The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-05-22
A QUESTION OF FREIGHT
Raw Produce the Poorest Hauling
for Railroads
High-CIassed Manufactures Profit
able 10 transportation Companies
Cheap Foreign Labor Goods
Hurt Americans.

II has been truthfully observed that
the poorest of all freights is raw prod
uce, or raw material, as free traders
term il. Mills and factories make good
railway business. THE best freight"
says the New York Sun, sis that mis-
cellaneous aggregate that comes from
the aggregation OF human beings. AS
times go, human beings are aggregated
only at factory centers OF one sort or
another. The more advanced your type
of factory, the higher your type of
goods, the better are the wages earned,
the higher the standard of living and
the larger the aggregate OF miscel-
laneous traffic whose transportation
pays. A factory town, all scientific in
strument makers, would pay its rail-
road more freight money annually per
head of population than any other fac
tory town on earth. Yet its freight bill
on the materials and the products of
its special industry would, perhaps, be
the smallest"
For this reason the interests of our
railways and our manufacturers are
identical. When the mills are open
and goods requiring large percentage
of labor are being produced, the rail-
ways are prosperous. On the other
hand, during these times of depression,
due TO free trade legislation, the rail
ways, with the factories, have suffered.
The ways and means committee of con-
gress have granted hearings at Wash
lngton to those representing our sew
cral industries. In reading the pub
lished testimony one is struck with the
deplorable accounts given of the con-
dition OF many branches of manufac-
ture. Low tariff and cheap foreign
labor have played havoc with American
labor and protection. This is undoubt-
edly true, and the remedy asked for
is increased protection--a tariff suffi-
cient to enable the American manufac-
turer to pay living wage and compete
with his foreign rivals. This the COM
mittee has given our manufacturers In
the Dingley bill, which will become a
law.
The American railroad is in as bad. II
would extend it's hearings to railways,
the stories OF the recent tariff hearings
could be repeated with emphasis on as
large and as impressive scale. There
would be accounts of loss OF earnings,
reduction Of rates below the paying
point, actual loss on passenger traffic,
deterioration Of roadbed, reduction in
the number OF employees, others work
ing half time, receiverships, foreclosure
sales, practically half OF this enormous
investment bringing no returns, and
the blight OF insolvency steadily set
Ting down upon our entire system.
What is the remedy? The remedy in
this case, as in the case of our manufac-
lures, is to stop the causes. First, then,
the law which helped TO bring about the
trouble should be repealed. The section
OF the interstate commerce bill which
destroyed the freedom OF contract with
the common carrier was based on no
principle, imbedded in no common law,
nnd antagonized the best experience
That section was an experiment, an ex-
pertinent of which its author, Judge
Reagan, now says:
Further study has caused me TO be-
lieve that the section may be amended
so as 10 benefit both the railroads and
the people, by allowing the railroads
70 enter into traffic arrangements with
one another"