The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-09-05

i
railways from advancing rates when
it deems this desirable. A shipper or
community may as easily be injured
by having the rate of a competing ship
per or community reduced as by hav-
ing its own rate raised Why, there
/ fore, does not the Commission ask for
power to restrain either an advance
or reduction? Congress, in revising
the tariff on foreign manufactures,
and thereby to large extent fixing
the prices of domestic manufacture,
raises or reduces the rates as 1t thinks
best
/ The different attitude Of the gov
eminent toward manufacturers and to-
ward railways would naturally raise
! the presumption that the level OF
prices of manufactured goods in this
country Is low and needs to be raised
and supported, while the level OF
railway rates is high and needs to be
depressed. But, in fact, the level OF
prices of manufactured goods Is much
higher in this country than anywhere
| in Europe, while the average freight
rate per ton per mile in the United
States is 7.6 mills and in Europe is
over IA mills. Does there not seem
to be an anomaly in government pro-
tecting with one hand one class OF IN
dustries in making exceptionally high
prices. while reducing with the other
hand the rates of another class OF In
/ dustries that is already making ex-
ceptionally low charges?
Manufacturers are large purchasers
Of transportation. AS the tariff raises
the prices that manufacturers can get
) for their goods, so railway regulation
tends to keep down the prices for
which they can buy transportation.
On the other hand, railways are large
purchasers of manufactured products.
i AS railway regulation tends to reduce
the prices they get for transportation,
SO the tariff raises the prices of the
things they have to buy. While both
policies tend to increase the profits
of manufacturers, both seemingly
tend to reduce the profits of the rail-
ways.
for example, of steel and iron pro-
ducts. especially steel rails. The ex-
port price of European rails varies
. from 500 to $24 If there were no
, tariff in this country. European rails
, easily could be shipped here and sold
for s22 to s25 a ton, or even less. The
, United States Steel Corporation could
$ easily meet these prices, for the cost
!, Of making rails in this country Is low
/ er. as Andrew Carnegie has said. tnan
r anywhere else in the world, being
according to different estimates 1oi
different mills, from s14 to $40 ton
! But there Is tariff of $7.S4 ton or
i foreign rails, which enables the 90
Y nestle manufacturers to charge
!. American railways s2S a ton. Sup
! nose. now. that the railways, in ordei
! to recoup themselves for the higi
j. nrice they have to pay for steel rails
q should advance their rates on iron AM
steel and the manufacturers shoul'
!. complain about it to the lnters'at
| Commerce Commission. There IS no
n much doubt. in view OF what the IL
+ terstate Commerce Commission did i
a tho Northwestern Lumber Rate case
4 that in such an event the raise l
= freight rates would be held unreas
h enable and illegal.
q There is tariff on lumber ana ~
n PRODUCTS that bars the Importation
these commodities from Canada an
IL a,sawhere. The railways buy immens
"a ouanties OF lumber for stations an
~ cattle mems, ties for tracks, etc. 81
n. tween 1897 and 1907 the lull
" Der manufacturers OF tne hoil
h Pacific Coast, under the PR
:, lection OF the tariff. raise
- from 70 to III per cent the price
- of the various kinds OF lumber Tn;
= RAILWAYS use. In November, 1907, Tn
h railways attempted to raise u
- freight rates on northwestern lumbe
a. and it's products Is to 25 per cent. IN
Interstate Commerce Commission ne
- the advanced rates unreasonable oil
=, forbade the railways to collect tner
=; !. Through the protective tariff the go
:. eminent enabled the lumbermen
:. raise from 73 to III per cent u
~ prices they charged the railway
- - though the Interstate Commerce Gef
10 mission prohibited the railways FRO
% raising Is to 25 per cent the rat
). they charged the lumbermen.
- One of the strongest arguments 4
VI a protective tariff is that by enabl1r
~ manufacturers to get high prices,
- enables them to pay high wages. 81
II manufacturers pay high wages ra
W. ways must do likewise, or they W
II, not get enough labor. And, IN 1ae
zh the average salary-wage paid by ra
i'll. ways seems to be higher than tn
nd paid by manufacturers. According
I'm the special census Of manufacture
M for 1905, made by the Bureau of q
tie census, the average salary-wage
DIS manufactures that year was $3.50. A
lb- cording to the statistics of the Int
i'm State Commerce Commission, the a
is erage salary-wage paid by the ra
in ways in the same year was S607, al
M in the year ended June 30, 1907 Il