Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1902-07-31
THAT STEVENSON RATE CASE.
The Building of the Great Northern
Direct Line to Duluth Responsible
for the Reduction in
Train Rates.

| IRAN KateS.
| Halvor Steenerson is relying a
great deal on the much heralded
STEVENSON Grain Rate Case to boost
him to a seat in the q. s. congress,
and claims are made by him and his
managers which unduly magnify the
Importance OF this case, and are not
IN conformity to the facts as set
forth in public records. In the first
place the case is not named for
STEVENSON the Attorney, as is popu-
lafly supposed, but for Elias Steen-
erson, who made the complaint. In
this complaint to the Railway and
Warehouse commission, made back
EinlS93, it was charged that the rate
for transportation OF grain from
Crookston and East Grand Forks to
the terminals at Minneapolis and
Duluth was unreasonably high, and
q reduction of one-third was asked.
After hearing by the commission in
February, 1894, the commission
ordered a material reduction in the
rate, which naturally was fought by
the railway companies. The rail
roads appealed to the district court
which reversed the order OF the com
mission. And we have seen no rec
ord OF Halvor Steenerson being pres
ent when the case was pending in
| this court. Next the case was ap-
pealed to the Supreme Court which
reversed the decision of the district
court, and sent the case back to the
commission, before whom it is still
pending No final decision has ever
been reached, or order made and en-
forced by the commission. In an
article published recently in the
Crookston journal, credit is claimed
for Halvor Steenerson on account OF
this rate case, that never has been
fought to a finish, for the reduction
in grain rates made in 1898. Now,
lat is a fact that there was another
faGtpr that operated and was main
1ly responsible for the reduction IN
grain rates, and that was the con-
struction of the Great Northern
railways direct line to Duluth,
greatly shortening the distance to
that terminal point.
In the annual report OF the Rail
road and Warehouse Commission
for 1898, the following statement is
made in regard to this rate reduc-
tion, and the Steenerson case is not
even mentioned:
"Reduction of Freight Rates Between
St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and
Points in Northern Minnesota.
The distance between Crookston
and Duluth has been shortened
ninety three miles by the construc-
tion, by the Eastern Railway OF
Minnesota, of a line of road from
Fosston to Deer River, and then
connecting with the Duluth, Supe-
rior & Western Railway, thus FORM
ing new through line from the Red
River Valley to the head Of Lake
Superior.
On the fifteenth day Of July OF the
present year, the Great Northern
Railway Company put into effect a
new grain tariff, which was super
seded by another issue which took
effect on August 1st, (both OF which
are on file in this ofice), greatly re-
ducing the rates on grain from
points in Northern Minnesota and
North Dakota to Duluth and West
Superior, ST. Paul and Minneapolis.
The rates fixed by this tariff are
from some points lower and some
higher than the rate fixed by the
commission in it's order in the case
Of Elias Steenerson against the
Great Northern Railway Company,
which is now pending in the district
court OF Ramsey county. Taking
into consideration the amount of
grain moved through the different
sections, the commission believes
that the reduction made by the new
tariff isequal to, if not greater than,
| it would be if the order of the COM
mission was in force. The COM
mission therefore consented to a
continuance of that case until it
could observe the effect of the new
rate
| The table which follows shows the