The record-union., 1896-01-28

of original facts (of which he may claim
the exclusive ownership. having in
vented them), we paid some attention
last week. Embodied in his letter, how
ever, was the following indictment. 1t
is an artful production, artfully charg-
ing everything and nothing. He says:
AS a mere straw to show how this
Southern Pacific Company is now treat
ing the people, I inclose you a freight
bill on a box of apples sent to me at
Los Gatos from my brother at lone,
Amador County. You will see the weight
of the box is fifty pounds, and that he
has paid fifty cents to apply on ac-
count. The box has not yet reached me,
and of course know not how much
more I shall be obliged to pay before
get the apples"
Mr.. Mac reminds one of the conspir-
ators in comic opera, who are much ex-
ercised over a mysterious nothing. Just
what hidden calamity turks behind the
fffty-pound box of apples and other
carefully recited statements is obscure.
But if he does not hurry along his ap-
pies viii be as soft and purposeless as
his illustration. We have inquired for
Regarding B. H. Macs box of apples,
it is at Los Gatos, uncalled for. Charges
prepaid Nothing further to collect"
And so by a trick of the corporation
in failing to extort, the threatened
wrong goes undone, and this "mere
straw which goes to show how the
Southern Pacific Company is treating
the people" floats upon the stream of
nd ic
from sight in the midst of misrepre-
sentation.
1t is almost impossible to follow the
wandering and rambling case of
clutch set forth by ]. S. T. and enti-
tied Nevada Instances. He COM
plains of rates on the Virginia and
Truckee Railroad, which has no more
connection with the Southern Pacific
Company than has a speclled hen with
the Monroe doctrine. And yet the obi
Gus rates on a foreign road are cited as
an instance which should influence sane
men in favor of foreclosure. Perhaps
it is doing violence to reason to pre-
sumo that the Examiner" desired spe-
cific statements A general statement
might mean anything or it might mean
nothing. Regard for q moment this
piece of stupidity from this writer:
'T well remember, when hay in
Eastern Nevada was very high, par
ties from there came to Reno and
partly contracted for large amounts
of hay at SO per ton, but the railroad
company, hearing of this, put freight on
hay from San Francisco so low that the
parties mentioned got it from Califor-
MIA cheaper than they could get it from
Reno"
If he means that the railway put the
rate from San Francisco lower than
the rate from Reno, he states what is
obviously false, for. naturally enough,
at such rates, the railway company
would prefer the haul from Reno to
Eastern Nevada TO the haul from San
Francisco to the same destination. But
even if this were true, it was good
thing for the Nevada consumer, who
was moving heaven and earth to secure
feed for his starving herds; it was
good thing for the California producer
and dealer, and was a bad thing only
for the Reno middleman, who had, pos
sibly, formed a corner in hay. What
possible earthly interest could the cor
poration have in injuring the Reno hay
dealer to its own detriment? To fol-
low this writer further in seriousness
would be folly. It is folly, probably to
pay any attention to him whatever
]. M. A. is another correspondent
hailing from Oakland. That Oakland
is the home of the A. r. u striker may
not be significant, but it has been pro-
life of correspondents who had COM
plants to make Of rates thousands of
miles away from their confessed abid-
ing place. His quotation Of rates is in
correct and excessive by nearly one
half
Of all the letters received by the "Ex-
aminer," the one which seems to be
the most serious, and the only one that
is free from the taint of abuse and there
fore entitled to fair treatment, is that
OF WV. NJ. of French Gulch, Califor-
MIA. He says:
ION ore shipped through Redding to
the Selby Reduction Works at Vallejo
Junction freight charges are not made
until the Selby Company assays the
shipment, then they charge freight on
their bill. On ore valued
at $50 ton the railroad charges ordi-
nary freight rates; on $100 ore, an in
creased charge is made, and so on in
preparation, the railroad assuming no
liability whatever"
Railroad rates are based on ore val
uation, because shippers so demand
AS the assay valuation determines the
rate, the means of fixing that rate is
obtainable only at the smelter or the
assay Office. On the question for the
reason for the lowering scale (not in
creasing scale, as the correspondent
puts iD let the gentleman consult any
miner of low grade ore, and he will
discover that the decreasing scale is for
the benefit of low grade ore. A fiat rate
based on the average Of the present
rates would preclude the shipping of
low grade ores, reduce the ore output
of the State and thereby work great
harm.
Space forbids going into details fur
ther in the case of the clutch" Ger
tainly, no correspondent, so far, has
brought forth single grievance wor-
thy Of the name.
The sting Of bee, according TO
scientific journal is only one-fIail-ty-