Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-07-21
NHYQUARR|ES ARE IDLE
Commissioner ketchum Thinks
the Iowa Quarrymen May BE
Disseminated Against
: TO INQUIRE INTO RATES
He Is Also Endeavorins to Ascertain
Whether the Rates on Hay Are the
Cause of So Little Shipment of That
Product From This state-cIaim
Hay is Being Wasted.

| Des Moines July 21.--State Railroad
| Commissioner N. S. Ketchum is max
| ing an investigation of the stone quar-
Try business and the hay industry He
is endeavoring to ascertain why there
are so many idle stone quarries over
the state and why so much hay is go
ing to waste. and to ascertain especi-
ally whether or not the present Iowa
freight rates on stone and hay has any
thing to- do with the conditions that
prevail.
1t is claimed that Iowa has as good
building stone as any state in the UNI
ion. Some of the Iowa stone, especi-
sold extensively in the east at times
for building material. Marshalltown
stone has been shipped to New Orleans
and mammoth buildings have been
erected there Of the material. Large
quantities have been shipped to Pitts
burg and big sky buildings erected
there. thus proving the worth of Iowa's
SioHC DIS llltleIlil# olllSI Qudl-
ries in the state have also been sue
cessful at times in getting big orders.
Shipping Iowa Stone.
While some of the big stone quarries
are still shipping stone out of the state,
1t is claimed by those who know that
there are very many stone quarries
over the state producing excellent
stone that are idle. Commissioner
ketchum has travelled over the state
extensively and has found this to be
the condition and has inquired closely
for the reasons. and the facts thus far
seem to lead to the conclusion that the
Iowa freight rate on stone is too high.
Building is going on extensively in all
sections of the state. but either brick
is used or else stone shipped from
some other state and having inter.
state freight rates. There is proba-
bility that the commission will con-
slider lowering the rate on building
stone at a meeting in the near future.
The hay business is still more COM
plicated. Hay is going to- waste in
large quantities over the state of Iowa
for want of a market. Commissioner
ketchum made trip to Chicago re-
SSHeis w 1Ai't oul NiItlllcI is was lIle
lack of a market or high freight rates
One of the difficulties is the lack of a
market, tho freight rates may have
something TO do with it, too.
Hay Shipments Wait.
When grain is shipped to Chicago
it is unloaded ir'7 elevators and the
cars are imm .ately servicealble.
When hay is shipped to Chicago for
to any other city for that matter it
has to remain on the cars till it is
sold. AS a result shipments must
wait the condition of the market in
Chicago. If several hundred cars are
shipped more than is wanted for i'm
mediate consumption the railroads
are forced to order their agents to
accept no more hay for shipment
Lack of storage facilities in the big
market centers is therefore partly re-
sponsible for the condition in the
hay market. If Iowa farmers could
sell all the extra hay they raise more
than they need foI their own use. hay
which is now largely going to waste,
1t would mean a saving of many
thousands of dollars. 1t is barely
possible also that with lower freight
rates more hay would be sold and
the product would move livelier. This
phase of the matter will be investi-
gated by Mr.. Ketchum.
Board Reduces Iowa Rates.
AS compared with the year passed,
there will be a saving of about $780,
900 to the people of Iowa on freight
rates. as a result of the recent re-
auctions made by the board, since Mr..
Ketchum became a member Tech
nically there are no reductions in
freight rates. The classification re-
mains fixed so far as freight rates
are concerned, the same rates on
various classifications remaining the
same since first put in by the board.
When it is desired to reduce the
freight rate on an article, the article
is taken out of one class of freight
and placed in one with a lower rate.
Articles are classified differently
from year to year but the rates for
a class as a whole remains fixed. BY
thus changing the freight rates the
lower rates on the tonnage that was
shipped during the year 1905. will
mean saving to the people of Iowa
of over 100000 on the theory that the
consumer pays the freight.