Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-07-16
GRAIN RATES.
The Long HauI---How the Rail
roads Work the Rabbit
Foot
ON THE MILLER AND CONSUMER
Almost Miracle How ANY Business Has
Been Done in Texas at all With
Freight Rates all on the Long
Haul and-Skim-'E EN- Basis.

AUSTIN, Ten July 1.-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
in the case were not elected.
REPRESENTATIVE COCHRAN OF DALLAS
came down yesterday to make a statement
and place some facts and figures before the
commission, such as would place the situa-
ton with reference to that subject in a
clearer light. From his statement, Texas
does not produce by 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 us prepared for market,
MIR. Cochran wants the roads to grant a
storage rate; that Is, Il rate that will allow
the shipper at Vernon. say, 20 stop his
wheat in transit at Fort Worth and store
it When he desires later to continue the
shipment to Galveston let it be done on the
original rate, with, of course, a 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 chance to
wait for
A SATISFACTORY MARKET,
instead of rushing their grain 10 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 it should remain here A glance at
the rates on wheat to various points, as
cited by Mr. Cochran. will show how the
a. wi tl,ni,. ~ -l,A
miller and consumer The rates are rs fol-
lows:
Vernon to Fort Worth 1852 miles, 20 cents
Vernon to Dallas, 1914 miles. 22l: cents.
Vernon to Corsicana. 2i0 miles. 22i. cents.
Vernon to Galveston. 80. miles. % cents.
Vernon to San Antonio. Az miles. 32i. cents.
Abilene to Dallas. 1872 miles "A cents.
Abilene TO Marshall. ES9 miles, IA cents.
Abilene TO CorSicana. 30 miles, 70 cents
Abilene 10 Galveston, SOB miles, - cents.
Now, observe the interstate rates and see
how the long haul works. 1t 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, 80 cents
Vernon 10 Chicago. 1lSS miles. 30 cents.
Vernon 10 New Orleans. 7i5 miles. - cents.
Abilene to St Louis. g03 miles. - cents.
Abilene to Chicago. 1856 miles, 81 cents.
Abilene to New Orleans, 5l3 miles, - cents.
Why should wheat be hauled to New Or
leans for % cents, while 3215 cents is
charged TO San Antonio. and if the roads
can AFFORD to haul it from Abilene to St
Louis for p 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 32I5 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 to
the state either as grain or -four, is very
much higher than the outgoing haul. Again
after
HArLING 1T BACK
to the commercial centers in the state they
collect third tariff, the exoribtant local
rate exacted in distributing it to the con-
sumer The Texas grain raiser can not mar
ket his grain in the state. because the sum
OF Tue tocai rates IN getting II 10 the con-
sumner is greater than the interstate rate
For example, wheat shipped from Vernon
and made INTO hour AT Fort Worth must pay
an additional liz cents to reach Galveston.
or a total OF 31s cents. The rate from Yer
non to ST. Louis is 80 cents, OF - 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, were
men who appeared 10 stand in with tho
railroads. and doubtless Travelled on free
passes Many of them argued strongly in
favor Of the existing system OF freight