Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-11-24

ms them than IN handling wheat Be
sides. the grain car will take back q
hirh class Of freight on It's return trip.
while the cattle car may have TO rc-
turn empty And although tho car
of cattle weighs only 22,coo pounds.
while the car OF wheat weighs 10000
pounds or more. it probably costs the
railroad az much 10 haul the car Of cat
tie az the car Of wheat
when. however the grain farmer
learns or this difference ia rates and
especially when he discovers. as he
must before much dealing. that he is
the person who pays the 500 freight
charges on the car OF wheat he is like
ly 70 become furious ga his denuncia-
tlon Of the discrimination. Yet here
again the real reason FOR the diner
cnoe in the rates Is that the stock rails
or usually ships his own cattle and
thus he realizes the full effect Of the
freight rate on his profits. he has
forced concessions from the railroads
by his own competition with them; the
grain grower has not
Good roads would enable grain grow
ers 70 compete with the railroads and
thus 10 secure a more favorable, be-
cause more nearly competitive. rate
II must not be supposed. either that
the railroads necessarily make cxorbit-
ant profits on the higher rates. They
charge "all the traffic viii bear" but
this rate may be a very reasonable one
Sometimes. In newly settled districts
or IN places where a new industry is to
be developed. the railroads make rate
that yields them no profit. In time, OF
course the officials expect the business
or territory thus developed 10 yield
good freight profits.
Cotton IL carried from Texas 20 Seat
tie rather than due west TO Pacific
ports in California half as far away,
because the empty lumber cars that
carried lumber from oregon 20 Texas
cannot be allowed 10 return empty. II
is said that the railroads control
all the Pacific ports excepting those
owned by the public NJ San Francisco.
but there is still waterway competition
around South America or by way Of
Panama. The cost OF water trans
portation Ia only small fraction OF
that by land; and where time is not
important goods can be successfully
shipped from the east to the west coast
by the long journey around the Cape.
As a result, the railroads are com
PEELED TO give much cheaper rates be-
tween the East and Pacific coast ter
minals than between interior points in
the Rocky Mountain region and the
Best. and Il is claimed that a Utah
cattleman discovered last summer that
he could ship his cattle eight hundred
miles TO Los Angeles and then ship
them back over the same track and on
TO the East for less money than he
could ship them direct from Utah.
Now. IL Is claimed by railroad men
that there Is little margin OF profit in
the rates they ara compelled to make
to meet water composition, and the as
sertion probably is correct in some in
stances And when II n asked why the
roads attempt to carry business that
does not pay them. the ready answer
is that n the railroads did not carry
this competitive traffic the rates 20
Interior points would have to be much
higher
There are certain fixed expenses that
must be met by rsiilroad, whether
traffic is heavy or light. The roadbed
and equipment must be maintained in
terest on bonds must be met, taxes
must paid, and the salaries OF officers
remain the same; the wages OF train
men and freight handlers and the cost
OF fuel to pull trains are lassened ~
traffic IL light. but the other items are
not senslbly diminished by light traf-
hc.
The case has been put this way;
Suppose a certain commodity is
shipped from New York to san Fran
cisco on which the rate IL 81 a hundred
pounds, made to meet water competi-
ton, although the actual cost OF carry
ing the traffic is $780, half OF which IL
the cost OF handling the freight and tho
other half II the cost Of fxed expenses,
salaries and maintenance The 81 rate
would pay the cost OF carrying and 40
cents toward the fixed expenses AZ
Chicago another shipment Of the same
commodity f. picked up. consigned TO
Salt Lake City, and although the dis
lance IL only half as great the rate u
81 50. The cost OF handling this ship
ment Is 81, leaving a margin Of fifty
cents profits Twenty cents OF that
amount however, must go TO pay tho
deficit on the New York san Francisco
shipment, actually leaving only thirty
cents to apply on surplus and dividends.
But suppose the railroads should
withdraw the low rate on the San
Francisco business and allow Il 10 go by
water The Pacihc coast would get its
freight at the same rate. but the rail
roids would lose that much gross reve-
nue. Their fixed expenses and the cost
Of maintenance and salaries would con-
tinue Just the same. and they would
lose the forty cents which the San
Francisco traffic contributed toward
these toms That forty cents would
have 10 he made up on the salt Lake
business"
IL would seem, therefore. that the
mere fact Of difference In rates, as for
instance the carrying Of goods cheaper
10 san Francisco than 10 salt lake and
compelling tho salt Lake consumer 10
make up what Is lost by the railroads
meeting the water-freight rates while