The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1905-03-04
REAP MIND.

Speer- Dickinson maximum freight
rate bill. 1t is not because they
overlooked 1t or knew nothing about
It. They were Informed Of its pro-
visions and It's purposes and their
assistance was solicited. Instead OF
assistance they have let slip no oppor-
tunity TO make cOntemptuous
mention Of 1t 10 their news columns
while entirely ignoring 1t in their
editorial columns. Nor have they
ever failed to set forth at large and
under flaming headlines resolutions
adopted by so called ''business men S
associations, "all OF which resolutions.
n not ~forgeries, were drafted by men
who are enjoying rebates or are in
the employ Of railroad companies.
Country people, who have been look
ing with increasing confidence to the
metropolitan press for their political
ideas, are requested to note it's course
upon a matter Of far more vital in
terest to them than any other subject
considered by the present legislature.
Railroads are common carriers, and
though the state has permitted them
to be built by private capital and
operated as private enterprises, the
state should not permit them-it is
In honor bound not to permit them
to discriminate In freight rates
against one section in favor Of
another, against interior towns In
favor Of border towns. II the theories
Of the so.called ''business mems
associations" we're carried to the
utmost it would be impossible for any
man to engage 10 any manufacturing
or shipping business except at the
favored places chosen by the rail.
roads. However the Speers.D ickin-
son bill does not 10 the least inter.
fere with the rates enjoyed by these
favored places, except that 1t would
require the railroads to give some.
thing like the same rates to all other
places In the state. 1t is 10 line
with the plain provision Of the con-
stltution and the statutes which
contemplate a mileage basis Of rates
"a thing which the railroads ignore
with brutal high.handedness.
The speer.D Dickinson bill is not
primarily a bill to reduce freight
rates. Many rates could be some
what increased under the bill. But
1t reduces the maximum mileage rate
close enough to the actual inter state
rate to prevent higher proportion.
ate local intra-state rates, without
violating the mileage basis Of the
constitution and statutes. For in.
stance, the railroads freight rate for
corn between Kansas City and St..
Louis Il s cents per 100 pounds The
railroad commissioners maximum
rate promulgated a year ago Qllega)
Is IA cents. The statutory maximum
rate made 10 1872 is "a cents. Now
under the present law the railroads,
while charging 8 cents from Kansas
Civy to oG. Louis, could Chit. - So
100 cents per hundred pounds from
Independence TO st. Louis, what
would then become Of a miller in
Independence? AS a matter Of fact,
the railroads have rarely ever acted
so extremely as this, but sufficiently
so to destroy private business in
thousands Of interior places. The
Speer-D Dickinson bill merely reduces
the maximum rate to a point 80 close
to the actual Interstate rate as to
make It impossible for the railroads
TO charge more for a hundred miles
haul than for a two hundred or three
hundred miles haul as they can do
as they actually do-under the exist.
ing maximum law. The bill is not
designed to prevent railroad COM
panieS from making profit upon
capital invested. 1t is designed to
keep them from preventing the peo-
pie all over the state from making
profit upon their invested capital. II
the metropolitan papers have lent no
aid to this Just cause, the people
have a right to know the reason why.
EDUCATIONAL REPORT.
MI