Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-19
SENATOR LODGE ENTRAps HIMSELF.
American and German Freight Rates
Contrasted aud Corrected.
sprlnEfield (Massl Repnhlican.


Contracted and Corrected.
Springfield CMassD Republican.
Transportation conditions as between Eu-
ropean and American railroads are so diff
ferent in many particulars that compari-
sons OF superficial facts and conclusions
therefrom are to be made with great eau
tion. II, for example. the average freight
rate on the German state roads il double
that OF the United States roads, nothing is
necessarily proved thereby either against
government rate fixing on a uniform prin-
ciple or for the present American policy OF
letting the roads make what rates they
please and build up what a spokesman for
the roads has described as 'heteroge-
neous mass Of determinations.
Nevertheless Senator Lodge I'm his note
worthy speech Of Monday, does make such
a comparison OF surface facts and does
draw rather sweeping conclusions there
from in favor of let-alone policy I'm the
United States. He presents table which
shows among other things that the aver
age American freight rate is O.76 cents per
ton per mile, while the average German
rate is 20 cents And the senate proceeds
to say:
This table shows. what have already
stated that our railroad freight rates are
the lowest in existence. Tho fact that
rates are lower here than In any other
country and that. as the table shows, they
have steadily declined. taken i'm conjunction
with the very moderate returns ON the cap
ital invested in railroad property. is proof
sufficient that there can be but little suf-
fering from excessive rates and that when
rat ties have been excessive they cannot have
been OF long continuance except under very,
PECULIAR conditions. 1t may, 1 think. be
safely asserted that IL there was no griev-
ance to be dealt with except excessive
rates there would be no need OF any legis-
lation whatver."
1t should be remarked in passing that IL
American rates on the average are not
excessive, 1t by no means follows that they
are reasonable and just I'm all particulars,
or do not stand in need of readjustments
under the direction of the public authority.
They may be unfairly low in some cases.
and unjustly high in others, and such is
unquestionably the fact and warrant ac-
cordingly exists for public intervention.
But Mr.. Lodge still appeals to the fact
that the German average is much higher
than the American rate 1t is somewhat
unfortunate for him that on the very day
OF delivering his speech the American
papers should have published cabled sum-
mary of the findings of two Prussian state
commissioners sent to the United States in
1904 to study American railroads Their
report says that while nomnally the aver
age Prussian freight rate is 1.36 cents,
against 0.7s cents for the United States, the
actual comparison, IL conditions were equal
lied, would be a United States average of
LA cents per ton per mile, against o&
cents for Prussia. They explain this con-
clusion by saying that the American roads
include freight carried for themselves,
which is not the case in Prussia; that the
American statistics exclude high-class goods
carried at high rates by the express COM
panies, which is not the case in Prussia,
and that the American roads receive large
sums for carrying the mails and the Prus-
sian roads next to nothing.
1t should further be added-if evidence
presented at the American house committee
hearings on the subject is to be relied upon
that the European rates include costs OF
drayage of goods to and from stations.
which is not the case in the United States.
And again it is to be considered that Ger
man railroad traffic, as in the case of
other European railroads, consists largely |
OF high-class local tonnage, contrasting
with the fact that much of the traffic of
American roads is of low-class, bulky ar
ticles hauled over long distances at low
cost. No one reading MIR. Lodges speech
will accuse him of unfairness, but COM
prehensive view of the problem would have
compelled a note of this point particularly
and included a reference to the fact that
railroads situated as is the New Haven
company, which have comparatively large
short-distance traffic i'm high-class goods, |
corresponding more nearly to European
conditions, show an average freight rate
much higher-that of the New Haven COM
pany in 1904 being li2 cents per ton mile, |
compared with the Prussian rate of SO
cents. If express and drayage charges were |
included In the New Ravens exhibit, far |
more unfavorable of course would be the |
comparison with Prussia. |
Mr.. Lodge makes a comparison with Eu- |
rope based on deceptive data, and con-
cludes therefrom that the policy of public |
control of rates is unfavorable for the |
people, and that they are better off with |
out il. IL that conclusion properly follows |
from the facts as he gives them, then just |
as forcibly ii is proved by the true facts
that public control of rates is desirable |
from the standpoint of the people.
PRINTERS, INK IN CHINA