The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-29
Lieutenant Governor Lee Shows
How He Disseminated Against
City in Railroad Rates.
SAYS HE FAVORED CHICAGO.
Declares Republican Mayoralty
Candidate Also Opposed Spe-
cial Fare to Bring Buy
crS TO This Market.

Lieutenant Governor John A. Lee spoke
Thursday night to Il large audience of Dem
ocrats at Anchor Hail. jefferson and Park
! avenues. After discussing the issues of the
campaisn and the necessity of electing Rolla
| Wells, he proceeded TO show how st. Louis
and st. Louis merchants had suffered at the
| hands of Mr.. Parker. the Republican candi-
| date for Mayor. He said. in part:
MIR. Parker is man who has no record
| of achievement or benefit to ST Louis He
was for many years president of the Cairo
Short Line Railway. the ST. Louis inlet and
feeder of the Illinois Central Railway Com
pany, and which has now been purchased
| and absorbed by that great Chicago rail-
road system.
While he was president OF the Cairo
Short Line 1 Travelled down in Mississippi
out of St. Louis. selling goods. and the city
was always and continually Disseminated
against and unfairly treated by the railway
system which Mr.. Parker represented. In
stead of being an aggressive and deter
mined friend of St. Louis. he always per-
mitted this city to be made secondary to
Chicago. and was. therefore. weakly dis
loyal to the city Of which he now aspires
to be Mayor
He and his relatives still represent the
Illinois Central Railroad interests in St.
Louis. and the discrimination still exists.
The freight rate from st. Louis to Hazel
hurst, Miss, by the Illinois Central on dry
goods. boots and shoes and hats and caps.
distance of only $40 miles. is sl.25 per hun
dred pounds The rate from Chicago to
HaZelhurst on the same goods, a distance
OF 762 miles. is only sl.36 per hundred pounds.
II the rate was fair TO st. Louis estimated
on distance, II would be just 99ia cents, in
stead OF s12S
The rate to Durant, Miss. by the ILL
nois Central on dry goods, boots and shoes.
hats and caps. from St. Louis distance
Of 457 miles. is sl.l for 100 pounds: from
Chicago. to the same point. a distance of
$40 miles, on the same goods the rate is
$l.25 per hundred.
III ST. Louis was not viclously unjustly
and unfairly Disseminated against in favor
of Chicago hv the Illinois Central Rail-
road the rate to Durant would be ssh
cents, instead of $114.
How is that for standing up for ST.
Louis?' l am not in favor of putting
Chicago todyist In the office of Mayor
or st. Louis. We want no weak man on
guard during the Worlds Fair. We want
no man as our champion during the next
four years who has fattened and fostered
and promoted transportation interest
having no other achievement to his credit
In st. Louis. which interest charges St.
Louis proportionately from % to IS per cent
more to transport the products of the labor
OF our people than 1t charges Chicago
Il was for several years secretary of the
Interstate Merchants Association, which
has for its purpose the bringing to ST Louis
of merchants to buy goods. The railroads.
most of them. co-operated with us and
made special, rates Of one and one-fifth
fare.
Il always found the Illinois Central not
only unwilling to do much. but violent
ly antagonistic to the enterprise, doing all
1t could to prevent other roads. namely, the
Louisville and Nashville and the Mobile and
Ohio. from granting such concessions from
territory south of the Ohio River In spite
of that opposition, We built up the enter
prise until from seven to ten thousand mer-
chants are brought here annually
Il hold that George W. Parker could
with more consistency aspire to the
mayoralty Of Chicago than to that OF St
Louis. He has served that city we'll at
the expense Of St. Louis, and this city
owes him no honors."