The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-11-08
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M. M. MURDOCH, Editor.
A KANSAS CITY BRAND OF GALL.


Yesterday mornings telegraphic contained a
dispatch Chicago announcing that the Live STOCK
Exchange Of that city had brought suit before the Inter
State Commerce Commission against the Missouri river
railroads the complaint being that the schedule rates
cut on packing house products low as compared
with the live stock rates in encouraging to pack
ers to convert their live stock into meat at near points
tc where the live stock raised obviaRg the necessity
Of shipping it to Chicago to handled by the said Elk
change This is just par with Kansas Cry's Board
Of Exchange intervening in Wichitas case before the
Interstate Commerce Commission. These combines de-
that the products Of the country shall all be made
tributary to them before reaching the consumer Chicago
demands that the railway freight rates be manipulated
as to force Kansas and Nebraska hogs and into
Chicago to be oIed and butchered and then sent back
to Kansas and Nebraska people to be consumed, the
natives paying the freight both ways Kansas City de
mands that South Kansas wheat intended for
signed to Gulf points, shall forced first to Kansas
City to be mixed graded and tolled by the Kansas City
elevators and then through South Kansas to
the Gulf the wheat the producers of the wheat pay
ing for the extra haul otherwise the railroads doing
the extra haul up back nothing. These cities
or the boards and combines mentioned seek to deny
the people who produce the material the privilege
and profit Of converting their into the finished
duct The demand is a vile hod-up, highway robbery,
ndefensble from any economical moral standard. 1t
is open outrage to which railway arrangements have
been loanng themselves for long time It is such dis
elimination and manipulation as incites the demand
for government ownership Under and by this diferen
tai or onesded rule Chicago and Kansas City yard
owners and commissioners and packers have been dom
mating only the live stock interests and the railways
Of all the Western states but controlling the price of
animal food products of the world BY through such
policy fictitious markets created and maintained and
prices on the producer enhanced for the
consumer.
The dispatch referred to says that A C. Bird. vice
president Of the St Paul road witness before the
Interstate Commerce Commission declared that the
TEN is void Of reasonableness He also acknowledged
that freight schedules had scientific basis fof
adjustment but that they based competition,
comparison and compromise And he stated the exact
truth And is the comparison and compromise" rule
which raising hades with the commerce Of this coun
try It is the kind of comparison" and compromise"
which forces Wichita to pay higher freight
on Southern lumber than charged points hundreds
of miles further north.
What the railways this country have got come
is scientific basis for adjustment freight rates
per ton per mile with more numerous classification
and higher schedule rates necessary for the maintain
ance of the properties It is not the rates primarily
that are criticised objected to- dierenals
and determinations growing out of the Comparisons
and compromises alluded to by the president of
the St Paul road.