The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-08-04
LIVE STOCK RATES TO WICHITA.

After the legislature had formally ap
proved such rates do not suppose any
man will seriously argue that Wichita
would have had very much show of
even getting hack her old rates. much
less of ever getting better ones. But
that is not the most of the business; for,
at the same time, the rates from many
of these same points to Kansas City
were decreased as much as they
were increased to Wichita--thereby
doubling the discrimination against
Wichita. The following letter from one
of the foremost live stock firms in south
ern Kansas needs no comment from me:
WICHITA, Kas., Aug. 2, 1892.
Hon Geo. l.. Douglass.
DEAR SIR:-Replying to yours of recent
date asking what effect the maximum
freight bill passed by the lower house of ths
last Legislature, would have upon the live
stock market at Wichita, had it become
effective-y-e find that it would have had "a
most disasi rous effect. For instance, the
rate from Newton to Wichita is now SO
per standard car; under that bill the rate
would have been advanced to 49, Pratt
would have been 81 50 more; Augusta 81
more Nearly all points tributary to Wich-
tia would have been raised by this law
from 81 to Sc per standard car. In addition
10 this discrimination the rates to Kansas
City from most of these same points would
have been lowered. la fact, so far as the
Wichita 1--we stock Interests are concerned,
the bill looks as thou gh il had been franz
ed by the Kansas City. Mo-. stock yards
people. Ii they did not frame the bill they
could not improve it any Ill their owQ in
tereSts.
Our market has, from the beginning.
been Disseminated against in the interest
of Kansas City, Mo, and 1t looks to US as
though the general freight moguls of the
different railroads were fully competent
to hold our market down in the interest OF
themselves and their Missouri allies with
out any assistance from the lawmakers of
Kansas What in our Judgment Kansas
IN general and Wichita In pai ticular needs
is relief from the fragrant Determinations
OF the railroad corporations who seem de
termined TO favor Kansas City. But we
don't want the kind OF relief provided for
III the maximum freight bill
ELDRIDGE s CAMPBELL
Next consider for moment the sched-
ules of this bill for all fourth and fifth
class freigbtS. These classes coFer the
great bulk OF commodities handled by
our wholesalers. The rates for these
classes, while they were materially low
cred, We're nevertheless so arranged that
the Kansas City jobhins houses would
have had 4 permanent advantage over
their Wichita competitors at almost
every point IN the lei ritory properly
belonging to the Wichita jobbing trade,
Ii IS simply necessary to add the pro-
posed rates into Wichita to the proposed
rates out of Wichita and compare tie
total with the proposed rates from Kan
sas City direct 70 points in our terr8toTy
TO see that the Kansas City merchant
could undersell his Wichita competitor
at nearly every point. At Pratt, for in
stance, his advantages over the Wichita
jobber would be from 3 to IL cents on
every hundredweight;a t Medicine Lodge,
from II To 1aA cents; at GreensbuTg,
from 10 10 cents; at Coldwater. from
81 TO IA. cents; at Ashland, from Il to
15s cents, at Englewood, from 8 to Il
cents. and so on, the amount of the dis
elimination depending 10 some extent