The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-05-28


dred. but having settled their little war
over the eastern rate, they have an
nounced that on June 10th, the old rate
will obtain again for the wheat belt. so
you see just as your great wheat crop is
about to be harvested up go the rates
again, and you win be bled again in the
interest of the railroad companies.
The shortness of time only allows me
to touch at this time upon few OF the
many burdens the people are laboring
under. and / shall cite hurriediy few
rates in Kansas and other states to dem
onstrate TO you the necessity Of doing
something to check these evils.
The catIle rate from Florence, Kansas,
10 Kansas City, l5e miles, is IA cents per
hundred
From Graft. Nebraska. to Kansas City,
104 miles. l1l2 cents per hundred.
Webb City. Mo-. 100 miles. 13 cents.
Usage City. Kansas. % miles, lol4 cents.
Falls City. Nebraska, 101 miles, 91e cents.
Browington. Mo-, 81 miles. 80 cents.
Emporia. KANSAS. 113 miles, II cents.
Scnell City, Mo, rs miles. 10 cents.
Peabody. Kansas l50 miles. II cents.
Crabb Orchard, Nebraska. 162 miles. II
cents.
Walnut Grove. Mo-. 17o miles. 10 cents.
Hutchinson. Kansas. Z19 miles. 161z cents
Fairbury, Nebraska, PA miles, 13la cepts.
Edgar Nsbraska 2sl miles miles 1!s cents.
Monette. Mo. 234 miles. 13 cents.
Eldorado, Kansas, 17S miles, IA cents.
Neosho, Mo. ia miles 1s cents
Harper; Kansas, "a miles. 17ls cents.
Knoxville, Iowa. 30 miles, I4lz cents.
Blue Hill, Nebraska 2S2 miles, l4l2 cents.
Ashland. Kansas. 372 miles, "A cents.
Garden City, Kansas 3s9 miles. p cents.
Meade, Kansas, 1863 miles. 25 cents.
Leoto, Kansas i49 miles. 25 cents.
Arapahoe. Nebraska, 359 miles. Il cents.
Elm Greek. Nebraska 4s4 miles. 10 cents.
Avert City Iowa, 525 miles. 20 cents
Milford. Iowa 5s5 miles. 20 cents
Alden. Mimi, 537 miles, 23ie cents.
Lansing. Mimi. sos miles, % cents.
Wabasha, Mimi. 6os miles. 23l2 cents.
And coal, from Pittsburg. district, Kan
sas. to Wichita. Kansas. 100 miles. rate
81. 50 per ton.
To Kansas City. 129 miles, so cents.
Leavenworth, 40 miles. 80 cents.
Atchison, ISL miles, 90 cents.
Lamont Mo. 156 miles. S1.15.
Jefferson City. Mo, 23i miles, S1.5o.
And the rates in the different states on
soft coal per ton in car load lots is as
follows:
Fifty miles, Kansas. s1.15.
Fifty miles, Missouri. 75 cents.
Fifty miles, Iowa, &c cents.
Fifty miles. Illinois, 50 cents.
Fifty miles Texas, 65 cents.
One hundred miles. Kansas, H.0.
One hundred miles, Missouri, 800
One hundred miles, Iowa, Sl.o0
One hundred miles, Illinois, 500.
One hundred miles, Texas. 80 cents.
But, my friends. these are not all OF
the evils you have to contend with. The
stock man orders his cars. cuts out his
cattle. puts them in the stock yards and
the cars don't come. He suffers a shrink
age The farmer threshes his wheat, it
is piled upon the ground at the stations
awaiting shipment and no cars to haul
it away. The storms come and ne mas
tracts for wheat. his elevator is filled, he
borrows money from the bank at high
rate of interest, he pays insurance, ne
cannot fill his orders, the market huctu-
T., and he
business going to ruin: The miller az
tempts to get grain for grinding: He
finds himself unable 70 get IT, and per-
haps pet or favorite OF the company
is getting all the cars he needs, and he
also is injured. Now every locality in
the state furnishes you with living wit
ness Of this deplorable and ruinous cor
dition Ask Mr.. Grace. one of your heavy
stock men who is now sitting in this
audience his experience with the com
pany in relation TO the shipment or stock
Ask another of your citizens. Mr. Nasn,
how much grain he lost through his IN
ability to get cars. Ask your elevator
and mill men what their experiences have
been And you farmers know that all
of you have not sufficient grain room 70
take care of your grain when it Is
threshed and that it Is absolutely neceS-
sary to do your threshing when the
machine is in your neighborhood your
comes and it rots. and so if you have
no opportunity to sell it and send 1t away
you must be the sufferer And yet under
the common law, railroads We're bound TO
were held accounta BILE for damages. They
are supposed to be a public beneht and
that is why they are allowed to condemn
land take your farms If necessary IN
the public interests, by the payment or
proper DANA ges to be used for railroad
purposes You vote them aid and you
expect them to be prepared to 90 the
business for which they are chartered ana
fhnxy
have laws governing and controllln"
them, but Kansas has always allowed
them TO run things TO suit themselves,
and outside of the attempt of the Pop
11Iists and Democrats there has been no
effort made to put upon the statute DOCKS
a law that made any pretentions to look
ing after your interests. 1t was unfor-
tunate for the people that the supreme
court. by two out of the three judges
then constituting the court should declare
that the law passed by the Populists and
Democrats went too far and was there,
fore unconstitutional. The Pops ana
Democrats at least tried to do something.
which is more than can be said of the
Republicans.
In the early days. when TINS coun!ry
had not been settled up and the farming
and ranch industries developed. there
was some reason for railroad companies
charging a greater rate in Kansas than
in other states. but 1t mas reacheu @ Ine
point that even the railroads have not
nrovided equipment enough to DO the
business in this state and the reason for
greater rates no longer exists. Roads are
built cheaper in Kansas than in other
states surrounding us Aid IS aiWaNs
given in the building of the roads and the
rates in this state are higher than IN any
surrounding state except. perhaps: Color
ado. where by reason of mountains and
rivers. the topogra ply of the country.
II costs an enormous sum TO build the
roads.
Our Present Laws
And now. my friends. we have been tola
recentlv by the vice president or one OF
our greatest companies. that the laws
now l1pon our statute books were Sood
enough and we didn't want the Texas
laws OF course. from his point OF view
mat no doubt is all true, but yor have
reached the conclusion that something is
wrong some place and you are getting
ready. if you know how, to remedy the
sIIKE RICHES"
Same in California as Elsewhere