The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-08-09
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 8, 1906.
WHY WE LOVE THE RAILROADS.


road tribute levied upon the people OF
Montana is forcibly illustrated. Here
are some of the object lessons pre-.
sented by the Helena newspaper:
From a New England state we buy
SO pounds of the dandelion killer 70
be used in Helena. The freight on
this 50 pounds from the seaboard to
St. Paul is 60 cents. The freight
charge from ST. Paul to Helena is
: 2.60.
The distance from the seaboard to
St. Paul is greater than the distance
from St. Paul to Helena, Mont. But
We pay more than four times the
freight that is charged for the haul of
tn at 30 pounds from New England to
the Minnesota city.
We buy a bookcase in Michigan.
The freight on that article to St. Paul
is $50. We, being in Helena, Mont.
pay Sll.09 freight from ST. Paul on a
purchase which cost in the factory less
than the freight.
These are facts which. in Il measure.
account for our insistence upon the
outrageous rObberies committed
against our state and our cities by the
railroads.
The railroads operating in Montana
pay less than one.tifth of the taxation
to which the public of this state is en-.
titled. We yield.to the railroads. We
want the railroads.&c. We want to help
them.
But what do they yield TO US:
Nothing. They squeeze us. They
figure the net profits on our sheep, our
cattle, our crops and our manufac-
lures and they so fix their rates that,
after paying the freight, nothing is
left for the woolgrower, the c%attleman,
the raucher or the factor, except a
living profit. They permit US to live.
BY destroying competition and in.
fie.ing the utmost extortion in rates,
they have made and are making the
producers, the investors, the citizens
Of Montana an aggregation of mere
hired men. 10 this protest they will
answer, 'Oh, Montana has no ter.
minal points," And to this answer
we will say: Montana is the origin,
the highway, the field and the impetus
Of your welfare. You cannot do bust.
ness without u.s."
IL is time that the people Of the
Treasure state awakened to the out.
rageous and sitting condition which
confront them in the making and en-.
9orcement of railroad rates operative
in Montana.
1t looks like q very philanthropic,
progressive thing for Mr.. Hill to give
away a herd or two of blooded bulls
for the encouragement of our farmers.
But when he put q prohibttive freight
rate upon the get of those bulls: when
he mulcts every settler in the state for
ten times the fair cost Of inducing
furniture, building material, nipple.
men,s, tools and all the necessities of
progress and prosperity. then We say
keep yonr philanthropy for the half.
starved ~wage.workers of your own
city and give us u square deal and
nothing more" We do not wan any
Of MIR. Hills or any other mans
philanthropy. We want q fair. just,
open and calcuabIe business arrange
ment.
We want the railroads operating in
Montana to pay their share Of the just
taxation Of the ate. They don't
hold up their end although they
display an astounding capacity for
holding up everything else.
They employ half baked editors to
utter owlish arguments in behalf OF
the prosecuted common carriers. they
have literary bureaus hired to tigh,
Roosevelt and everyone else who has
determined to regulate the rate aud
classification extortions effected by
themselves, they give away a few ped
igreed rams and a few blooded bulls
TO create the impression that they are
the makers of states and the savior.
Of new territories. But thus far they
have failed to demonstrate that they
are on the square in the bigger,
broader, more enduring and more
American sense OF being willing to dc
business fairly before they are forced
TO do it thus.
The railroad magnates utter moan
that our legislatures prosecute them a,
intervals. Every day they gouge US,
every day they rob US, every day they
laugh at US.
You see we are San interior point
They have no competition for our
trade. They have US by 4he wool and
q down.hill pull. We are such gentle
sucking.doves that we do not ever
COMPEL them to shoulder q fair share
of taxes. Therefore we are marks.
eaev marks. We nav the Z and