The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1905-02-17
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
THE PRIVATE CAR EVIL.

denounced in President Roosevelt's mas.
sage. The general public knows little
about this subject, many people no doubt
thinking when they rea the message
that reference was made to the private
Pullmans of railroad presidents, William
]. Bryan and others.
''The Armour Refrigerator Car Con
spiracy Exposed, or a Crisis in Inter
State Commerce Legislation, is an arti-
Gle by w. G.. Joerns of Duluth, Mimi, in
which the evils of the private car line
system are set forth in a striking man
ner. No attempt at fine writing is
made, but facts and figures are presented
which must the attention of
thinking men everywhere, and especially
shippers and producers who are being
crushed under the wheels OF this great
and growing monopoly.
Mr.. Joerns justly regards the secret re-
bate privilege as offering the greatest
menace to the permanency OF American
institutions His object is to arouse pub
lie sentiment to such an extent that Con-
gress will be compelled to afford relief
by amending the Interstate Commerce
law so as to regulate the 300 private car
lines that now claim to be above the law,
and which by the grasp they nave OBJ
tanned upon the great transportation
companies of the country are able almost
wholly to nullify the provisions of the
act passed by Congress, which, it was
hoped, would afford relief to the indie
pendent shipper. and place the small as
well as the large shipper on terms of
equality.
1t is not possible to give more thar the
merest outline of his argument here. A
summing-up shows that from the testi-
Commerce Commission, the Armour Com
pany has been able to dominate the en-
tire field, to exact tribute from the pro-
ducer and small shipper in every section
of the country, and literally controls the
refrigerator service from one end of the
Union to the other. While ordinary car
load shipments are inspected, the Armour
interests are subject to no inspection or
control whatever. To so great an extent
has the evil grown that the great pub
lie service corporations. to which the gov
eminent. presumably for the public good,
has surrendered a portion of it's sovereign
power are today doing spy duty" for
the benefit of the private car interests.
Mr.. Joerns estimates that rs per cent
in value of the California citrus crop is
absorbed in the exorbitant freight and
refrigerator charges. He shows hat on
a carload shipment of grapes from Cal
ifornia to Duluth. the freight charge, at
$125 a hundred. was s312.5O. while the Ar
mour refrigerator charge was s107.5O in
addition.
If the shipment had originated in Ore
gon or Washington, and had been routed
over the Northern Pacific or Great North
ern (which two roads as yet own and run
their own refrigerator cars), the refrig-
orator charge to Dulut would have been
only $25, or an moun theoretically as
sumed as sufficient to cover, and practi-
cally known to be in excess O., the actu-
al expenditure for icing and attendant
service.
How to remedy this evil is a question
OF the greatest Importance, but it is one
in which Congress and the railroads
ought to be able to work together, since
the private car lines are a parasite on
the great transportation companies. an
the language of j. w. Midgley, formerly
Commissioner of the Western Freight
Association. These men (the private car
people, constitute the most remorseless
and arbitrary power in the world. No
railroad dare refuse them, but all yield
AFFECT compliance to every demand and
wish" The time for railroad legislation
is growing very short and the Senate has
lone nothing. But if the Senate ignores
the demand of shippers all over the coun-
try for relief, if it persists in its obstruc-
tive tactics, there will be a great day OF
reckoning at the next election. There