The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-04-19
The Transportation Question,

Cheap transit of freight is essen
tia. to free people. Freight is
hauled cheap by railroads to that
class Of men who are in combination
for the purpose to obtain special
privileges. The Farmers Alliance
took a stand on this question sever
al years ago, when it declared that
the smallest village should have the
same right as the greatest city, the
humbl individual the same right
as the greatest corporation. COM
panv or business man; that the
rates of freight should be the same
whether in one car load or in sew
eral car loads. st. Paul and Mime
apolis had it freight bureau several
years ago, paying the manager
thereof "a 900 year. The result of
the work was special rates to the
Twin Cities. The interstate COM
merce law of 1887 was supposed to
nullifv the work of such freight bu
reaus. The question now is, has
special privileges been abridged by
the interstate commerce law? Per
haps it has!. Under the milling in
transit, freight rates paid to Chica
go for wheat shipped say from Sa-
cred Heart, 20 cents per cwt.
The wheat milled IN Minneapolis,
the -four shipped via Duluth at 5
cents per cwt, made the value of
the transit receipt to Chicago from
Minneapolis worth only cents, or
slightly more, perhaps Z cents per
cwt. 1.-THE Food Com bine'stepped in
to create harmony between the
wheat combine and heir presumpt-
i've, the transportation combine,
the freight rate to the Atlantic sea-
board was fixed, and as part there
of the rate from Minneapolis to Chi
cago was fixed at 10 cents per cwt.
for wheat, while the proportion
west of Minneapolis remained at 16
cents per cwt. for 2O5 to $50 miles,
or &c cents to Chicago for 625 or $50
miles haul, Breckenridge and Moor
head respectively. There is
hardly a railroad in the civil
lied world to-day that can haul
freight as cheap as the Great North
ern railway line from Breckenridge
to Minneapolis. 1t is said that
three train crews now handle the
seven crews did two years ago.
Their heavy eight-wheeled locomo-
tives, called hogs, are pulling
eightvfive loaded cars east out of
Breckenridge. A large number of
cars are 10000 pounds capacity,
the lowest numbered cars 10000,
and the old standard cars
10000 pounds. Eighty. five
cars at 100000 pounds each
100000 pounds, 1,7OO tons, 56,666
bushels of wheat can be carried in
one train to Willmar. One hundred
and thirteen miles by one train
crew of six men paid, perhaps, an
aggregate of $40. The locomotive
will burn about ten tons of coal at
So. per ton, 1913. Fuel and train crew
on the run from Breckenridge to
Minneapolis will not cost the Great
Northern company $125, and the
receipts for Sc, 666 bushels of
wheat at 9cents per bushel makes
SIS, 100. So the Great Northern can
well afford to control legislatures
and executives to retain the power to
levy it's exorbitant tax on the people.
Senate File No. 1926 was introduced
by Senator Donnelly on the 10th
day of February, 1893, and was
printed. House File No. 566 (the
same bilD, was introduced few
days previous in the house. To show
the people the atmosphere of the
legislative halls may it be
known that up to the pres
ent day-March 2S-those two
bills have been carefully guarded by
the railroads. They have not been
reported back to the house or SEN
ate. House File No. 566 was in
definitely postponed in the house and
Senate File No. 1926. That is the
fate of railroad rate bills in the
hands of the party whose profound
faith is protection of infant indus
tries. The administrative party has
set out to protect the railroad COM
bine in the State of Minnesota.