Omaha daily bee., 1892-08-21
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SOUTH OMAHA.
Manager Babcock Talks About the Need of
Freight Bureau.

Manager Babcock Talks About the Need of
Freight Bureau.
The recent action OF the Omaha Board OF
Trade in refusing 10 lend assistance IN estab-
fishing and maintaining the Omaha Freight
bureau was disappointment to those inter-
ested in the plan In South Omaha, and the
general opinion prevails that the large indus
tries in the Magic City have been very shah
billy treated. A freight bureau ia
necessary adjunct to the sue
cessful building up of industries and
enterprises, which must be fairly treated by
the railways and against which there must
be no discrimination IN favor OF other locali-
ties. Kansas CITY has freight bureau,
strong and healthy organization, that sue
cessfully combats all attempts to establish
rates injurious TO the success OF any industry
in that city, and the success of the live stock
enterprise there is in a great measure due to
the ageressiveness of the freight bureau and
the determined stand taken against any pro-
posed establis hment OF rates the least dis
criminative. General Manager Babcock of
the Union stock yards, in speaking OF tho
proposed freight bureau and Its benefits,
said:
The action of the Board of Trade in
refusing to assist in the establishment of the
bureau was great disappointment aud not
what L expected. or course IL was not an
expression of the business men who are
members Of the board, and had they been
present the result would have been entirely
different. / am confident, however, that we
viii be able 10 establish bureau within
short time without the assistance of the
Board OF Trade aud will make a successful
and strong organization.
"lhe welfare of Omaha and South Omaha
demands the organization o. the commercial
Interests, and that is the only effective man
ner In which TO secure protection to our in
dustries aud business enterprises. We have
had several propositions before the traffic as
sociations and railways for a better read
justment of freight rates, and had there been
bureau to have taken up the fight we would
have been more successful in securing what
we asked, and that was out just.
We were combatted at every turn,
and are today by the Kansas
City Freight bureau, an organiza-
tion that is strong and whose officers are un-
tlrng and ever on the lookout to accomplish
something for their town. At the present
time we have proposition for better rates
before railway company, and while they
have not refused our request, they are
simply holding 1T in abeyance for few days
longer, and 1 am satisfied that the Kansas
City fellows are responsible for IT. The po-
sition we are in makes 1t imperative that we
have an organization to take up the fight for
better freight rates and do away with the
discrimination against our stock industry.
II regret that there are some of the Omaha
business men who do not seem to realize the
necessity of organization, and back up their
refusal to join with us by the statement that
they are not dissatisfied with the tolls they
pay the railways Even Il they are satisfied
today. they must rembember that change
Is liable TO be made at any time and rates in
creased on the particular kind of merchan-
disc they handle. They could not secure re-
lief as individuals or firms, and only by
ganization could justice DO gained for them.
| am of the opinion that the bureau will yet
be established ana nearly the entire COM
mercial interests of both cities will be repre-
Scnted,p