The morning call., 1893-02-14
TO PONDER OVER.
Freight Rates in Iowa and
California.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS.
Importance of the Adoption of the
Proposed Distance Tariff
Shown.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS.

Reference was made in yesterdays CALL
to the discrimination Ia local tarln rates
on the Southern Pacific lines.
The proposed California distance-tarlf
will apparently give an average return per
ton per mile of about per cent lower than
that now in force
The advantage that will be gained Is IN
the equalization of charges so that the
man in the Sacramento Valley will not
have to paw more than man who lives an
equal distance from San Francisco in the
San Joaquin Valley. and one living a
shorter distance away need not pay more
man one living at twice the distance. Dis
elimination against places and individuals
will be dohe away with, and every shipper
and locality will stand on an equal footing.
more convincing proof of the nece5-
sity for the adoption of the railroad tariff
bills now before the Senate can be found
than in the Southern Pacific tariff sheets
themselves, which are seml-secret docu-
ments.
They are not in the hands of shippers,
and il is only by special favor that few OF
the largest dealers secure a copy OF rates for
the class of goods in which they deal. They
are Kept as secret almost as though they
we're evidences of crime. But the State, 1t
the railroad commission, and IL should have
It on exhibition IN the Senate chamber.
There let any Of those members who pay
freight ID the Southern Pacific first view the
vast bulk of the document and then see
what they pay for shipping goods, and how
much, more OF less, the same goods are car
RED for other dealers no further distant
from San Francisco.
Let him ascertain, if he can. how much he
Will be charged to ship from one interior
point to another. Let him become en-
tangled in the maze of contradictory Dgures
and try to explain the different rates on the
same goods TO different persons by the stock
railroad arguments Of cost Of coal, grades
and snowSheds. he will see at once that
under the present tariff methods the ship
per is at the mercy Of ths railroad. Exac-
tons without number can be made, and he
is DowerleSs. The system is designed for
the purpose Of binding the shippers hand
and foot. ard it has admirably succeeded.
Then let him turn TO the clean-cut, hon.
est reasonable and intelligent system that
is proposed for this State. Under this every
shipper, ne matter how small, can have
tariff book al hand and can tell at a glance
what it viii cost 10 send goods 10 any part
OF the State. AID he knows, too, that the
same charge being made fox given distance,
no matter where, he cannot be taken adj
vantage Of by a competitor. All shippers
are on the saTe footing. Now they are
ton in this mannOr there is no doubt that
the tariff bill will be passed.
There is no fact brought out by the off,
eials of the Southern Pacific Company be-
fore the Committee on Constitutional
Amendments which can justify the present
system Of rates that Is now in force. There
has been brought forward nothing which
will justify the Southern Pacific in charg-
ing four prices TO carry tbs same goods 1O4
miles from San Francisco; nothing 10 JUS
tify imposing a higher freight charge to
Bakersfield than to Dunsmuir, which has a
lift of 200 feet; nothing TO justify the
charge OF 40 cents Tor carrying goods 3i4
miles when the same goods are carried right
by the door and 800 miles further on for the
same price. In fact nothing has been
brought forward which will Justify the most
unequal and the most outrage0usly arranged
freight tariff which exists in the United
States to-day.
Facts have been laid before the Commit
tee on Constitutional Amendments which
viii bear repetition.
II was shown thar whereas the Southern
Pacific charges / 81 cents per ton for carry
ing freight the lines in Iowa carry it for
the following: Burlington, Cedar Rapids
and Northern, lilo; Chicago. Burlington
and Quincy, 1.02; Chicago, Milwaukee and
ST. Paul, /; Chicago and Northwestern, 1.02;
Chicago. Rock Island and Pacific, 1.01.
California rates are therefore on an aver
aye over 30 per cent hlgner than bhoSe
charged in Iowa
The lines referred to are, as is well known,
governed by the Iowa distance tariff, on
which thai now before the committee is
based, but the rates In the California dis
tanee tariff are not so low as those in Iowa.
a comparison Of the two will show that the
California tariff is about 81 per cent higher
than the Iowa tariff, under which the roads
in Iowa earned their money.
The average haul Of ton of freight on
she Southern Pacific OmDany's line is 200
miles The rate for 2O0 miles according to
the different distance tariffs would show the
average charge imposed on a ton hauled.
The following figures. giving rate in cents
per 100 pounds, taken from the proposed
California and the Iowa distance tariffs, will
show how much the proposed tariff exceeds
the Iowa tariff. and justify the claim that the
former win average about 81 per cent more
than the latter: