Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-08-25
Meat OF the Cream Rate Con-
troversy is Easily Dis
cernible
Low TARIFFS WOULD BE FATAL
Evidence So Far Introduced in Hear
ing Show Small Concerns Would Be
Driven Out Of Business BY Rate Re-
duotion - Small creameries Do Not
Use Railways-Farmers Interested.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Aug. 25.- Iowa pro-
dnces many million pounds of butter
every year and the amount is growing
larger each year Because of this and
because creamery men say that the
fight over freight rates now going on
is really fight between the big and
little creameries Iowa has a vital In
terest in the controversy.
The interstate commerce commission
has already heard some of the evil
dence in the case at Chicago and has
set Sept. Z, for u continuance OF the
hearing. Iowa got quite we'll introduced
to the rate on cream year or SO ago
when the railroads were charging less
for carrying cream from Iowa points to
Chicago than for carrying it from Iowa
points to Dubuque. Petitions were filed
with the state railroad commission and
to remove the discrimination the rail-
roads raised the rate to Chicago in
stead Of lowering it to Dubuque. This
suited the little creameries but was
very objectionable to the big ones, and
since then the big concerns have been
in death struggle to get the inter-
state rate reduced
Cream Rates Are Low.
There are two kinds of creameries in
the country and the fight is between
them. In the essential differences be-
tween the two kinds of creamerfes IS
the sum and substance of the cream
cry rate controversy.
In the first place it should be under
stood that the railroads are carrying
cream at q ridiculously low rate as 1T
is. They carry cream now at less than
ssecond class freight rates and carry
the stuff on passenger trains. The
creameries that demand a still lower
rate claim it on the ground that a
lower rate is essential for the life of
the business and that farmers will
have no outlet for the cream unless the
rate is lower.
Over a large part of the country
there are little creameries that do not
ship pound of cream to their cream
cries over the railroads. The northern
part of Iowa is covered with such
creameries. Over another large part of
the country there are big centralized
plants to which cream is shipped from
many miles by rail and to which a very
small per cent Of the cream used. If
any at all, is brought in by wagon. 1t
is very evident therefore at a glance
that the railroad freight rate on cream
is an essential element to the big
creamery in the question Of cost of
manufacturing butter, but is an insig-
nificant question to the small creamery
in itself, but an important question to
the small creamery If the big creamery
gets rate SO loW that it becomes an
insignificant matter in the cost of
manufacture.
Large creameries Menace.
In the hearings in Chicago the big
creamery companies, one Of which is
capitalized at $3,000,000, sought to
make the claim to the interstate COM
merce commission that unless the
creamery rate was lowered there would
be no outlet for the cream which is
produced by the farmers COWS. This
is denied by the small creamery men
and they claim Furthermore that the
farmer would be better off and the en-
tire state would be better off If there
were no large creameries.
The essential claims of the small
creamery men are, first, that cream
makes better butter the shorter dis.
tance it is carried to the creamery. In
other words it makes better butter if
hauled to the creamery in a wagon
than if hauled to the railroad station
in wagon, then shipped by rail long
distance, usually in the heat of the
day, and finally hauled again from the
station at the terminal to the cream
cry For that reason they claim that
a small creamery under efficient man
agement makes as good or better but
ter than the large creamery.
Should "Get OFF the Earth"
Second, they claim that a creamery
of the smaller type that manufactures
into butter all the cream produced in
a radius that is within wagon hauling
distance can manufacture cream as
cheaply as can any of the big central
lied plants. Therefore they claim the
big centralized plant has no excuse for
existing and should "get off the earth" :"
Furthermore as is quite in the nature
Of things, the small plants claim that
the big trust companies have way
of Offering high prices to farmers liv-
ing in the vicinity of a local creamery
il they ship to the big plant. that they
pay prices which the small concern
cannot possibly afford to pay till the
small concern is driven out of bust
ness, when almost Immediately the
prices go down to a figure considerably
lower than paid before by the local
creamery.
OF course the big centralized plants
deny all this, but that there have been
400 small local creameries with a
total capitalization of sl,000.0oo or
more closed within the last few years
there can be no possibility of doubt.
Most of the small local creameries are
what are known as co-operatiFes. be-
cause the farmers cooperate in or