The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-16

This was done regardless Of the none
tary considerations involved. Rates
were made to fit the humanitarian
need. What would become, Of inelastic
fp;ss ne rates at such sal time as
come of such in the United States if
there were any, aside from the leeway
afforded by the provision that govern
ment controlled rates would be a maxi
mum from which the railroads might
make reductions if they chose, SO long
as they were made to all alike. But
What Germany does in such cases is
clear. In 1891, when the harvest was
bad, long distance rates on grain were
reduced so as to enable the population
of areas which wero without their usual
local supplies to get bread as cheaply
as possible. Two years later,45 when
there was great scarcity of straw and
fodder In extensive districts, prefer
entail rate for one yeartwent into OPP
GRAFTON: Early frosts in East Prussia
potatoes. The floods in. the autumn Of
1899 led to half rates on, food and fod-
der sent to the Spreewald. IN. IS
Rate Making Elastic. ~
Such facts as these show that rate
making in Germany is not so inelastic
as would be supposed. s:s ~ a.
Ihe adaptation of railroad rates, in
connection with tariffs. and subsidies,
has proved no small part Of the gen
eral paternalistic system under which
doubtless true that the question of
rate-making in German is largely one
Of Pacifying the demands Of the various
sections and conflicting interests, but
this must bedone everywhere. Our roads
meet the same problem, and in the re-
cent controversy over adifferentials be.
tween the ports of New York and Bos.
ton on the north, with Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Newport News on the
south, the railroads themselves were sc
unable to- reach the agreement $ neces-
sarySstQ avoid a rate war that they
vo1unt arily wentd to the interstate com
merce commission, asking it to- sit as
a court Of arbitration to settle the
dispute. ssy Is yssg3 5aFsE Es@ -,
Rates Make. Industries. s,saz
Insits last analysis this rate s,hroblen
stands at the portals Of the industrial
Development oftas COUNTRY. " That the
German system MoF d Nsn cannot BE-
development 1pf. German industries il
the last few years. ~
The German schedule Of rates; bott
freight and passenger, is extremely
complicated Distance and weight anC
bulk are fundamental, and yet on grad
uated schedules wide departures from
these original bases are reached Ihs
railways have a terminal charge which
is graduated according to the distance
They make distinction between
carload and less than carload lots. They
have a highly elaborate classification
of commodities. The speed at which
goods are transported also affects TIT
regular charges. These factors all ap
pear in their general tariff, apart from
| these differential or preferential case
that have already been noted. 49,
German Roads Not Failures. )
Nor is it true that the German roads
are failures as freight carriers, as some
authors have asserted. The earnings
| on the Prnssian railways from passen
ger traffic in 1899, the last year fol
| were only about 80 per cent of the to
| tai Of freight and passenger earnings
| This. is not greatly, different from thu
| American average, especially when Ger
| tain factors are taken into considera
| ton, The more closely congested thu
population. Of territory is, the large
will be the percentage of passenge
earnings to freight. This is shown il
the United States in the groups BY
which these figures are summarized
Germany also has wonderful system o,
canals and canalized rivers. Distance
to market are a great deal. shorter
Farmers load up "a boat,s sometimes
pushing it themselves, with poles, ant
1 get into market-not, an uneconomi,
process where in the United State,
there would be no practical recours,
except to the railroads.