The record-union., 1892-04-16
A SENSIBLE VIEW.
Railroad Rates to the East From Cali
fornia.
What an Illinois Man Has to say About
'Reasonableness'' of Freight Rates
on California Products.


Whlch suggests the thought that the mid
dleman is the influence shippers of Cali
fornIa products should look to for alleged
narrowness of profits.
Inc correspondent says that he has no.
uced letter in the Farmer of March
18th from K. P. McGlincy, late Secretary
OF the Elgin, Ill. Gutter, Board Of Trade,
ana once writer on the Elgin AdU0cdte.
In that letter, which was written from
santa clara County, was passage, which
the correspondent quotes, to the effect
tnat what California needs is a competing
railroad from the Missouri to the Pacific
10 compete with the Southern Pacific
Company, because the latter charges
freight rates on the bases of what the
product will stand. 1t is added by Mr..
McGlincy that some of the stockholders
IN the company have made great for
tunes, Wrung from the producers, and
hence many people advocate Government
ownership OF the railroads, and that they
are not cranks, either.
The correspondent then goes on to say !:
know that Colonel McCIincy is not one of
the ''cranks" he mentions, and that he knows
that he and his brother fruit-growers are not
imposed on by the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company, hence my surprise that he should
write as he has. IL IS not to set him right that
EGl ILLS, BGCAuSc KNOW UutlU ne Knows the
facts and the equities of the case and needs no
tuition from me- but / write TO prevent any
OF your readers from being deceived by Col
onel McGHncy'S SophiStfcal statements as TO
this railroads tariff
You see he says, .'CalifoInia's needs, above
all things, competing railroad.' He seems
TO forget that there is such IL road operating
through Southern California and that for four
years 1t competed with the Southern Pacific,
until it was practically bankrupt-could not
pay the owners OF It's stock anything what
ever, and could not pay even the interest on
its mortgages until the bankers of the East
stepped IN and had the interest scaled down
to almost nothing, and with this, it has not
in two years got its head above the waves.
And this was simply the result of it's being a
competitive railroad" that attempted to get
business by making lower tariff than the
southern Pacific Company found it could be
solvent under.
do not believe Judging from Colonel Nc
Glincy East record, that he believes in work
ing Tor nothing or giving to the public more
than dollars worth OF his time for one dol
lars worth OF recompense. He says the man
ayers of the Southern Pacific Company TASK
now much the product will STAND, and then
charge freight rates on that basis" That this
is not true Colonel McGlincy himself fur
niSheS the proof in the notes. now before me-
He says.the special crop he is talking about
dried apricots and the like-sells in the East
10 the consumers at sixteen or eighteen cents
per Iound, while the fruit sells Tor only five
and a half cents per pound in san JOSE Now
1t is clear that If the Southern Pacific Com
pany charged all the product would stand
there could not be ten and a half cents per
pound profit absorbed between its leaving The
grower and reaching the consumer. Only
81 40 is charged for carrying 100 pounds Of
dried apricots from san Jose, CAL, to New
York City, or one and iour-tenths of one cent
per pound, so that nine and one-tenth cents
per pound is absorbed by someone other than
the transportation companies. san Jose is in
round numbers 3, 500 miles from New York
City, and for that haul The railways ''eXact'
less than one and a half cents pound for car
ryfng product for which the consumers pay
$500 to $500 ton.
1t seems to one that it is clear neither the
Southern Pacific Company nor any of the
other lines between san Jose and New York
are ''eXacting" any very extortionate (?) rate
on McGlincy's dried apricots, and that he VIII
have to look elsewhere than to railroad rates
when he wishes to discover what is the matter
viii here say that am not attorney for
the Southern Pacific Company, nor am now
nor have ever been in It's employ, or have
been paid by It in any way, directly or indi-
Tectly, nor do l now nor have ever owned
any OF its stock or bonds, nor have ever had
any connection with that company or any OF
its interests, and that / am only student of
the railroad problem and only wish to see
even-handed Justice exacted on both sides 1t
may or may not be true that the stockholders
OF the Southern Pacific Company 'ha e added
millions of dollars to their or gnal capital y
but if il is true that is no bass for Mr. Me
Glincy's attack on them, provided they have
not eXacted more than reasonable tariff on
the freight they have carried The reasona-
bienesS OF a rate is the only rule ii should be
measured by--no other measure is fair or lust
If a rate is reasonable 10 shipper has any lust
basis of complaint against a railroad com
pany, even II the shipper is loser on the
shipments he makes.
Ii is no part of a railroads duty to gIIaran-
Tee It's patrons against loss on the sales of their
property, or 10 guarantee the shipper profit
40 matter EoV small he may ask, on his Shiu-
ment The railroad company is o carrier ONLY
and II it charges a reasonable rate only and
carries the shipment promptly and safely its
duty and all It's duty is cone, even If the ship
per mas become bankruptcy his losses on his
shipments. The sooner Colonel McGIincy and
other shippers get over the notion that it is
the duty OF the railroad company to guaIan-
lee the shipper a profit, the sooner viii com
plant cease. The Colonel seems TO forget that
in twenty-five years q return Of only SIX per
holders one and one-half their original invest
meat. L take il that neither Co.opel Nc
Glincy, nor any other California fruitgrower
would claim that SIX per cent. was an inordi-
nate interest 10 expect from the Investment of
capital in a business as risky as that cf rail-
road building.
While / have no idea that Congrt s. will ever
be insane enough TO bEy, or dishonest enough
10 contscate the railroads. still win venture
the prediction, il the United States ever
operates the southern Pacific Railroad
neither Mr.. McGlincy nor anyone else will
ever be able to ship a hundred pounds OF
valuable fruit thirty-hve hundred miles for
fact is, 4 lower rate than that was never made
in any other part OF the world on freight OF
similar value for the same distance. In Great
Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary
Russia, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, EVERYWHERE
outside of the American continent, freight
rates are from two TO five times as great as
they are here. l know ii is popular to de
nounce railroads and especially the Southern
Pacific Company but / know at the same
time if ii were not for this railroad Mr. Nc
Glincy's fruit could not be sold in san Jose
for one mill a pound. have seen the day in
this same San Jose when the Mission Fathers
would cheerfully make you a present OF a
wagon-load of apricots, or even ply you to
take them away fIom their grounds to keeo
them from rotting, and this simply because
there was 10 railroad even TO carry them fiffy
miles to San Francisco. l take it, Mr. Me
Glincy would hardly be willing to see those
old days and ways return TO the Santa Clara
Valley.
Colonel McGlincy has been long enough in
California to know that the larger part of the.
stories told as to the impoSitionS by the
southern Pacific Company are bold. naked
lies, gotten up for political purposes only. and
that they have no basis whatever Of truth be-
hind them, and that whenever IA real wrong
has been done to the patrons OF the road it
has only been necessary 10 call the attention
OF the management thereto TO have it cor
rected promptly. This / know TO be o fact
and so can everyone else If he viii try to get
1t the facts 1t is true that the Southern Pa
ciiic Company is there for business and to
make money for its owners, and no business
man would expect IL TO work for nothing. II
Its rates are reasonable it is no ones business
il the owners make fortunes or not.
WHAT a FRUIr-GRoWER FOUND.
why California Dried Fruit Goes Slow
in Eastern Markets.
EDS, RECORD UNION: I have been
handed the prospectus of the proposed
,rranization of a State Frnit-Csrowers,