Snecial 70 the Gazette.

AUSTIN, TEX, July u.-One Of the chief
sources of complaints urged before the
railroad commission is the grain rates i'm
posed in this state by the railroads. The
| complaint extends to both local and inter
state shipments. The subject came up dur
ing the four days conference between the
traffic men and the commissioners last week,
but was not fully discussed, or the real facts
i'll the case were not elected.
REPRESENTATIVE COCHRAN OF DALLAS
came down Yesterday TO make a statement
and place some facts aud figures before the
commission. Sucp as would place the Situa-
ton with reference to that subject in a
| clearer light. From his statement, Texas
does not produce oy about one-third enough
wheat to supply home consumption. For
the quantity raised there are no facilities
for storing and holding until it can be
ground into -four and marketed. To es-
tabiSh a system of elevators for storing
the wheat as soon as prepared for market,
MIR. Cochran wants the roads to grant a
storage rate; that is, a rate that will allow
the shipper ut Vernon, say, 20 stop his
wheat in transit at Fort Worth and store
il. When he desires later to continue the
shipment TO Galveston let it be done on the
original rate, with of course, d certain sum
added for the trouble OF storing As he
states, the railroads grant such privileges
to the shippers in Kansas, Nebraska and
other states and gives them a chance TO
wait for
SATISFACTORY MARKET,
instead of rushing their grain to the COM
mercial centerS at once and Quitting the
market. In Texas, the withholding that
privilege by the roads, and the granting of
low rates to st. Louis, Chicago and New
Orleans carries the wheat out OF the state.
when il should remain here. A glance at
the rates on wheat TO various points, as
cited by Mr.. Cochran, will show how the
roads work their rabbit-foot on the Texas
miller and consumer. The rates are as fol-
lows:
Vernon to Fort Worth, l62 miles. % cents
Vernon to Dallas, 19i miles, 22is cents
Vernon TO COrSicana, 24O miles. 22ig cents
Vernon TO Galveston 5o1 miles - cents.
Vernon TO san Antonio, 442 miles. 32is cents.
Abilene to Dallas, 1872 miles. IA cents
Abilene 10 Marshall. :S39 miles II cents.
Abilene to CorSi cana, 2i0 miles, 20 cents.
Abilene TO Galveston, 5o3 miles, - cents.
Now, observe the interstate rates and see
how the long haul works. II will be noticed
that there is no regularity in the local rates,
as Galveston gets her wheat from Abilene
for twenty cents, while San Antonio pays
thirty-two and one-half cents, and Corsi-
cana pays the same as Galveston. 1t costs
twenty cents to bring wheat from Vernon
TO Fort Worth, and only fourteen cents
from Abilene to Marshal and the same
from Abilene to Dallas.
Now, as to
THE INTERSTATE RATES.
They are:
Vernon to St. Louis. eO5 miles, 50 cents.
Vernon TO Chicago, llSS miles, 80 cents.
Vernon TO New Orleans, .l5 miles, 50 cents.
Abilene TO St. Louis aOS miles, % cents.
Abilene TO Chicago. 11S5 miles, 81 cents
Abilene TO New Orleans 7l3 miles, rs certs.
Why should wheat be hauled to New Or
leans for p cents, while 3215 cents is
charged TO San Antonio, and if the roads
o,r ~ baul II from hlape IN 81
Louis for % cents, is not 20 cents an eXor-
bitant price from Vernon to Fort WORTH
Wheat is hauled from Abilene to Chicago
for 81 cents, and to San Antonio 321s cents
is charged. These figures are taken from
two shipping points only in the state. but
they are enough to illustrate the situation
generally. OF course, anyone can see that
the object of the low interstate rate is not
as the traffic men say to assist the shipper,
but to get the benefit of two long haulS.
The rate on the second or return haul, when
the wheat must Of necessity come back 10
the state either as grain or flour, Is very
much higher than the outgoing haul. Again
after
HAuLING IT BACK
to the commercial centers in the state they
collect a third tariff, the exorbitant local
rate eXacted in distributing 1t TO the con-
sumer. The Texas grain raiser can not mar
ket his grain in the state, because the sum
of the local rates in getting 1t to the con-
sumer IS greater than the interstate rate.
For example, wheat shipped from Vernon
and made into flour at Fort Worth must pay
an additional l7l5 cents to reach Galveston,
or total of 31iS cents. The rate from Yer
non to St. Louis is 80 cents, or ~ cents less.
1t was noticed by the commission and
others, that most of those not traffic men,
who came to Austin during the recent con-
ference TO talk to the commission, We're
men who appeared to stand in with the
railroads. and doubtless travelled on free
passes. Many of them argued strongly in
rates. although it is VIGOROUSLY vicious
but it always cropped out that they We're
benehclaries OF it. 1t is needless to say
that the arguments of those men did not
carry very great weight with the commits
sion. One OF them got it in the neck from
Judge Reagan when he interrupted him in
the middle OF very pretty speech and said
in stern manner: Sir. yeu stated that
YOU appeared here in the interest of -,
but now it seems that you are representing