Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-08-08
LUMBER and RATES
The RAILROADS PRESENT Their
SIDE OF The CASE.
Railroad Men Take Government Re-
ports and ManufaC turerS' Price
Lists TO Support Carriers Confen.
ton That Railroad Tariffs Must
be Increased.

Local railroad officials have received
from the East copies of United States
forest service circular which contains
some striking aud remarkable figures
relating to fir lumber freight rates from
Washington points to St. Paul and also
diagram of iir lumber prices taken from
the Pacific Coast Lumber Manufacturers
Association price lists, says the Seattle
P.-I.
An important railroad official, who
was. unwilling to be quoted in person,
exhibiting the diagrams. said:
"rhese diagrams will probably interest
many people who for the past two years
have heard of little else than exhorbitant
railroad freight rates. 1t is interesting
in view OF the present agitation regal d
ing lumber rates from the Pacific coast
as denoting the relation the transporta-
ton charges bear to prices obtained OF
paid for the lumber.
"The conditions making high wages
and high prices possible are the funda.
mental causes for the general prosperity
throughout the country, and taking these
factors into consideration, there seems to
be no theory yet put forth why trans.
portation which is sold by the railroads
should alone maintain the old levels.
"Lumber prices prior to 1898 show
little change, and the tonnage handled
by the railroads was of little importance.
In 1898 the railroads having an excess OF
East-bound empty cars on account OF the
steady increase in West bound merchan-
disc shipments and construction ma
terial, created by the wonderful growth
of the Pacific coast country, lowered the
freight rate 10 40-cent basis in an effort
to encourage the lumber industry, and
to obtain loading for their returning cars.
"From that time until 1900, although
the tonnage increased, the lumbermen
secured only moderate advance in
prices, but in recent years it must be adj
mtted the conditions have materially
changed. The prices of lumber have
almost doubled, and apparently the only
real difficulty the lumbermen have had
was to get their products handled to
Eastern markets. The demand for cars
exceeded the supply, and the railroads
were compelled to send empty cars across
the continent for this purpose. 1t has
been stated by eminent railroad men
4, &c 1,,ff
car taken West empty and loaded back
at the 40-cent rate.
"In the face of these conditions it is
claimed by the railroads that the con-
tinuance of rate which does not bear
its proper share OF the transportation
cost is in itself indefensible, which means
that other traffic is being sadded with
a burden not coordinate with the basic
factors which should determine proper
rates.
"It must be admitted by all that the
problem to care for and continue the de-.
velopment of the lum Der industry on the
Pacific coast in the face OF the past con.
dtions is very serious one.
"These diagrams would indicate that
the old rates inaugurated to fit the con-
ditions in 1894 are not coordinate with
the conditions as they exist today. 1t
will be noted that the proposed advance
is to figure less than the rate that was
made to start the movement which pre-
yailed from 1897 tO 1898
"If the advanced rates enable the
railroads to care for the traffic without
the burden they have complained of in
the past, the increased freight rates
might be factor in solving the perma-
nent development OF the great Pacific
coast lumber industry, because the lum-
ber dealers of the Pacific coast can no
more build up permanent business on
the assumption that the railways will
haul their lumber for less than cost than
the railroads would expect the lumber
dealers to furnish lumber for transporta-
ton at less than it cost to produce the
lumber"