Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-11-30
wAsHINGToN LETTER.
tFrom Our Regular Correspondent,

WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFrom Our Regular Correspondent
Washington d. @. Nov. q, 1905.
was talking with a railroad man
the other day about this freight rate
question which seems TO be agitating
the minds Of everybody and be gave
me a pretty good illustration Of how
freight rates affect the selling price
of an article. Here II is:
"A soap factory in Cincinnati re-.
Gently shipped 10 carloads Of soap
to wholesale house in New York.
One hundred boxes Of this soap
were sold to a iobbing house In
Pittsburg. The Pittsburg house
sold portion Of it to a iobber In
Clarksburg, West Virginia. These
people, in turn, shipped some Of II
back to a retail dealer 10 Wheeling.
through which town il had already
passed to reach Pittsburg, and more
Of it to retail dealer in small
town three miles from railroad
near Fairmount, West Virginia.
And when the retailer got it. 10
each case he sold the soap for five
cents a cake, which is the price at
which It retails in Cincinnati. the
point where it is manufactured.
Ultimately, some OF this soap travel
cd ] 400 miles, and was handled ia
freight houses and In wagons about
eight times before it finally reached
consumer.
The above is a fair illustration Of
oil the fuss and feathers that is be-
ing indSlgsd in here over this
question, ard after all is said and
done, in what way does it effect the
consumer, the man the politicians
seem so anxious TO benefit2
1t does them no more good than
water on duck Is back. Now, am
q Democrat and believe in the peo-
pie and want 70 have things done
that will be Of real benefit to them.
/ have been writing and working to
that end for the past twenty-five
years, but ! might just as well have
been singing psalms to dead mule
for all the good IL has done. The
people go on voting the Republican
ticket and the Republican party goes
on stealing from them and robbing
them with the same old grace and
they seem to like it. So what's the
use?
Because the Democratic party
arose to the occasion and denounced
rebates by therailroads, discrimina- |
tion ia favor Of one shipper over |
another, placed plank In It's plat |
form advocating reform 10 that re. |
gard, the Republican President goes
to work and steals their thunder
and goes them one better and de.
mands that the railroads shall sub |
NIT to the fixing Of their rates by a
tribunal that knows as much about /
railroad rates as ! do about navigat-
ing ship. He knew full well that
such measure would give the Exc
cutiye branch Of the government |
plenary power over the railroad
situation Of the country, wouldcom.
pei the roads TO kowtow to the ad
and would give the adj
the power to compel
contributions from them when ever
hey needed them, also that 1t would
build up Ii every town and com
nunity IN the country q coterie q
1ffice holding voters that could be
swung their way Whenever they
leeded them, also. that the arbitrary.
Republican controlled Interstate
Commerce Commission could ok
Kings 50 that any community could
- killed from the shipping stand
,oint when 1t did not vots the Re.
publican ticket.
They also propose to kin the fruit
industry Of The country BY T
IaeinQ the refrigerator Ger lines
ndor the jurisdiction Of the inter.
tate Commerce Commission, which i