The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-06-15

! large! can the tnlnklng man stop
one minute and try and answer these
questions without giving all praise
70 the men who have been behind the
movements that brought these rail-
roads to this district. Then why
this senseiess war On rates of long
and short hauls?
Take the printers, for an example.
Go to any job office in the United
States and ask the price Of 6x9 cir
culars for one thousand, then for
fifty thousand On the same form, and
you will be astonished at the differ.
ence per thousand. The explanation
Is, that the cost Of type setting and
distributing must be paid for over
and above the cost Of paper, press
work and profits for one thousand
and for the additional forty-nine
thousand only the cost Of paper,
press work and profits are considered.
Did anyone ever hear of a sap.
headed fool wanting legislative
enactment to regulate the prices Of
the long and the short run in job
printing Office? Then in the name
of common sense, why this howl
about long and short hauls Of a rail-
road? It costs just as much to load
and unload a car Of freight to haul
it one mile as it would to haul it five
thousand. Therefore has not the rail
roads right to say how much they
should get per mile just the same as
the job printer has the right to say
how much he shall receive for each
additional thousand he may run off?
The cause of this fight is prejudice
engendered and encouraged by polit-
ical aspirants. just let a man get a
desire for state Office and he begins
at once to wage a war on the rail-
roads and fan the flame Of popular
prejudice among the farming class,
and he is solid.
Would. Mr.. Conner be president OF
the railroad commission had it not
been for this prejudice? Was he
elected upon his merits or upon his
popularity, in spite Of the "Jim
Dandy" meal affair, and will he
eventually be elected governor on
this popularity or will it be this same
prejudice against the railroads by
the farmers, who have never given
the matter a serious thought, that
will secure him enough votes to BE-
elected to the chief executives
chair.
The Rustler stands for railroads
and more railroads, and to each one
that penetrates this section we bid a
hearty welcome and ask others to
follow, and just so long as there is
connection In railroad circles, the
country has no cause to kick. There
has never been a law passed CON-
pelling anyone to patronize any rail-
road. Every farmer in Jefferson
county has a perfect right to haul
his farm products on his wagon to
any place on earth and no one will
molest him. If he prefers to haul
his products to Mobile he can do so,
and If he can do it cheaper than the
railroads will do 1t for him, 1t will
pay him TO go to hauling, but If the
railroads will haul the same goods
for about one-tenth of what it will
cost him to take it himself, then
business horse sense would tell him to
patronize the railroads and be thank
full for the chance.
What we need is education along
these lines among the farmers so that
they can see that the great agitators
of these questions are only playing
upon their prejudice in order to get
into office and nothing else and after
Office seekers win they care nothing
about the financial condition Of the
men who placed them in office nor
do they ever think of them again
until their term Of Office is about to
expire and they want another term.
Then it is that they get down their
last campaign literature and read up
so as to forth upon the hustings and
raise a howl about the "thievine
railroads." thus tanning the flames
of prejudice once more and reaping
a harvest of votes.
Mr.. Conner and his fellow mer-
chants will sell ten cars Of stuff to
one firm cheaper than they woulo
one. Mr.. Conner makes every cent
of profit he can on "Jim Dandy"
meal and "Jim Dandy" -four, and
not one word is said. The supply
and demand regulates the prices of
feed stuff and wearing apparel, and
no petition is sent to the legislature
to have a commission to regulate
these prices, then why this warfare
against railroads? The answer is
simply for political purposes only,
and this state Of affairs will last as
long as men will allow their prejudice
>1o,., 4bn;. MACON on5 cn