The Topeka state journal., 1901-08-03

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able freight, and in time, they get the
haul of the bran again in the shape oi
cattle, hogs, butter, cheese, meat and
other merchandise The Topeka mills
employ several hundred men, on whom
families are dependent. These people
use coal, lumber, hardware, and many
other things, on which they get a haul
Our combined mills sell less than 40, ,O0C
and Shawnee county This amounts to
eight million pounds, upon which after
we pay the freight on the wheat, the
road that carried it is not paid any
more money. In return for this with
our mills running full time, we con-
sumo each year over eight hundred
cars of coal of twenty tons capacity,
amounting to thlrty-tWO million pounds.
The amount in dollars and cents they
would get assuming they have the
right (Which we are not willing to ad-
miD to force all the grain, or its pro-
duct through to the Missouri river, at
tariff (5c per cwt.) is "a, 900, whilst what
we pay them on coal shipped from
Pittsburg, Kansas, to Topeka cat &c per
fit them more than $5 on coal alone for
every dollar they lose on wheat ground
for local consumption.
ASK NO SPECIAL PRIVILEGES.
We do not come before your board
asking for privileges that we are not
Wiling Sudl DS gwen HILLS lOCaLeQ
anywhere in Kansas. The mills in the
wheat fields have a number of advan-
tageS over US, a few of which we viii
enumerate. In the first place, they are
erS direct for at least or cents per
bushel cheaper than we get ours, an
i'm mense benefit in itself, and there is
no market they cannot go to and COM
pete with US upon parity, and in all
western and southern markets they
can greatly underseH US.
We also claim that operating under
the distance tariff is a protection to
mills that can buy enough wheat at
their door to take care of their local
cepting ours can invariably do but
with mills which are obliged to ship in
every bushel they grind, as in our case,
it works a great hardship.
To illustrate the distance tariff ben
efits to a miller located, for example,
at Florence, Kas., and who at times
buys wheat at Great Bend, Kas. With
wheat selling at 63 cents per bushel at
Kansas City, at regular tariff it IS
worth 81 $40 cents at Florence, and
SO 4-10 cents at Great Bend. Now the
Florence miller, should ne not be able
to buy enough wheat at his door to
take care of all his through business,
can purchase wheat for So 4-10 cents at
Great Bend, and ship it to Florence at
the distance tariff III cents), costing
him 60 cents, which is 5 7-10 cents above
what he pays for wheat purchased at
home. This, how ever, does not hurt
him, for when he ships his flour to the
Missouri river he gets back the excess
price paid for the wheat, by being able
to ship the flour at the balance of the
through rate from Great Bend which is
5 cents, and thereby loses nothing by
the transa ction. At the same time he
is doing this, he is taking care of his
local trade with his home purchases of
wheat at 81 3-10 cents, and is protected
4et1 fov- 4oh loans
the Great Bend nillers' flour out of
his town, as -four and wheat take the
same high distance tariff rate.
In our case, if we ship wheat from
Great Bend, it costs US 81 7-1o cents de-
livered in Topeka, only $40 of a cent
less than the Kansas City price. This
does not give US a very good show for
Kansas trade with the Florence miller,
who supplies such trade with wheat
bought basis of the Kansas City mar
ket at 81 $40 cents less the grain deal
era' profit of or cents per bushel.
Neither does the distance tariff protect
us in our Topeka and adjoining trade
from the Great Bend, or any other
millers -four. as it does the Florence
miller for as just stated, we must ship
in all our wheat, and the wheat and
the outside millers' -four come into To-
peka identically upon the same basis
The claim may be made that, If we
are given back our differential, 1t Will
also have to be given to all the Kansas
mills So far as we are concerned. we
are perfectly willing for this to be done.
1t will not hurt US nor the railroad ex-
tending such a privilege a particle;
neither will it benefit the central ana
western Kansas mills to have it. They
being located in the wheat fields, the
distance tariff already affords them
better rate than the one we used to
have A mill located at Mcpherson,
Kansas can go as far west as Great
Bend, which is at the end of the banner
wheat counties, and have wheat ship
ped in under the distance tariff at SA
cents, making a differential of cents
under Kansas City, just two cents bet
ter than our old rate. 1t therefore must
be very apparent that they are not in
need of nor do they want what we are
now asking to have restored.
TO CITIZENS OF TOPEKA.
From the foregoing, it certainly must
be clear that the western mills have at
all times had decidedly the advantage
over US on almost all business, and that
at the present time, we have slim
show against them for state trade,
which is what we must live on almost
entirely. during short crop years. It is
also a great injustice to every citizen
of Topeka. and also to the cattlemen of
this and adjoining counties who are de-
pendent upon the Topeka mills for -four
and mill feed, to be compelled to pay
q about Kansas City prices for what they
buy, which from now on they viii have
to do.
The claim may also be made that the
Topeka mills should buy their wheat
closer to Topeka where the distance
tariff does not figure as high as from
western points We do not think any
one has a right to say that we do this.
and besides. If we had for a number of
it would be impractical In the
first place, the wheat in the eastern
part of Kansas is not of as good vari-
ETY. as that which grows in the western
part. It is more or less of a. soft nature
and is generally what is known as
yellow berry wheat, which always
sells at a discount in all the wheat mar
kets. And again, there is not nearly