The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-10-14
| MUCH EVIDENCE OF
DISCRIMINATION

ricn In minerals. forestry no agricul-
tuFe. SO that a normal exchange of
traffic can be maintained, and these
sections will thrive rs they should.
This can be achieved by resort to
the Interstate Commerce commission
and the further enactment OF such
remedial legislation as may be neces-
sary 10 remove present Weaknesses in
the law through cooperative effort BY
tne people living in the districts"
Frank H. McCune, rate expert. who
prepared the chief evidence and ,abu-
lations, showing rank discrimination.
in the Spokane case before the Inter
state Commerce Commission. made
the foregoing statement in the course
OF an interview dealing with freight
rates. He added;
''It cannot be expected at the out
set that a perfect readJustment Will
be made of the rate situation. How
ever. In view of the fact that tle rail-
roads have mercilessly established
through years Of deliberate itept the
discriminating system of rates. II can
not be expected that In a moment
these corporations will reform and vol.
| unfairly remove the burdens they i'm
posed on the people. Therefore. the
| Interstate Commerce commission is
the proper source for the people to
seek for relief from railroad burdens
1t is the only tribunal that hos power
to fx rates, and is so recognized and
upheld by the judiciary.
'In these latter days The evil of
freight rates has reached the stage
where aggrayatIon foretells Its doom.
III rl.og NV
known as trauscontintal freight rates,
the original scheme graded the rates
according TO distance demarcating the
lines at New York. Pittsburg, Cincin-
natl Chicago, Mississippi river and
tho Missouri river. which Includes Du-
luth the gradation being 20 cents the
hundred In favor of the Missouri river
| section to Pacific seaboard and trlbu
tary territory as compared to the
rates from New York. This adjust
ment was normal one in principle.
This method was modified from
time 10 time. until these natural lines
of demarcation have been wholly oblit'
Grated and the entire region eastward
from Wyoming has been thrown into
a pool Of the postage stamp rate, or
blanket rate scheme of single rate
on the same article for the entire ter
ritory. The origin Of this system of
discrimination is traceable to the
management of the Central Pacific
Railway company when it inaugurated
the practice of arbitrarily hauling
traffic through the interior points to
which IL was consigned 10 San Fran
cisco and then rehaulng back to the
point of delivery practice that
! came into vogue shortly after the
completion of that line In 1869.
Lacking in sufficient revenue at
the ouset to meet the operating eX-
penses. and for the purpose of meeting
this need. the idea was conceived and
established of enforcing the addl-
uonal haulage so that the local rate
from San Francisco to the interior
point of consumption could be added
as an extra charge TO the through
rate from the eastern point OF origin,
which at that time was the same to
the intermediate point as 10 the Pa
cif1c coast. And thus was the seed OF
iniQmty sown, the root of which has
spread until It saps the virilty OF in
ternal commerce In every part OF the
United States.
With the upbuilding OF the interior
the complaints of merchants became
so clamorous that 10 stem this tide
and evade remedial legislation the
railroads abandoned the practice of
hauling traffic the additional mileage.
but made delivery diroct However.
they refused 10 relinquish the extra
charge. which was still collected un-
der the excuse that the railroads were
perfectly willing TO perform the ser.
vice. and were only making direct de-
livery purely as matter of accommo-
dation TO the merchant.
''Foreseeing the death of this eX-
ouse. another had to be created TO
take its place. and later the water
competition theory was invented. This
vicious subterfuge has been used sue
cessfully for years TO perpetuate this
false basis OF charging for service not
rendered and not necessary, and by
this means the consumers in the in
terror have been annually robbed of
millions of dollars and the develop
ment of the Wide territory has been
retarded and pushed into the future
so far that the present generation
cannot hope to gather where 1t has
Sown.
$50 profitable device could not
fall to attract other evil minds er-
gagged in the transportation business,
and 1t was therefore introduced into
other parts of the United States. II
can he found under various names.
such as inland water competition. rail-
road competition, commercial and dis
similar conditions, competition be-
tween section and section or city and
city. but these are only pretexts, the
specie OF the genus of the higher in
termediary rate lnaugurated by the
Central Pacific railway as a revenue
eXpendiency
The impelllng motive is to so con
troll the commercial situation AS 10
i-rce the manufactured product 10
the remote ends OF tne earth for
manufacture and to compel the mer-
chant 10 purchase his wares al the
most distant market center. so that
the transportation companies can Sc.
cure the long haul in both directions.
"1o illustrate the system as it actu-
ally operates: Green hides can be
shipped TO the Pacific seaboard an.
proXimntely 500 miles westward. then
reshipped to Boston directly through
the point OF origin at lower rate
than ii shipped direct TO Boston. The
hides are manufactured into shoe In
Boston for reshipment 10 tho Pacific
northwest In turn the shoes can be
shipped through TO the coast and re.
turned TO the interior al the same
ratio as delivered direct. the interior
rate being ne sum OF the rate 10 the
coast and back
The downward trend Of rates be-
gan 10 swing back from 1896, and in
each rcadtustment the tendency mas
been TO force the business to the sea.