The Mankato free press., 1905-02-10
Make Known the Grievances of
Mankato Business Men.
Comparisons Between Iowa and
Minnesota Points Made.
Omaha Requests Time in Which
to Make a Reply.

From Wednesdays Daily.
+. NJ Currier and Thomas Hughes of
this city was given a hearing before
the joint freight rate committee of the
legislature at st. Paul yesterday after
noon. A number of people were heard,
and it was $50 p. m. before the Man
kato men could be heard, so the time
allowed was not great. About hun
dred people were in the room, including
members of the legislature other than
those on the joint committee, and rep
resentatives of the railroads.
The Mankato men presented the fol-
lowing statement i'll writing to the joint
committee:
First-Rates upon coal from Minneso-
ia Transfer to Mankato are unreason-
ably high.
Second-Rates upon cord wood from
Minnesota Transfer to Mankato are
unreasonably high, compared with the
rate from Bemidji to Minnesota Trans
fer.
Third-Rates upon all classes of mer-
chandise are about forty per cent ION
an average) higher in Southern Min
nesota than in Northern Iowa, upon the
same system of railroad, and this condi-
tion is not and cannot be justified up
on sound business principles. i.
Feurth-We asck for legislation which
will give the railroad and warehouse
commission authority to prepare sched-
ules of reasonable maximum and min
imum freight rates for all railroads
operating in Minnesota, said rates to
be in full force and effect after proper
notice and the publication of the same,
unless and until set aside and declared
to be unjust and unreasonable by
court of competent jurisdiction. We
ask, further, that it be made mandatory
upon the commission to do this, and that
proper penalties be imposed upon any
corporation for violations of said law.
1--WE are convinced that unless said rates
are made prima facie reasonable, and the
burden of proving them unreasonable
and unjust thrown upon the corpora
tions that no practical relief from pres
ent conditions can be expected by the
people of Minnesota.
The following written statement was
also submitted to the joint committee:
can examination of the reports of
the railway commissioners of the states
of Minnesota and Iowa for the year
1903 discloses that Minnesota had ap-
proximately 1850 miles of road and
Iowa $500 miles; that during the year
covered by those reports the gross earn
ings of the railroads in Minnesota were
| $68 ,O6l 400 and in Iowa $57 ,lJ9 ,O83. The
operating expenses in Minnesota were
$32 1902 ,296 and in Iowa $40,752,S47. In
other words the net earnings of the
roads in the state of Iowa for the year
were $l6,4O6,236 and in Minnesota $780,
759,2O3. The operating expenses of the
roads in. Iowa were seventy -One and
quarter per cent of the gross earnings,
while in Minnesota they were but forty
seven and a half per cent of the gross
earnings. In Iowa the operating ex
penses averaged $4,29O per mile and in
Minnesota $4456. The net profits in
Iowa were approximately $l,700 per
mile, while in Minnesota they were $4,-
9OO An examination of the rates in
the two states shows that as is usual,
the greatest injustice is done to the
small shippers and that the producers
and consumers pay practically all of
this enormous overcharge. The rates
on grain, lumber, coal and ore, while
considerably higher in Minnesota than
in Iowa, are not as high relatively as
are the rates on merchandise. The fol-
lowing comparisons will show where the
burden largely falls:
"In Iowa, from Mason City west on
the Iowa & Dakota division of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & st. Paul railway:
Charges on carload, :O,00o II S
| To Miles 1st 4ths 4th
| clsss class class ms
Algopa, Iowa ......... 50 f0c 1oc $4,000
Hu !, ,Iowa............150 30 is bloc 400
"In Minnesota, from Albert Lea west
on Southern Minnesota division of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul rail-
way:
Charges On road. 20,cC0 lbs
| To Miles let ith ist
cl, IS ella class ms
Huutley., Mina........ g 900 loe $ 900
| f.akeheld, Mnu...... 96 4nc &c 1910
Eierrton. NJ M.nn......150 zoo CSC 10000
''The foregoing are the rates in use
on parallel lines of the, Chicago, Milwau-
boo g. CT pou1 roi1utoy nuo frayarS-