The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1907-05-22
OF THE
COMMODITY RATE
SMALL JoReERs or MINNESOTA
HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR YEARS
TO GET A SQUARE DEAL-THE
NEW SCHEDULE WILL SHOW NO
PARTIALLY.

In regard to the threatened action
70 De brought against the Minnesota
fallFoad and warehouse commission by
the -Ordean- Wells Co, whole +
sale grocers, Duluth, in which that
Iirm proposes to ask for an Injunction.
70 enJoln the railroads from putting
INTO effect the new commodity rate.
oFdefed by the commission, the jobbers
IN the smaller Minnesota cities-Fer-
gus Falls, Breckenridge, Crookston.
lhlef River Falls, East Grand Forks,
Moorhead, Detroit, Brainerd, Sauk
Center, etc-are displaying surprise
mat the twin city and Duluth jobbers
should have become so perturbed at
the action of the commission, whose
Ionly apparent aim was to give the
lnland cities what has been due them
Tor long time, something, beyond ali
argument, that was only Just and
fright
Inc smaller jobbers have for years
neen trying to secure recognition and
De put on an equal basis-that the
out rate from interior points should
pc The sum of the first-class 'fn" and
fourth class out" of the fourth-class
rate from the twin cities. Duluth. Su-
peflor, etc. In giving this, in the new
schedule made for commodities, the
commission has only endeavored to
put the smaller towns on an equal
OASIS, thus allowing them to do a |
wholesale grocery or other business on
somewhere near the same footing with
the larger concerns.
Abiding to the new commodity rate
which has been published and ordered
20 go into effect June 8, The Moorhead |
News of Tuesday saws:
Back in the eighties. all iobbing
business was at great Disadvantage
In northern Minnesota. AS the coun- |
try grew, the railroad companies rec
ognlzed the justice of so adjusting "in" |
rates as to allow natural distributing
.centers in the north to do a iobbing |
business, and for this purpose issued
commodity tariffs allowing a different |
ial under the fifth class rate Of 81, |
cents per 100 pounds on certain heayyI
articles, named in the present order of /
the commission. This was done by the
railroads without any order from the
commission. Later, the commission
established distributing rates out of
these country terminals the same as
were enjoyed by the twin cities and
Duluth. In the commissioners read |
1ustment and reduction of the mer-
chandise rates, the rate per ton per
mile decreases as the distance in
creases Under this tariff. the country
jobber would ship his merchandise in
carloads in fifth class and distribute at
fourth class, the same as the large
terminals.
Applying these rates, it was found
that the fifth class rate into ana tbe
fourth class rate out Of the country
terminals was considerably higher than
the fourth class rate from the twin
cities or Duluth to the stations where
the goods were sold. rats.sae@
The commission realized this whcnI
they made their merchandise tariff
and in a note said if the railroads
themselves did not make an equitable
in" rate so as to preserve the reIativeI
conditions of the country and city ter
minals, the commission would UNDER
take to do so. This the commission
has done by making a 3 cent differ
entail under fifth class, to the country
terminals
Nothing more has been done than
to put these country points on an equall
basis, SO far as railroad rates are 6
thus allowing them to com J
pete with the large cities, but our
friends from Duluth and the twin cities
would stifle all competition and drive Ia
every outside Minnesota and Dakota !
Iobber out of business and appropriate y
70 themselves all the wholesale busi- s
ness of the northwest.
THE people of the north are proud
IF st. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth.
md hope they may continue to growl
md prosper. In their prosperity. they
should not, however, look at this oues-
ion altogether from a selfish stand
POINT, but concede us the right to Iiye,l