The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-08-24
PLAN IS NOT FAIR
w. F. Jensen Discusses Change
in Cream Rates.
Replies to Statements Made by
John Stewart.
ON A WRONG BASIS.
Increase Would Help Only the
Railroads.
ON A WRONG BASIS
Mean That Much Less Paid to
Kansas Farmers.

say few words to defend ourselves
| against the statements made by Mr..
John Stewart of Concordia, before the
Kansas Railroad commissioners. Mr..
Stewart claims that the present rates
for the shipment of cream are not just
| inasmuch as the express companies
charge as much for the transportation
of a can of cream from Cawker City to
Concordia, a distance of about fifty
| miles, as they do for the transportation
of a can of cream from Cawker City
| to Topeka. a distance of about two
hundred miles. This is not true. The
express rates on cream are on a dis
lance tariff mileage basis and every
town in Kansas has the same rates
and the same opportunity to ship in
cream from any other town in Kan
sas as we have here at Topeka.
Help Only Railroads.
Mr.. Stewart represents himself as
voicing the sentiments of independent
operators. I do not know who the
Independent creamerymen are. We
are just as Independent as any one
and we have to pay just as much and
some times more, and work just as
hard and some times harder than any
other creamery in the state of Kan
sas in order to get our share of the
cream that the farmers have to SELL
81 started the creamery business on
the Central Branch of the Missouri
Pacific thirteen years ago and my
company has at the present time at
least $4,000 invested in the develop
ment and conduct of this creamery
business on the Central Branch west
of Concordia. I believe that Mr.. Stew
art started his creamery less than two
! years ago and that in these two years
he has succeeded in building up quite
a business for his Concordia creamery.
This business naturally came from our
cream patrons and our business that
we had developed in the past thirteen
years.
"When Mr.. Stewart advocates high
er express rates on cream he must not
say that this is from purely unselfish
and philanthropic motives, because
this is not so. 1t is purely a selfish
motive whereby he expects to encour-
age a sort of protective tariff and to
make such a high express rate on
cream that no one can go up into
his particular part of the state and
buy any cream. This would enable
him to. in a way, build a little local
monopoly for himself.
ST contend that any raise of express
rates on cream will help no one but
the railroads. and an increased charge
Of this kind will fall directly on the
farmer and I think it is the duty of
every creameryman xn the state of
Kansas, whether his business be large
or small, to take a hand in the fight
and not allow the railroads to impose
additional tax on the Kansas dairy in
dustry.
How 1t Was Done.
LAS near as can learn, this is the
exact condition. This raise in cream
rates was agreed upon by the West
ern Traffic association, an association
which has as its members every rail-
road and express company west of
Chicago and st. Louis and this raise
in the cream rates is effective in every
state and territory west of Chicago and
st. Louis.
Heretofore the shipments of cream
have been carefully nursed and en-
couraged by the local traffic officials of
all railroads. specially the Rock
Island, the Burlington, and the Santa
Fe railroads have fostered this bust
ness with the utmost care, realizing
that it is a business which brings
money to the farm every month in
the year and every year regardless of
crop failures, thus contributing an un-
failing source of wealth, which means
business and prosperity for the rail-
roads through these western states.
This has been the wise policy of the
traffic officials of the various railroads
operating through Kansas and other
western states, and it has resulted in
building up the business of many large
creamery plants with millions of dol
lars invested 1t has proven the only
successful system of conducting the
creamery business in Kansas and other
western states. But now this business
has assumed such a large volume that
If has attracted the notice of the great
railroad magnateS.
'NThis increase in rates will easily
paw these various railroads at least
one million dollars annually in addi-
ton to their present earnings. 1t viii
nerhaps enable them to increase their
dividend on their large capitalization
of wind and water. They do not care,
however to come before the people
with an open request for higher rates
Of a
thew are already receiving, .conse-
ouently they have developed scheme
whereby they will endeavor to throw
sand in the eyes of the public. They
will attempt to show that cream
should not be transported on trains;
that each local community should in
vest four to five thousand dollars for
building a creamery of their own The
people in Kansas will be wise, now
ere to this proposition. we nave
tried this system of small local cream
cries. There are some small local
creameries operating in Kansas but
very few communities have sufficient
COWS to maintain the expense of oper-
ating a complete creamery.
Plan Is Success.
"It is true and beyond doubt that
the present method of conducting the
business whereby the cream is shipped
over the railroads to centralizing
creameries in various parts of the
state is the most successful Larger
centralizing creameries can operate
with the greatest economy and can
market their products to the best in
terest of their patrons and themselves.
MY company has worked hard in
the introduction of the hand-separator
and today practically every farmer in
Kansas has a hand-separator on his
farm. He separates his milk and feeds
his skim milk to his calves. hogs, and
chickens. and the cream he hauls to
town where as MANY as five or six