The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-03-14
Made Out By the Cattlemen,
1t Appears,
In the Argument Before the
Railroad Commissioners
FOR CHANGE OF RATES
4 Back to the Old Car Load
Schedule.
Railroad Companies Present
Their Side April z.

=
The irrepressible man at the meetiu g
of the railroad official and shippers was
''Bill'' Bradbury of Broughton. MIR. Brad
bury is not great orator; he is not even
grammarian, nor a parliamentarian, nor
even a Presbyterian, but he knows what
he is talking about and talks about it in
way that proves it.
81 am surprised" he said yesterday at
the closing of the afternoon meeting of
the stock shippers and railroad attorneys
before the railrord commissioners. 81 am
surprised at the hair-splitting questions
s5and silk-spun theories advanced by
this rate. When 1 made my talk
TO you this morning l made
some statements that you gentlemen
seemed to think was rather absurd, but
] am proud to be able TO say that every
statement l made to you this morning
has been bore out by the evidence here
this afternoon. l said that the rate was
exhorbitant and unreasonable and it has
been proven to De. l said the new rule
increased the shipping cost per car on
an average of at least four
] or five dollars in Kansas and
every man has said so and
some as high as eight or ten. 1 said
load, now at $4,000 pounds, should be
made at least 5000 pounds more, which
would make it 27,0O0, and every man al
most has testified here today that it
. should be $4,000"
The attorneys tried to head MIR.
Brough.on off three or four times and
Mr.. Low even took of his spectacles
once with the same air some men would
take off their coats. but it was no use
and at the close of Mr.. Bradbury's
speech the railroad lawyers had the
meeting adjourned to pull themselves
together.
a dozen or more stockmen were ex-
amiusd aud cross examined yesterday
afternoon.
W. J. Tod of Maple Hill, said: THE
new rule has made the rate from $6 to
$3.50 higher from my town to Kansas
City. In loading cattle properly we pay
for at least 5000 pounds that we should
not pay for and did not under the old
rule. As It is now We have decided to
load the cars as lightly 2s we can and
make the railroad company do all the
work we can for the money"
This is the method of retaliation the
stockmen seem to have resolved on. In
estimating the new rate the railroads
figured on $4,000 pounds per car and
made it the minimum rate, the stockmen
say. If the rate from a certain place
was, say S22 per car of $4,000
pounds then in basing the rate on that
car that held 10000 pounds,-and the
/. stockmen say that it is easy,-would cost
5000 pounds or IS more than under the
old system where the full capacity of the
car could be used without extra charge.
That is why the stockmen want the rate
lowered and the minimum raised.
George Plumb of EmpOria, brother of
the late Senator Plumb, testified that the
rate from Emporia to Kansas City was So
to so more per car.
There was rather a stir of laughter
when NJ. NJ. Haskin of Frankfort testi-
fed to having paid as high $35 for a
car to kansas City of certain weight and
had receipts to prove it.
why" said Mr. Loomis, "the rate on
that weight should only be $33,5 ,50?"
"Weu,'' said Mr.. Haskin with his eyes
on the carpet, "thaps just the way. We
never know whether we are being robbed
by the commission men or by the-the-"
and the rest of his answer, if there was
any, was buried in a shower of laughs.
: County Commissioner Braddock of
Greenwood said: The increase under
the new rule from my place is from So 10
$40 per car"
R. w. johnson of Eureka said: "The
rate has been increased from Wichita to
Eureka $3. so per car, and from Eureka
to Kansas City Sc to $S per car. There
are men down in my country who are
not shipping now on account of the ex-
hOrbitant rates. If the railroad com
panies do not make more money on ship
ments this year it will be for that reason
only"
The hearing of the stockmen and rail-
$ road officials about the weighing system
of shipping stock was closed this after
noon after arguments by the attorneys
This morning the complainanIs intro
duced from the Kansas City stock yards
six commission men who swore that the
new sy stem increased the cost of trans
portstion per car in proportion TO the
| distance of its shipment.
The commission men were: j. r. Stol-
Ter, James Keeney, H. s. Lincoln, c. P.
Baldwin, H. E. Brobeck and NJ J. Yer
ner. They arrived at II o'clock in ans
wer to telegram sent this morning.
Mr.. Baldwin and Mr. Brobeck had
their scale books.
Said Mr. Brobeck: "There is no doubt
and the books will prove the average
car load for a thirty-four to a thirty-si
: foot car such as most Kansas shippers
use, is from $4,000 to 10000 pounds. and
that the new system increases the rates
considerably"
This was in substance the testimony of
the entire six.
Most of the morning was taken up by
the testimony of George L. Carson, su-
perinteDdent of the Western Weighing
association.
On cross-exa min alton by Mr.. Waters,
Mr.. Carson admitted that the scales un-
4oer his supervision were not exactly ac-
. curate at times
but we are willing to correct figures
whenever there is complaint" he said,