The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1903-09-24
THE GOVERNORS
FAIR SPEECH
Gov. La Toilette Delivers an
Address at the ManitOWOC
County Exhibition
FREIGHT RATES TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
Owing To Bad Weather But A Small
Audience Was Present
Speech Good

On Thursday afternoon the governor
appeared at the fair to deliver his ad-
dress. The weather was cold and had
been threatening oil day. As result
but small crowd was on the grounds,
numbering not over 14oO
The rough winds caused tho manage
mont to have the governor deliver his
address In the agricultural hall instead
Of outside as had been planned. AS
many as could. crowded in and with
few exceptions the address vi an hour
and halls duration was listened to
with interest. AS at the other fairs the
governor selected the subject OF freight
rates as the topic OF his address. He
said the railroad companies are quasi
public, being absolutely necessary for
the business of today, a great many
many priveledgss have been given
them, they can seize your land or home
and put railroad through it and mil
lions of acres of land have been given
outright to them by the federal and
state governments, but for all these
favors bestowed on them the munich
pality has also rights in them.
AS far back as 1873 railroad rates
were fixed at a certain amount in our
state above which the companies can
not charge But since then, while
traffic has increased to tremendous
extent decreasing the cost Of main
tenance relatively, the rates have re-
maiued the same on our statute books.
But while Wisconsin has been thus
backward other states have been more
active and have established commits
sions who together with the railroad
companies revise the rates and reduce
them If they deem 1t necessary.
Wisconsin has been struggling for
some time to create such a board but
without success But what is true of
Wisconsin is also true Of the other
states.
For ten years the state of Iowa
battled With the railroads and then 1t
succeeded in putting law on the
statute books that is just, to the rail-
roads as we'll as the shipper When
the measure was pending before the
Iowa legislature, the companies bought
members outright wherever possible or
brought influence to bear on them, they
threatened to not build another mile
of road if the bill became a law. But
finally it passed, was taken to the sup
RENE court Of the United States and
upheld and since then there has not a
word of protest been uttered against it.
The state Of Iowa is covered by net
work Of railroads 80 that not a single
farm in the whole state is over seven
miles from station. the Iowa rates
on most articles are much cheaper than
the Wisconsin rates and vet the rail
road companies in their report state
that they are entirely satisfied.
This same law the governor attemp-
ted to have placed on our statute books
but the railroad companies and ship
pers both fought it and finally defeated
it, The reason the big shipper
opposed uniform low rates was that
he gets rebate or is allowed to under
bill his goods. This of course gives the
large shipper who receives that rebate
an advantage over the small shipper
and 80 they helped the railroad com
pany in it's fight, coming personally to
Madison to influence the members of
the Legislature.
Whenever you buy an article, you
the consumer, have to pay the freight
that has been on that article, 80 if the
freight is high you have to pay so
much more. Same way if you ship an
article, like hay or grain. to be sold in
open market, the price that is offered
you will be more or less in the inverse
ration as the freight is higher or lower
So if you have higher freight charges to
pay to Chicago than the farmer from
Iowa pays to ship to the same place
then you receive so much less for your
grain than he does.
What difference there is in the
freight rates can be seen from tho fol
lowing tables showing the freight paid
on the same article for the same dis
lance hauled in Wisconsin and Iowa
eve do not give all the tables the
governor had but enough to illustrate
his point)
A comparison Of freight rates on
merchandise shipped in less than car.
load lots and in carload lots from