The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1900-10-17

the same rate on out freight that a
enjoyed by st. Paul, Minneapolis and
the Minnesota Transfer, and It would
not affect by one single penny the rate
on freight shipped to those points
from any other point. In other words,
the shippers Of the towns named
would have the benefit of the reduced
rate on brick, paints, oils. dry goods,
clothing. boots and shoes, groceries,
barbed wire, iron, nails, machinery
and furniture, shipped from those
points to other points within the state.
would be shipped out Of New Ulm,
Rochester and the other towns includ-
ed in the list? Not enough so that the
difference would pay the postage on
the correspondence between the ship
per and the consignee in the ordinary
course Of business. All Of the goods
and merchandise upon which the re-
duced rate applied are shipped from
the existing distributing points. name
ly, st. Paul, Minneapolis and the Min
nesota Transfer, to the points which
the commission named as additions to
the list of distributing points. The
shipments out of these towns are in
cluded in, and covered by, the express
reservation in the commissions order,
where it says, as above stated, that
nothing herein shall be taken as pro-
posing a cancellation or modification
Of any existing commodity tariff" al
most every article shipped out of these
towns is included under the commodi-
ty tariff, and, therefore, the rate on 1t
is fixed and unalterable by the specific
order of the commission itself.
With this clearly-stated showing OF
the case, the commissions grand coup
collapses like house of cardboard,
and is swept away as completely as
was the loud pretense of reform in the
management of the grain inspection
bureau and prison twine plant, when
Auditor Dunn fell upon them in his
Milaca speech. It was obviously the
purpose of the commission to manu-
facture political capital for the cam
paign, and its cunningly- advertised
programme was arranged as thought
fully as any other detail of the Demo-
cratic campaign. The absurd pretense
that the shippers of the state would
be saved any material sum in freight
by the adoption of the commissions
order is as bad as the other shallow
pretense of the administration in con-
nection with the inspection bureau and
the prison Irvine plant. The commits
sion started out with tremendous
bluff at a general reduction of rates;
1t then qualified this first bluff with
IN, al G4I
duction of rates; again, it proposed to
substitute for the proposition to re-
duce rates, another proposition to ap-
ply certain existing rates to certain
newly-named points; finally it comes
down to a piteous appeal to make a
special rate for New Ulm, the govern
or's home town, and three or four 9TH
er small cities, under the pretense that
1t is going to lower the rates at these
points, whereas, in fact, the articles
upon which tie reduction is ordered
are not shippe in any large quantities
from these rr:nts. It is safe to say
that the di erence in the cost of
shipments ut" from the proposed
new distrib:, ing points would not
amount in s:J one year to total of
$4,000. Wit. one hand the commits
sion orders reduction of rates upon
certain commodities from certain
points, and with the other specifies the
commodities upon which the reduction.
was to take effect, carefully excepting
the articles shipped out from these
proposed distributing points. Had there
been an honest intention to accomplish
an actual reduction of rates, the order
v-0l116 n
instance, to -four and beer, which are
tie principal articles shipped from
New Ulm; it would have been made to
apply to lumber, which is the principal
article shipped from Little Falls; i,
would have been made to apply to
stone which is the principal article
shipped from st. Cloud; to wheat and
other grains, the principal articles
shipped out Of Fergus Falls, Moor
head and Crookston and other agri-
cultural centers. Instead Of that, it
perretrates the silly joke of saying
that the brewers and mi.lers of New
Ulm may ship paints glass and
oils at a reduced rate; that the lum-
bermen of Little Falls may ship gro
cerfes, clothing, boots ard shoes at a
reduced rate; the quarcymen of St.
Cloud and Mankato may ship hides
and pelts and machinery at re lucad
rate; and the farmers and grain men
of Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Crooks
ton may ship groceries, nails and lace
curtains at reduced rate.
The whole order is so cheap a piece
Of political pettifogging, and so trans
parent ruse to catch votes, that it
only needs this explanation Of its
true character to expose it to the ridi-
Guile and contempt of every intelligent