Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-01-24
essary and imperative In order to pre-
serve domestic tranquility. - u -
Power Of Railroads Unfairly Used.

eSSaTy anu imperative IN OTQer 10 pre-
serve domestic tranquility. u -
Power Of Railroads Unfairly Used.
You, my friends, have more than a
political interest in this great ques-
ton. 1t is question coming with
force and interest that ought to appeal
to you as does no other question now
before the American people. 1t is
within the power of a railroad cor.
poration to build up one city and tear
down another. city. 1t is within the
power of railroad companies and rail-
road systems to favor one community
at the expense of another community.
It seems to be the function and the
desire of railroad corporations to build
up the great centers of population
from which they radiate. No great
center of population can flourish and
thrive except it fourishes and thrives
upon the smaller municipalities and
upon the agricultural communities.
The railroads of our own state and of
the Northwest have not shown to the
rural communities the consideration
to which they are justly entitled. Cor
porations doing business in this great
state have grown prosperous and have
thrlved upon the common people. It
has been argued that these arteries OF
commerce have done much for the de.
velopment of this great state. That
certainly is true, but it must also be
remembered that without the agricul.
tural regions, without the rural com.
munities and the smaller municipal.
ties the railroads could not have
thrived. And as th1y have grown
great and strong it seems to me they
ave grown less fair to those upon
'hom they depend for their success
and prosperity. AS a matter of fact
today the Canadian farmer transports
his produce 600 miles for the same
price of transportation charged the
Minnesota producer and shipper to
transport his wares 400 miles. To
the south of us great empire state
has provided by law a system by
which rates of transportation are con.
trolled. Suffering by a comparison
with Canada we also suffer by con.
trast with Iowa and, lying between
these two, it seems to me that there
should be no discrimination against
our own fair state and the villages and
cities which in part comprise it.
Unlawful Determinations Exist.
A very noticeable discrimination be.
tween localities is the very marked
difference in rates on the transporta.
ton of coal. For instance, Red Wing,
Al miles from st. Paul, pays a rate
from Duluth of 81 for hard coal and
$l.40 for soft coal; Pennington, which
is only 20 miles from St. Paul, pays
$1.75 for hard coal and $140 for soft
coal: Mankato, 81 miles from St. Paul,
pays 1925 per ton for hard coal and
$l.50 per ton for soft coal; Austin, 103
miles from St. Paul, pays the same
rate on hard coal which Mankato pays
and 10 cents less per ton on soft coal
than Mankato; Glencoe, only 81 miles
from Minneapolis, pays $2.10 from Du-
luth on hard coal and $1.75 per ton for
soft coal, paying more than Austin
pays, 103 miles from the Twin Cities,
and rs cents per ton more than Man.
kato, which is 80 miles further re-.
moved from the Twin Cities.
Hutchinson, So miles from Minneap.
oils, pays $2.25 per ton from Duluth
nv wav IF Mipnoopo1ic or Ct Do,,1 for
hard coal and $1.9O per ton for soft
coal, paying more than either Austin
or Mankato, which are 103 and 81
miles respectively from the Twin Cit
les.
Bird Island, 80 miles from the Twin
Cities, pays the same price, or 1925
per ton, for hard coal and $210 for
It's soft coal, paying 70 cents more per
ton than Austin, which is Is miles fur
Their removed, and so cents more than
Mankato, but miles nearer the Twin
Cities.
AS another Illustration of discrim-
nation, St. Cloud, on the Great North
ern railway, pays $3.50 per ton for it's
soft coal, the same rate paid by Man.
kato, and pays $3.50 per ton for hard
coal, while Mankato pays 1925 per ton
from Duluth.
A comparison of figures between
stations On the Great Northern and
Milwaukee systems reveals the fact
that to Litchtield, Bemidji, Morris,
Crookston, Benson, Willmar and St.
Cloud on the Great Northern road the
price for soft and hard coal is identi-
cally the same, while. to like number
OF stations, notably Red Wing, Farm
1ngton, Mankato, Austin, Glencoe,
Hutchinson, Bird Island and Renville,
there is a difference all the way from
Is cents to IS cents between the
charge on hard and soft coal. A CON-
parison Of these tariffs with the Iowa
tariffs reveals the fact also that, ex-
Guiding st. Paul and Minneapolis,
which have very low rate, the rates
on soft coal from Duluth to nine other
stations on the Great Northern rail.
way, shown in a table from which
these figures are taken, are 46 per
cent higher than would be allowed
under the Iowa law. Is there any valid
reason why a man living twenty:eight
miles from St. Paul should pay as
much for the transportation of his
fuel as man living 103 miles from
St. Paul? If the Great Northern road
can haul hard coal for the same price
it hauls soft coal, is there any good
reason why a citizen of Austin should
pay IS cents per ton more for hauling
his hard coal than his neighbor pays
for hauling soft coal?
Another Illustration CT the unfair
ness to Minnesota shippers, compared