The daily sentinel., 1909-02-26

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Editor New York Commercial:
Sir-Countless columns have been
printed and perhaps read anent the
railroad and express discrimination
in this trans-mississippi section, not
ably Colorado and Utah; yet appar-
emily not one-tenth of the people here
are aware, or are Indifferent, as to
how much they are bled and denied
their God-given rights of CONNER
cial equality. Apparently so long as
the sun shines, the wind blows, the
grass grows and the COWS calve, the
people of this intermountain section
are content and happy. 1t cannot be
said that they lack in intelligence,
for Utah, with its record of $4,000
600 pounds of wool per annum, and
Colorado, with its record of sixteen
refineries and sugar product of
100000 tons per annum, would dis
prove the allegation. Then why is it
that the people of Utah complacently
pay S16S,OO0 higher freight rates to
move their crop of wool TO the Boston
market than Sacramento GOO miles
greater distance. via Utah) would
have to pay for the longer haul of the
same tonnage of wool to Boston?
A Pointed Question.
Again, why does Colorado COM
placently pay 20 per cent higher
freight rate for its sugar haul, which
is % per cent less distance than Mis-
souri, river points? Do we not hon
! estly deserve the burro pennant?
Yes. We have commercial bodies,
so-called chambers of commerce and
traffic bureaus, which periodically
make 'splurge' and 'resolute' and
then send committees ION railroad
passes?) to traffic managers meet
ings, where they are dined, wined and
| hypnotized into the belief that the
railroads are actually discriminating
in our favor instead of against us;
which is swallowed by our commit
tees, bait and hook, and as a sort of
| a protective tariff panacea.
| Notwithstanding our national S2,-
| 900 a day humbug-the interstate
commerce commission-the fact re-
mains that Denver today is paying
from 100 to 800 per cent higher
| freight and express rates per ton, per
\ mile, than any city of its size in the
Union. Grand Junction, Colo, the
apex of high-freight rates. also Salt
| Lake City, can save money by ship
ping commodities from New York all
rail, via their cities to Sacramento
and back again for less than the rail-
roads will drop 1t off at Grand juno
tion, Colo, or Salt Lake City in the
| first instance. In these cases the
railroads manifestly pay premium
for the unnecessary haul of from l.
400 to 1000 miles each. For the
manipulation of the present idiotic
and criminal tariffs the railroads ac-
tually pay as much as $4,000 per
annum to their chief traffic man
ayers.
Time and again. the attention of
the Interstate commerce commission
| has been called to our transportation
situation, but little or practically no
relief has followed. To illustrate the
working of the interstate commerce
commission | would cite case No.
| sos, which was filed over two years
ago, but was called for hearing only
last week (by S10-a-day examiner) ,
when the disgusted plaintiffs would
not appear. Case No. 951 was heard
and briefed over two years ago. but
up to date no ruling has been made
by the commission; likewise the not
ed Spokane case has never been de-
clded. Why is this? Why2 Because
President Roosevelt and the com
missioners are hobnobbing with the
railroads
Has a Remedy.
| call attention TO GTSSlueHl
Roosevelt's numerous letters to My
dear Mr.. Hartman who contributed
so literally to the campaign funds,
and his order to the interstate com
merce commission to smother the
Paul Morton investigation and others.
To those who will investigate and
make comparisons of the transmits
souri, tariff it will become plain that
we are in the grasp and tolls of five
as Unsuitable tax collectors as any
five tyrant monarchs in history. The
names of the men who consider us
their ehattels and this great and
prolific rans-mississippi section their
preserves are Hartman, Hill, Gould J.,
Yoakum and Ripley.
so long as we continue to elect
men who represent (or are part of
'trustsD to the United States senate
or house instead of men of worth,
who place honor above expediency
and self-interest, just so long will we
continue slaves and the interstate
commerce commission farce. After
| sixteen years of continuous effort as
a would-be reformer of freight and