Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1903-01-19

cent. upon nara coal, anu 90 CIV per
cent. upon soft COAL
The tables will be scanned in vain
for single station at which the trans
pOrtatiOn rate is not higher in WiscOn-
sin than for a corresponding distance
for a like service in Iowa. The amount
of the overcharge in Wisconsin is pos
itively startling, says the governor. In
no case is the rate less than Is per
cent. higher for Wisconsin than for
Iowa. In several cases it is nearly 70
per cent. higher, and the average is
but a fraction less than 40 per cent.
higher. When it is remembered that
! the producers in Wisconsin, Iowa and
Illinois must sell their products in the
same markets, and, quality for quality
at the same prices, it is manifest that
the people of Wisconsin are labOring
under great disadvantage. The fig
ures establish the exact measure of in
| justice suffered by our people at the
hands of the railroads of Wisconsin,
Stated in plain language it means that
upon all kinds of manufactured pro
ducts, upon merchandise and farm
|
pays from % to nearly 40 per cent
higher than the shipper in iowa where
transportation charges are controlled
by a state railway commission. 1t
means that in comparison with IIli-
nois, we pay in Wisconsin on cattle
hogs, sheep, grain, hard and soft coal
from 19 IL to 81 per cent. more than
the people Of Illinois, who are protect
ed from excessive transportation
charges by a state railway commits
sion. Now it can be taken as cOnclu-
siVe thai the transportation charges in
Iowa and in Illinois are high enough
to give the railroad companies at least
a reasonable profit upon the railroad
business in each of those states. Moth
/ ing is more certain than that the rates
for each of those states yield to the
railroad companies a reasonable net
return upon ,all their capital invested;
otherwise, they would not operate
their roads under that rate If the
rate afforded them less that reason
able profit, they would at once appeal
to the courts to increase the rate. 1t
is the settled law that neither the leg
islature nor a railroad commission
clothed with power to fix rates can
compel railroads to accept less than
reasonably profitable rate for all SER
vices as common carriers. Therefore,
by acquiescing in the commission rates
in Iowa and Illinois without appeal to
the courts, the railroad companies adj
| H. s~Io
those states.
Every dollar taken from the people
of Wisconsin in overcharges by the
railroad companies affects the values
of farms and factories, the profits of
merchandise, and the wages of labor.
Why should Wisconsin have endured
this great loss? 1t is because, and
only because, the railroads have con-
| tinued to exercise such control as to
defeat legislation in Wisconsin Great
! ing q commission to regulate trans
| portation rates such as the legisla-
lures of Iowa and Illinois have adopt
ed. Session after session such bills
have been introduced only to die in
committee or be overwhelmingly de-
feated in the legislature,
1t has heretofore been urged in op-
| position to the enactment Of a rate
| commission law for Wisconsin that it
would arrest all further construction
within the state, stop improvements,
| injure. manufacturing, prejudice agri-
| cultural development, seriously harm
business interests, and generally re-
tard the progress of the state. Iowa
mas been held up as a warning exam
pie to deter other states from adopt
ing similar law, and it has been de
clared that she has suffered through
all the years under rate law that has
greatly interfered with the growth of
her manufacturing interests. Yet dur
ing a period of twenty years the an
nual increase in the value of the cap
ital invested in agriculture and man
ufactures amounted to 100000 for
Wisconsin and over S59,0000 900 for
Iowa. 1t should not be overlooked
that these are the actual increases
only, but they are very significant
Iowa leads Wisconsin in the average
yearly increase by almost two to one.
The industrial progress of Iowa GER
tainly cannot be said to be retarded
since the railroad commission was es-
tabl1shed in that state. On the con-
trary, her development seems to have
been specially promoted, and that this
should be the case is only reasonable |
in view Of the special advantages with
which she has been favored in the i
matter of transportation charges,-ad- !
vantages Of which the industries of !
Wisconsin have had the great misfor-
tune to be deprived because of the
failure to secure legislation which
would have placed Wisconsin upon All
equal footing with Iowa.