The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-06-07
MANKATo FREE PRESS.
PROPORTIONATE RATES.
The Omaha Company Comedies rlan-
kato'S Claim.
A New Tariff to Take Effect June 18TH
Which Will Equalize Rates.

No man in Mankato, and probably
no one in the northwest has worked
harder to secure for community
lower freight rates, than has Gen. E.
M. Pope, of this city. For the past
eight years he has been at uwork,
backed by the board of trade, to Sc
cure for the city the same relative adj
vantages in freight rates on all classes
of freight that are enjoyed by the
Twin cities. But a work of this kind
is long laborious job, and so Mr.. Pope
has found it. There are numerous
obstacles in the way. When flanked
at one point, he always turned to
another, and has patiently and per-
sistently hammered away at his OBJ
Ject of equal rates, when ordinary
men would have given the matter up
in despair. But the patience and per-
sistency exercised, and the hard work
done, has at last been rewarded. The
Omaha railway has marked the grow
ing Importance of our city, and recog-
niZed the justice of the claim put
forth for equal rate, and this morn
ing Mr.. Pope received letter from
the management thereof, announcing
new freight schedule for Mankato
over their line, to take effect the 10Th
of this month. This schedule will
give Mankato the advantage of the
same proportionate rate which is en-
joyed by the Twin cities, and will be
of great Importance to the city. The
Omaha taking the lead the other
roads are likely to follow in the mat
ter of rates.
The most important item in this
change will come in the matter of coal
rates. The tariff on soft coal is lowered
25c. per ton from Iowa coal fields, and
40c. per ton from Lake Superior, while
on hard coal it is SOC. less than the
present rate. This will mean vast
saving in the coal bill of the city, and
will be of great Importance to our
manufacturing interests in which soft
coal is used to greater or less ex-
tent.
With this discrimination in freight
rates removed, there ought to be no
great difficulty to induce manufacture
ing interests from abroad to locate
within our city. With the same pro-
portionate freight rate they would en-
-, 70
gether with our natural resources, our
fine location, our excellent distribut-
ing facilities and proximity to great
and growing market in the boundless
empire to the west of us, we offer ad-
vantages second to none in the great
northwest. Nor to manufacturing
alone does it hold forth inducements,
The same propol tionate rates enjoyed
by the Twin cities ought to result in
greatly increased wholesale trade
here, and the Commercial club could
not do better thing for the city,
than to put in little active work to
induce the location here Of few
wholesale establishments in different
lines of business.
While the advantage to the people
individually from this new rate may
be scarcely noticeable, the aggregate
will foot up to handsome sum in the
years business of the city, and prove
most beneficial in..more ways'then one,
and the FREE PRESS would suggest
that it would be most fitting for the
board of trade to tender Mr.. Pope a
vote of thanks for the hard and faith
full work he has done in securing
this advantage to the city.