The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1909-07-07
THE INEQUALITY OF PORT RATES

conservative As well as one Of the
ablest members Of the weekly press
Of Georgia. in its issue Of last week
contributes the following very able
editorial on the port rates matter:
IT is not the policy Of this paper
70 deal with men 50 much as with
measure. unless the men are the real
emf odiment CT the policy or the prin-
ciple sought TO be reached. The rail
road commission, in turning down
the port rates, has made a blunder
that viii again N The distant future
turn he state upside down politically
stagnating business and doing many
other things not conducive TO that
harmony so necessary to we'll being.
THE port rete proposition, tempo
rar.ly set back by the brutal stab
b,ng at the hands Of its alleged
friends, is not dead, nor is it sleeping
so deeply that it cannot be easily
awakened The principle which we
believe to be correct lies tack Of it,
and all the vaporings of Governor
Smiths enemies cannot obIiterate it.
1T seems the veriest kind OF folly
for the commission to acknowledge us
impotency to deal with this question.
1t is an admission Of weakness or the
lack Of courage to stand up and fight
for something known to be right be-
cause its greatest champion is tenn
porarly defeated as result Of extra
ordinary circumstances. If the rail
road commission has no right to regu.
late freight rates within the state
pray what has it a right to do? II it
cannot put into operation rates from
the states ports TO inland points of
the state, OF what use is it?
1T is essentially the duty OF ne
commission to do away with rate dis
elimination when il is possible % 90
so. Ii is not right that business men
al inland points in Georgia should
ray nearly twice as much freight on
a commodity as is paid on the same
commodity hauled twice the distance
to some river point over the state
line. We know very wen that ship
ment crossing a state line is sabieo;
TO the interstate commerce commits
sion, but that fact could not prevent
the state commission from lowering
the rates from its own ports 70 points
not outside Of the state.
There has been in all the cortrc-
yersy about these rates a ye-y cl@yer
and studied attempt to make II APP
pear that Atlanta alone would ne tie
1ereec.ry Of the port rates. This
has been inspired by preiud ce, per-
hans, and has been reiterated so often
by those making the charges, that it.
IS really believed BY them to be
fact. Lower rates from the ports to
all interior Georgia points could not
possibly benefit only Atlanta, and
those who have been duped and made
to believe it, no doubt will, before
they hear the last of it, feel just about
like the fellow who spent all his
money to see the Flatiron building
turned round.
"Yonder stands a forty-car freight
train at Memphis, bound for Sayan-
nah, loaded with cotton so bales to
the car, which has crossed the river.
This cotton will take the proportional
rate to Savannah and the freight will
be s2,250. Just behind it stands an
other train exactly like the first, load
ed with cotton for Savannah, and this
cotton being Memphis cotton. will
take the Memphis rate proper The
freight will be $4,000. These two
trains are started on their way to the
port and at Atlanta another train ei-
actly like them joins the procession
and il will earn from Atlanta to Sa-
yannah $4,000. At Macon a fourth
train falls in the line and will earn
IS. 400 and at Sandersville train No.
brings up the rear, and on a rim
of 1879 miles to Savannah will eagh
$3.50 Get these figures fixed in
your mind: You pay $3.50 for train
from Sandersville to Savannah, or
co, - 49, 80 DC % oa,,+s ner hun