Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-30
Railroad Side Of Rate Question
From Address Before the National Editorial Associa-
ton at Jamestown by W. W. Finley President
of the Southern Railway Company

one of you knows that even If an editor
Is publishing a newspaper in q field IN
which there is no rival publication, ne
cannot fix either his subscription price
or his advertising rates so as to yleld
predetermined rate of income. IL ne
could, all of you would be millionaires.
THE publisher must accept the rates
that are fixed for him by competitive
conditions over which he can have no
control. He meets, in most rjlaces, the
direct competition of rival publications
in his own field and everywhere the
competition of publications having a
wide circulation in an entire state or
section or over the whole country.
| Railway charges are regulated in the
same way by economic forces beyond
the control of the railway manager. He
must accept those rates that will in
duce traffic to move over his railway
and that will enable the products of the
farms, the mines, the forests and the
factories along his lines to be sold in
distant markets. The competition he
must meet is complex. 1t includes the
competition of rival carriers, by water
and by rail, the competition of rival
markets, each trying to draw traffic to
itself. the competition of similar prod
ucts. that may be substituted one for
the other. and the competition of rival
producing localities. 1t is the opera
| ticn of this complex competition, with
each railway constantly striving to de-
velop more traffic in it's own territory,
that has brought American railway
rates down below those in any other
country. These conditions create eco
nomic laws of trade and of rates which
are absolutely controlling and cannot
be disregarded or disobeyed.
There is a striking analogy between
tho charges of a railway and those of a
newspaper. You have different rates
for advertisements. In most newspa-
pers there are column rates and less
than column rates, CORRESPONDING to the
carload and less than carload rates of
the railway. Your rates for your regu-
lar advertising columns may be COM
pared with rates on ordinary freight;
and your rates for reading notices with
rates on perishable freight, requiring
special equipment and quick movement.
Your rates often differ very greatly
or different classes of advertisements
without any regard whatever to cost of
the service. For instance, l know of
one large daily having scale of rates
on different classes of advertisements
ranging from cents line for "Situa-
tions Wanted" to 81 lile for a class
OF special notices. These charges might
be compared with the railway rates on
wheat and on millinery. The cost Of
actual service in transporting
carload of wheat or a carload of ladies'
hats may be about the same, yet If the
railway should charge the same rate or
wheat as on hats the wheat could not
move in any considerable volume, and
IL it hauled all it's traffic at the wheat
rate, without regard for conditions
which justify it in differentiating it's
rates, it would go into the hands of
receiver. In the same way, If the news
paper should charge the special notice
rate for SITUATIONS Wanted" 1t would
get few advertisements of that class,
and If it should accept all advertise
ments at the Situation Wanted" rate,
it would go into bankruptcy. In other
words, it must charge the rates that are
fixed by economic conditions as those
which will bring the advertisements
over it's counter, just as the railway
must accept the rates liked in the same
way that Will induce the traffic to move.
The rate charged for special notices is
reasonable in the light of the service
performed for the advertiser, just as
the rate charged on the millinery Is
reasonable In the light of the service
performed for the shipper. The reason
ahleness of this latter rate Is shown by
the fact that box vf millinery NFeigh-
ing 100 pounds is carried from New
York to Richmond for 81 cents. Ii any
one of you has recently paid mlllin-
er's bill that seemed quite large. you
might weigh the hat when you go nome
and figure out how much Of your Dill is
represented by freight charges. 1t may
amount to as much as tenth or a
cent-possibly quarter Of a cent II the
hat is unusually heavy.
The rate is a very reasonable one as
applied to ladies' hats, but if applied to
wheat or coal it would be unreasonable.
But neither the rate on millinery nor
the rate on wheat or coal is based on
capitalization, valuation, cost of serv-
ice. mileage, or any other arbitrary
basis. Any attempt to do so would dls-
criminate against the wheat and coal,
and any attempt to make rates on any
such basis would discriminate against
communities and would put many men
out of business. 1t would be COM
plete reversal of the policy of the Amer
ican railways, which is to keep every
one along their lines in business and to
assist them in expanding their business.
The railways of the United States are
asking for no special favors. All that
they ask is that the American people
and you, as molders Of American pub
lie opinion, shall take broad view OF
the whole transportation problem.