The record-union., 1896-02-04
A LIE MILL.

The San Francisco Examiner" opened
a railroad lie mill some time ago, and
promised whoever would bring grist to
it should have their personality con-
cealed. Ever since that opening the
mill has ground out most industriously
all manner of lies about alleged extor-
tions and damnabilities on the part of
the Southern Pacific Company. Many
of these have been exposed, the mass of
them are too trivial, however, to call
for exposure. and a good part make
their mendacity clear without exposure.
The Bakersfield Californian" how
ever. which cannot be charged with
special friendliness to the railroad peo-
pie, has been pricked by its manly sense
of justice to take up a charge sent to
the Examiners mill over anonymity
and refute it, The writer alleged that
the Southern Pacific Company last year
raised the freight rates between Ba-
kersfield and Los Angeles % cents a
hundred and adds: .'Of course, / am
aware that much money is needed for
their lobby at Washington. and the peo-
pie have to foot the BILL The kind of
Mahaism revealed by this quoted SEN
tence distinguishes most of the grist,
by the way
The Californian" now takes up the
matter and shows that the thing is a
consummate lie. It says that the inves-
tigation it instituted discloses the fact
that there was a raise upon a single
item, just that and nothing more, and
that concerned an article of which very
little is shipped, and that cuts an in
fnitesimal figure in Kern County busi-
ness
On the other hand, the Californian"
finds that in the great staples in which
Kern County commerce engages, there
has been no change Of rate except re-
it was, save that for beef to Santa Bar
it was, save that forb eef to Santa Bar
bara, where Kern has its best market,
the reduction has been from So 80 a
carload to $50. Hay shipped to Los An
geles by the thousands of tons has been
reduced for carriage from $5 to So a ton,
and potatoes, a large item of Kern ex-
port, from So to $4 25 ton. These
three items, says our contemporary,
comprise nine-tenths of the commerce
of Kern County The bulk of Bakers
field shipments go north and the bulk
Of Bakersfield receipts come from the
north. Formerly the potato rate to
Fresno was 81 80 a ton; it has been
reduced to So 20. Grain was to Port
Costa So So; it is now SO so; to Stock
ton it was 50 60; it is now 81 95. Flour
to Mojave was 81 90 a ton; it has been
reduced to 81 so.
Between Bakersfield and San Fran
cisco the old and new rates on goods
show large reductions. A few items
will serve to illustrate: Dry goods 81 20.
now 81 o.; coffee 81 20. now 81. iron
and steel 81 20, now 81; cigars 50 26,
now 81 o.; hats 81 so. now 81 o.;
whisky 81 20, now 81: beans 81 20,
now .93.
Now, concerning the raise which the
''Examiner's' lie mill leads readers to
suppose was horizontal and along the
whole line of shipments, the "Califor-
MAN. says that the past year there was
"a special rate on oranges of go cents
a hundred; at the beginning of this year
this special was abrogated, and the
schedule rate restored of SO cents. The
Californian" finds the Bakersfield con-
sumption Of oranges to be 1,500 boxes
at the outside, and the restoration of
the schedule rate made a difference Of
20 cents a box. or in all $500 on the
whole business.
Some small increase on less than car
load lots was made on some items. but
the "Californian's" investigation de-
velops that these cut no special figure
in Kern County commerce. Unques-
tionabIy, it viii be found by whoever
cares to inquire into it. that there was
a substantial and good reason for the
readjustment referred to.
The Antioch Ledger roars at Sac
ramento that her people do not raise a
holy row and kick up a terrible dust
because State offices required by law
to be kept in the Capitol are not so
kept in good faith. and State officials
required by law to reside at the Capt.
tol are in open violation and defiance
Of the law. That is all very pretty.