The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-30
AN ILLUMINATING WORK.

Railroad Freight Rates In Relation to inc
Industry and Commerce of the unlteu
States. BY Logan G.. Mcpherson, Lee
| turer on Transportation. Johns Flop.
! kns University. Published by heltS
| Holt S Co, New York
! This is a very important and compr.e-
J hcnsive work on the question OF rall-
road freight rates and transportation
| in general The author was inclted 10
| prepare it because of the evident need
| for definite. accurate, and fairly com,
! prehcnsivc exposition Of the effect on
the freight rates of the railroads upon
| The industry and commerce or 'hc
United States; and because IN the gen
eral discussion of this question, there
appeared such lack of definite informa-
| zion that the conclusions reached were
| by no means satisfactory. There were
| TOO many things that should come INTO
! the settlement of the problems III
volved, that for the lack of the neccs-
| sary information could not be brought
into II. The need of more exact ana ,t
definite information, therefore. was fe!t
on all hands The effort to supply thls
nv thc author resulted in the produc-
| tion of this book and in producing 1t,
| he has certainly covered TO satisfac-
tory degree the want heretofore felt.
The author explains his grasp of the
subject aud the spirit with which he
| f0If1tH UpbH MS N'Ih, i'A ''' 1870 -
| from the introduction;
Throughout all industry and all com
merce the function OF transportation Is
| conspicuous. Products may De carried
| by draw or wagon for short distances
from tie field. or merchandise Of various
| kinds to and from the factory, the ware
| house or the retail store, ana certain Oh
the waterways take part in TINS Iung-
/ lion: but the overwhelming prcpon-
deratinS transportation agency IN tl,s
country is the railroad, The railroads
| carry raw material from farm and forest
and mine TO tho places of conc"ntrati"n
| To the places OF preparatory process. TO
| tho places OF intermediate process. 10 the
| places Of final process. They carry proo-
| nets from these places OF final process
| to the warehouses In tho great diStrlb-
utiug centcrs. TO the storchnuscs In tnc
| smaller cities and towns. TO the shops OF
the retail merchants. and. IN no incon-
siderable degree. TO the homes wherein
they are used and consumed,
Entering thus into every process OF
every industry. and into every process OF
distribution. the transportation junction
| affects every person who is concerned
either i'm the production or the conSump-
ton of any commodity Of industry. of any
article Of commerce. That is. II ancCls
the entire popula ton. The charge for
TRANSFORMATION enters into the cost OF
production of every article; the charge
for transportation enters into the cost OF
distribution OF every article -, A.
/ A survey of the effect which tue
charges for transportation have upon the
various Industries and the varied com
merCc of this country must, therefore, m
clude a study of the extent 10 which they
further or hinder the movement of the
materials and the products of industry
| of the extent to which they advance or
rctard the progress of commerce. Those
Immediately engaged In industry are the
producers OF raw matcrials-the owners
OF and workers in the fields. tho forests
and the mines. the owners OF and work
ers I'm the factories and mills. those i'm
ncdIatcly engaged in distribution are the
owners and statesmen OF the mills and
! factories the wholesale merchants and
their employees. the retail merchants and
their employees, AS every. farmer ana
farmland, directly or indirectly, con-
sumcs the products OF mill and factory,
and every manufacturer and worker in
mill and factory consumes the products
of the farm, and so on throughout INDUS"
" try and commerce, every producer Is a
consumer and every consumer is a pro-
ducer The workers in the arts and the
professions. while not engaged In mate
rial production, consume material prod
uCtS.
II Ia also necessary to consider the cf-
, feet Of the transportation charge upon
| the maintenance Of the railways and
upon their capacity for extension and en-
largcment to meet the needs OF the in
dustrv and commerce Of the future The
railroads must adequately perform then
part as an integral factor in tho material
activities Of the nation. and they must
receive ib" consideration and the sup
port whi"i will enable them adequately
To perform .0at part,
As The Cl,st subject TO be considered is
= the relation which the railroads bear to
= the movement of commodities, there
movement and the directions which il
] ! tuhcS.
e Promising that the subject receives
- herein the most thorough and skillfu
= treatment, we may refer to the chapter
y headings as the progressive steps
y through which the investigation pro
;, cccded these being: "'rhe Channels OF
/. Traffic. ''The Preparation of Food
s stuffs,N - "The Distribution of Food
t stuffs, - "'The Distribution of Raw Ma
r terlal and Merchandise. - 1.-The Trans
f portaticn Charge and Prices "Thc
: Regional Rate Structures, Commodi
Y ty Rate Structures. - "Early Tariffs
3 and Classifications, - "Early Rivalries
e and the Beginning of Through Sery
s Freight Service - "'The Freight Traf
V fic Department of Railroad Administra
ton. :" "The Basis for the Transporta
ton Charge - ''Pubhc Sentiment anC
Legislation TO 1887, - "The Tntcrpre
tation of the Interstate Commerce
:: Law; Further Development in Pub
re lie Sentiment and the Hepburn Bill, ,
}. "Thc Influence of the Commission To
s ward Uniformity Of Procedure,
I Shippers f"The Commerce Of th
l. Cities, - "a Comparison Of the Rail
d road with the Agricultural and Manu-
featuring Industries, - "The Progress
i've Achievement of the Railroads. -
III There can be no doubt of the i'm
le mense amount of fruitful study tina
st went into the preparation of this book
,e neither can there be any question o
t. The expcrtness and skill exercised b.
is thc writer. IL is book aboundln
- with information which is presented i
thorough impartial, and busincssiilS
manner. It is not a pro orailroad book
il is not an anti-railroad book; but
-. 10 book designed to give the facts an
w. The true relation Of the railroads t
the community in an unbiased business
q, like way And so. the contents of tn
IN hook are doubly valuable, being fre
wv wv frou all intent 10 either advocate c
" =. az lIo IL,