The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-03-28
WEDNESDAY, MARCH ~, 1905.
RAILROAD N

Realizing that congress will enact
come kind Of rate regulation law at
the present session, the railroads are
promising to be good, aud have begun
to reform. 1t is announced that sew.
eral railroads that have terminals in
Chicago are revising their freight
rates to Missouri river points, the
proposed change effecting a reduction
OF about Is per cent. in transpOrta-
ton charges, and an overhauling Of
rates in other parts of the country is
probable. II the old rates were just
and reasonable, there would be no ne
cessity to contemplate these reduc.
tions.
The railroad literary bureau that
has been maintained in Chicago to
create public prejudice against rate
legislation, is sending to newspapers
a circular letter which says: "An
order has recently been promulgated
by the railroads here which will take
Out of the transportation situation
even those minor determinations
which have bcen.the fault of oversight
of clerks making up bills from tariff
sheets and which always have been
+. corrected when attention has been
called to them. The higher officials
of many of these lines have directed a
minute examination of all freight and
passenger tariffs for the purpose of
discovering whether they contain any
possible ground for the charge Of un.
lawfulness. \ rate made in error by
an agent will no longer be protected. -
It is inferred from this announce.
ment that ~the!Icustom heretofore has
been to protect. or enforce u rate made
in error by an agent. 1t is also con.
cluded that minor determinations,
made intentionally or through error,
exist 70 q more or less extent in for.
mer schedules of freight rates. The
fact that the federall authorities will
coon have the power to investigate
these DETERMINATIONS and unfair
transportation charges, may have
something to do with the reforms
promised by the railroads.
1t should be remembered, however,
that the rate legislation enacted by
congress applies only to interstate
commerce, and will.not affect freight
charges between points located In the
same state. Regulation of local
freight charges will depend upon q
state law, and the necessity for such
. law is indicated by the Helena Rec
ord in this specific example:
The ordinary and %inoffensive house
holder in Montana gets held up II
more ways than by the RAILROADS
Of this state. He accepts without mucl
protest the excess OF charge II
freight rates that is assessed agains
him when he pays the price added b!
the merchant on account of0the "higl
freight rates" He Is patient when tn
railroads charge him exorbitant rate
to ship his products east, aud he !
tolerant when they are even more ex
orbitant when they ship his clothin'
westward. He tolerates all of thes
things because he Doesn't see the goo
that immediate protest will do.
When it comes to moving ones sim
pie belongings from place to place i
this state, however, the matter Of raj
road transportation assumes a ia
different phase. 1t may be that
family has lived long in one omm VI
ity and has collected u lot OF bric-s
brac which is perhaps without valu
in the eyes of %the:railroad companies
but which, in the mind of the wife an
mother, is more precious than tn
most ancient heirloom.
Therefore it is that when peOpl
want to move from one place t
another, the cost of such removal is
question of first consideration. Usu
ually the railroads make a square an
level rate on shipments of the kind
heaven knows the charge is hig
enough in all cases.
Coming to our notice at this tim'
however, Is the instance of a man VII
has lived long in Fort Benton. I
had nearly seven thousand pounds
household goods. He was going
Billings. Necessarily, he must go |
way of Helena. What do the raj
road companies do? Let the tigur'
tell the story for themselves:
Distance from Fort Benton
Helena, l42 miles. Charge, $76.25.
Distance from Helena to Billing
23S miles. Charge, $54.S5.
Oh, no; Montana doesn't need
railroad commission. Certainly nc
Montana enjoys this sort Of thing.
BILLINGS, March 22.-The Yello'
stone county sheriff today issued
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