Willmar tribune., 1900-09-05
.UlIVARNISHBD TRUTHS
WORK or THE STATE RAIL
ROAD AND WAREHOUSE
( COMMISSION.

ROAD AND WAREHOUSE
( COMMISSION.
The Grain Inspection-The
New Freight Schedules-The
Republican Bureau Of Pre-
varication Odds and Ends
of Interest to the Reform
Forces.
Reform Press Bureau,
St. Paul. Aug. 81, 1900.
The Republican bureau which has
been established for the purpose of
manufacturing alleged facts for use in
the campaign in this state has succeed
ed in persuading q considerable mum.
Der Of the country papers that some
good might be done at this time by the
publication of certain falsehoods con.
corning the present administration Of
the state grain inspection department..
In effect, the statement which has been
sent out is this: When Mr.. Clausen
was chief grain inspector the inspection
fee was only 15 cents per car load. Un-
der the present administration the fee
was raised to 10 cents, then to Is cents,
and now it may be raised to 30 cents.
From these alleged facts the farmers
are asked to draw the inference that
the department is managed less eco-
nomically than it was under the old
regime.
The Republican campaign managers
know the charges to be false in every
essential feature; but some who are
publishing them may regard them as
true. 1t may, therefore, not be amiss
to give the exact facts in the case and
put the falsifiers down. The figures
are taken from the official records Of
the railroad and warehouse commission
and their correctness may be verified
by anyone interested in learning the
truth.
During the greater part Of the time
when Mr.. Olausen was chief grain In.
spector the fee was 25 cents. This was
the case in 1895 and 1895. On Jan. l,
1897, the fee was reduced to 10 cents.
This reduction could be made because
there was large amount of money
standing to the credit of the depart.
ment. On Nov. so, 1896, this amount
was $123, ,268.54. The fee of Is cents
was entirely inadequate to defray the
expenses. AS a result the cash in the
grain inspection fund was reduced in
two and a half years from 9l9x, ,266. "a
to $2l, ,236. 10. The last session Of the
legislature having created board Of
appeals and thereby increased the ex-
penses Of the department by about $780,.
600 year, it was necessary to increase
the inspection fee. It was raised to 20
cents aud then, after most Of the crop
of 1893 had been marketed, to 25 cents.
This action had to be taken in order
that a deficit might be avoided.
The salient point is that there was a
loss Of $4,000 a year when the fee was
Is cents. The department. could stand
this for two years by using up more
than 500, 900 Of the cash standing to
its credit in the treasury. But the
drain could not go on any longer with.
out plunging the department into debt.
The actual cost of the inspection and
weighing service was, according to the
official accounts, lower in 1899 than in
any previous year except 1892. In 1895
it was $174, ,808. "a for 179, ,307, ITO bush
els; in 1897 it was $176,22O.9 for
156, 168, 200 bushels; in 1898 it was
$l91, ,6s1.12 for 15S, ,092, 800 bushels, and
in 1899 it was $213;764.54 for 213, 1873, 100
bushels.
It will be necessary for the Repubi-
can bureau to invent new story for
the one about the alleged extravaganza
in the grain inspection department. is
too plainly at variance with the demon.
strable facts.
Sept. 4 is the date fixed by the rail-
road and warehouse commission for the
final hearing in the matter Of rates on
merchandise to be charged by the rail-
roads of this state. A proposition has
been made by the commission which
was submitted to the railroads some
days ago. Without going into details
the result Of the commissioners sched.
ules, if adopted by the railroads, will be:
First, to place oil distributing or COM
petitive merchandise and manufactur-
ing industries on the same footing
thus permitting industries in the smaller
towns to compete on fair basis with
1SH0 IN th1 Ia
ond, to establish uniform graduation of
rates substantially on mileage basis,
while permitting the long lines to COM
pete with the shorter ones; third, q
moderate and conservative reduction of
rates on all merchandise, both from ter.
miuals and between local stations.
It has been the aim of the commits.
sion to abolish the shortsighted policy,
80 often adopted by railroad manage.
ments when left to their own devices.
Of loading down the smaller towns with
unjust and prohibitive Determinations.
These Determinations, while they
dwarf the energies Of the smaller
places. are also positive damage to the
centers which 1t is attempted to favor,
because it dwarfs the developmentfof
the country upon which they depend
for support. It is a very reasonable
view, too, that il you build up the
country the cities will benefit by the
country's prosperity; while if you at.
tempt to build up the city at the , ex-
pense Of the country you injure and
dwarf both Of them. ..., ... =. 4 4 ~
In going about this matter the COM
mission has had in view the failures