Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-11-07
Milwaukee Official Tells Com
MERGE Commission Present
Rates are Improbable
SAYS THEY ARE UNREASONABLE
Makes Surprising Statements at the
Hearing Relative to Rates on Cattle
and Packing House Products Be-
tween Chicago and Missouri River
All Rates Should Be Raised.

Chicago, Nov. IA. C. Bird. third
vice president of the st. Paul road,
took a bold stand before the interstate
commerce commission Thursday, when
that body began an investigation into
rates on cattle and packing house prod
ucts between Chicago and the Missouri
river.
MIR. Bird was the first witness of i'm
portance before the commission, ana
when asked If he desired to defend the
reasonableness of the st. Paul Live
stock rates. he declared that they were
not reasonable.
Not only are our live stock rates UNI
reasonable" he declared, but all our
freight rates today are unreasonable,
because they are entirely too low to
compensate for the service rendered.
All freight rates should be raised and
am surprised that the railroads don
make a combined effort and raise
them"
This statement surprised the MEM
bers of the commission and they I'M
mediately started to ascertain MT.
Birds reasons. The witness stated that
it was unfair to take the past Two years
as a basis from which to judge the fair
mes of rates and the fairness OF the re-
Enumeration derived by the railroads,
for during that period the volume OF
traffic had greatly increased, whereas
before that period railroading had not,
as a general proposition, been remun-
eratiye. With respect to cattle rates,
Mr.. Bird asserted that cattle did not
now and had not for years paid their
lust proportion of transportation
charges, and that to reduce the rates
on cattle would be to make bad stu
alton worse.
When asked what governed the sci
entific making of rates, he replied that
he had not seen the time in twenty five
years when rates could be made on a
scientific basis On, the contrary, rates
are always based upon competition,
comparison and compromise.
While on the stand Mr. Bird explain
ed that he had always deemed 1t wise
policy to make as low rate on the
raw material as on the finished prod
ucts but that when rate on the latter
which was not remunerative was forced
upon the roads he did not believe in
also forcing down the live stock rates
to maintain the relations.
C. e. Gill, chairman of the official
rate classification board of New York
city, testified yesterday. He said that
the necessaries of life, agricultural
products, pay the largest percentage of
freight rates of any commodity the
railroads transport. Frequently, he
said, the freight rates on wheat, corn
and potatoes are so per cent of their
value
In the case of the Chicago Live Stock
against eighteen railroads
in the northwest, charging discrimina-
ton in rates on live stock as compared
with the rate on dressed and finished
goods, Secretary Tomlinson of the
Live Stock Association outlined his
charges against the railroads. The
schedule, he said, Disseminated against
shippers in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin |
and Missouri, as well as live stock deal I
ers in Chicago, and enabled the stock
man in Nebraska to market his prod
ucts at less cost than the stock man of
these states. He said the schedule IA
vored Kansas City against Chicago as
4 live stock market.
In this case the state railroad COM
missioners of Minnesota were granted
leave to file an Intervening petition in
which they set up the present relative
rates between live stock and dressed
beef and packing house products are
'air and equitable and should not be
disturbed.
The case against the Santa Fe rail-
.oad was dismissed at the request of
the Live Stock Association, as it de-
feloped that this road has recently re-
luced its rate on live stock from % to
[2 cents from Missouri river points.