Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1905-09-27

oft, that It would raise no longer the amber II
Iowa wheat upon which the earlier settlers
depended. and today they .arc getting twice
IA much eturn per acre no the earlier ettlera Il
did when they shipped not hing but wheat
There IL another reasoh why you. should
do this. In time your land becomes exhausted L
YOU know that It must have. rcst, and vow
know every one Of You that where yOt, aun,-.
mcr-f n1low and are able to fertilizc It with
aome good stable manure, next year y on can
look fol. q much heavier crop,
81 Let me say to you the value of the food fed
to yonr cattle and hogs Is worth In manure
ne-third Of the market value of that food
sold OF the place. 1t viii add In dollars and
centa one-third to the annual yield OF your
acres and for that reason. II you are going
to keep your farms in the condition they
ought to he You must be prepared to fertilizc /
your land, you must rot ate your crops, .and
to do this you must have cattle and you
must have hogs. ia III 35z|z4 s s IS
l sell this year over 200 hogs, and am |
getting $3.50 and $1.75 s, hundred for eight
months pigs, and in eight or nine months I |
make them from 2t5 to $40 pounds, and I |
couldn't do it In any way In the world ex-
cept by starting the little pigs going on a
milk diet. # *%~, 81: 2:y 5E@$l :
Ia I want to call your attention to what has |
been done In twenty-five years in the way of
railroad rates on the Great Northern rail-
way. Il want to show YOU that greater re-
auctions have been made in the average rate |
on the Great Northern than have ever been
made on any railroad in the United States. |
In 1SS1-or twenty-five years ago-our
average rate, paid by the people who used
the railroad. for hauling ton offreight 100
-
80 last it was 70 cents and 2 mills, less than
one-third Of what it was twenty-five years
ago. :. a,.zys} ~ !, r. A. 81 = >#-
How are these rates reduced? If we had
stopped at breckenridge you would have
plenty OF room in one passenger train a day,
and during the busy season when the grain
was being moved two freight trains a day
would cover it.. But we have gone steadily
north and west and improved the country
| brought more tons. the products Of more
people, OF more brains, even until we have
gone to the Pacific. and then We have gone
across the Pacific to the Orient to get them
| to contribute their share Of the burden, and
| then distributing the rate over all these tons
we can make rates lower, and making them
| lower, we have made a better reduction this
year than ever before. We have led all the
l
grain rates. -.
But in making this reduction we did no
| more than our duty. no more than we ought
| to do. We got our regular dividend and the
| company earned it easily. Il would be glad
| to see the rates go lower, and whenever we
can make them lowerI pledge you my word
that we will 1t is pleasure to me to see
| the rates high. - =, 49, 49,
/ We, In, ,rrv1,1 h A..
line, some of you will remember. other
roads in the state had land grants also.
Most of them turned their land grant over to
their directors, and their directors turned up
as owners of these lands. Now, our lands
have been sold and the. proceeds have been
used to retire bonds, until we have reduced
| the interest cost by the retirement of these
bonds from the sales OF lands to an amount
of $S5O,OOO year. That land grant has
been administered as a trust and You get the
benefit Of it in a lower rate, because if we did
not reduce that interest your business would
have to pay it. !
We hear; a great deal said at this time
| about the regulation of railroad rates by the
general government, and sometimes about
| the operation Of the railroads by the general
government, Now, want here to call your
!
of the Union that is farther from the ultimate
markets than you are here in Minnesota.
Your distance from the Atlantic from the
Gulf OF Mexico and from the Pacific is about
the longest, the greatest. f. ss 81 =:: s.
T. Under the interstate commerce clause of the
Constitution Of the United States it is pro-
| vided that the United States government
cannot discriminate against any section Of
the country or in favor Of amy section9of the
country. Now let me say to you that that
literally and absolutely means distance
tariff. 1t means tariff based on a cost of
so much per mile or so much per 100 or 1 900
| miles. = i4%&n s~:->s~ -.
With your great distance from the ultimate
markets you would pay the highest rates Of
any people in the Uuion and whomever else
it might suit, whomever else it might benefit
it will never benefit the people of the West or
the Northwest. You would be bearing the
burdens of other and more populous states
and you would be crushed into the earth
When any one urges that upon you, ask him
the question how he will dscrimina ate in your
favor. If there was not discrimination in
your favor these prairies would lose their
population. -G%:. r. -s -:
Possibly you may feel that you have no
interest in the railroads. business beyond the
rate that we charge. Now, you have, be-
cause every dollar ofexpense that we are at
comes out Of your pocket in proportion as
you use the transportation of the railroad.
If there is loss, wreck, personal injury,
or if we get before jury and those on the
jury feel that they want to be a little gene
rous because the railroad has to pay it, they
simply deceive themselves. You pay it, We
are only the medium thru which you pay
it. a. +: 49, ..a-&5 rs = II. + =
l want to say to you that while / have en-
deavOred to point out some OF the shortct M
ings Of the state, what have said takes the
state as an average The day before yester-
day was down in the southern part OF the
state and saw what thought was as hand
some q sight as ever saw, as handsome an
agricultural country; but coming up here to-
day. after got thru the rolling country and
.&Is -, ~ :, !. E. &. j.