The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-15
ToNIGHTs NIEETING-FREIGHTs.


An important meeting of shippers,
jobbers and those interested in freight
rates-and that really means every
body. If you think of It's called for
this evening at O'Clock at the rooms
canvass the situation before the
transportation committee.
The results of this meeting might
be of tremendous Importance to the
city of Topeka and the state of Kan
sas. or they may be insignificant.
Time may be wasted upon minor de-
tails, or the opportunity be missed in
little disagreements, of sight of the
main question lost.
At the meeting of the club on We'd
nesday evening there was apparently
more or less general misconception of
the situation about freight rates in
this city, and on the other hand a
showing of fear cropped out on the
part of some jobbing interests, which
seem to think that they might lose
some advantages they now possess.
The railroad companies are smooth
business people. They realize that a
few jobbers and a dozen shippers
make most of the noise and if they
are granted some concessions the
thousands which make up the general
suffering public, without medium of
expression. from a directly interested
class, (for the newspapers must talk
for the general welfare) must take
the medicine the railroads give them.
Several speakers Wednesday even
ing seemed to think that there should
be some concessions in rates and
weakly intimated that we might be
IL
seemed to fail to comprehend the
present situation which, it seems to
us, is one of plain and unadulterated,
permitted extortion. We mean by
this that the rates paid through Kan
sas are simply outrageous, compared
with the rates paid through Missouri,
Texas. Iowa and Nebraska.
Is there any reason why the state
of Kansas should not receive from
the railroads as favorable rates as the
state of Nebraska? We will leave
Iowa out of the consideration be-
cause it is somewhat more populous.
The object of the meeting tonight, as
stated by President Mills of the Com
mercial club, is to enable the different
interests to agree upon what they are
going to ask of Vice President Nor
ton of the Santa Fe in the forthcom-
ing conference, and likewise ask of
the other roads. Just what this petit
ton should be was a matter of some
disagreement and uncertainty.
The State Journal would like to
make a few simple suggestions. One
is that we ask Mr.. Morton of the
Santa Fe and the other roads to put
in force in Topeka and Kansas rates
similar to those in force at Lincoln
and in Nebraska.
A letter recently addressed to Mr..
Morton referred to the shipping and
jobbing" interests. BY some strange
oversight it overlooked the mercantile
and consuming interests. Except in
the matter of flour and butter and a
few other commodities. it is alto
gether likely that Topeka will always
receive much more freight than she
ships out.
In all this discussion the reader
should bear in mind that the word
'differentials" is more or less mystic
rious and mystifying. and doesn' t
mean anything in the main to the
merchants and consumers of Topeka
who ship in goods and consume them
or only ship out a mere fraction.
AS to the matter of "differential, -
the jobbers should be satisfied to be
placed upon par with Kansas City
and other cities. If the proportion of
freight charge coming from the east,
say from St. Louis, is fair. the job
bers who ship in can afford to take
their ''differentia1" west of Topeka as
exactly the same amount which they
paid coming into Topeka.
Why should Crosby Bros, the Mills
I 10 NJ
other large merchants pay on their
dry goods coming from the Missouri
river and further east 20 cents to haul
those goods from the Missouri river
! to Topeka, when the same goods are
hauled for the Lincoln dry goods peo-
pie from the Missouri river to their
doors for five cents per hundred
pounds, when Lincoln is just as fa1
| from the Missouri river as we are?
Why should the newspapers of To
peka pay twelve cents per hundred
pounds for the white paper they re-
ceive from the Wisconsin mills tc
carry it between the Missouri river
and this city, when the Lincoln news
papers pay for the same freight the
same distance between the Missouri
river and their town only three cents
What the Topeka people want to ask
of Mr.. Morton, in the opinion of this
paper, is Lincoln and Nebraska rates
The railroads of Nebraska make moi.
ey on these rates and the railroads ot
Kansas have just as good facilities q.
| those of Nebraska, and should be able
to make as much money. The Nebras
5a rates cited covering dry goods ant
paper run through all classes of mer
chandise and are equally unjust to To
peka compared with rates to Lincoln
Just a reference now to the matte
of coal: Topeka from her own south
western Kansas fields, pays $1.40 pc
ton, while Kansas City, four miles fur