The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-01-26
Interstate Commission Acts on
Creamery Rates.
Ends Movement Against Central.
lied Creameries,
BIG SUM EXPENDED
Contest Has Cost Over Hundred
Thousand Dollars.
Ferry and DOran of Topeka Rep
resented CreamerieS.

Washington. Jan 26.-One of the
most important decisions by the In
terstate Commerce commission for
many months was handed down Mon
day by that body in ordering material
reduction of railroad rates in the
cases of the Beatrice Creamery COM
pany and others and the Fairmount
| Creamery company ct al against the
| Illinois Central and other railroads
| and the Blue Valley Creamery com
pany, etc, against the Michigan Cen
tfaI road and other roads. The com
/ mission sustained the contention of
| the complafnants, who operate cream
! cries using the centralizer method
/ whereby supplies of cream are OBJ
| tanned by railroads as distinguished
| from the local creamery method which
obtains cream by wagon; that the
! rates on cream to Chicago between
: Michigan points on the east and Colo
rado points on the west are excessive.
History of the Case.
! The complainants in the above men
tloned suit embraced all the centralized
creamery industries in this section of
the country including the Continental
creamery company of Topeka. The firm
OF Ferry & Doran of this city were at
torneys in the suit. T. F. Doran one
of the members of this firm had re-
ceiVed no word of the decision of the
n.
was greatly pleased when the above dis
patch was shown to him by a State
Journal reporter today. Mr. Doran
stated that the case had cost in the
neighborhood of $100,O In talking
about the case Mr.. Doran said:
we are naturally pleased that the
interstate commerce commission has
made reduction in cream rates The
extent of these rates can only be de-
termined by the careful examination of
the commissions order. which no doubt
VIII fix rates over the entire country in
controversy, embracing the entire Mis-
sissippi valley from the eastern line of
ONO to the western line of Colorado in
length and from the northern line of
Minnesota to the southern line of Okla
homa in breadth In this territory a
great variety of rates have prevailed,
some reasonable, others excessive and
still others prohibitive.
Not satisfied with the highest rates
charged, the carriers by concerted ac-
fective September 1. 1907, over the entire
territory which were so high that they
were absolutely prohibitive and destruc-
tive of the entire centralized creamery
Industry in which $25.000,o00 is invested
and upon which fully 400, 900 farmers
are dependent for a market for their
cream.
This action on the part of the car
riers compelled the centralized cream
cries to seek relief in the courts A
suit in equity was brought before
Judge Kohlsaat in the United Sa.es
circuit court at Chicago to enjoin the
enforcement of the advanced rates on
the ground that they were prohibitive
and confiscatory of the complainants'
property and money which had been in
vested on account of encoura cement
given by the carriers and rates voll1n-
tarily established and long maintained
by them.
This was the first suit in the coun-
try IN winch the railroads We're sue
cessfully enjoined from putting into
effect rates established by them on the
ground that they would be destructive
of the shippers business. Judge Kohl
saat issued an injunction restraining
the roads from collecting these adj
vanced rates pending a hearing on the
reasonableness before the interstate
commerce commission
This case has established a prece-
dent which has since been followed by
a number of courts The controversy
over the reasona bieneSs of the rates
before the interstate commerce COM
mission has been extended and bitter
iy contested.
''The carriers were successful in en-
listing on their side of the controversy
a few local creamerieS in Wisconsin
and Minnesota who are competitors of
the centralized creamery industries
and a few mistaken government Off
cials. who undertook to aid the farm
ers in assisting the carriers to raise the
rates they were paying for the trans
make them prosperous by transferring
from their pockets to the Golfers of the
carriers a portion of the proceeds de-
rived from the sale of their cream a
thing heretofore quite unheard of in
the way of governmental regulation.
THE whole scheme was, however.
happily exposed in the evidence and
the true situation was revealed to the
farmers and to the interstate COM
merce commission with the result that
the whole scheme for advancing rates
mas failed as it should have
Roads Regretted Mistake
1.-THE railroads and express compan-
les made a mistake which 1 am sure
they have realized and a thousand
times regretted. The effects of the
commissions order will depend alto
gether on the rates fixed. and 1 am un-
able to say until see the order what
the effect will be. A very slight in
crease of a cream rate may be dis
astrous to the business.
''The evidence in the case disclosed
that the profits made by the creamer-
les was only one-half of one cent on
each pound of butter manufa ctured.
The secret of the success of the CEN
tralized creameries is in a large vol
urne produced at a small profit The
great body of the money engaged in
the creamery business goes to the
farmer who now sells butter fat from
90 to 35 cents a pound, whereas his
wife got only from 5 to / ) cents a
pound for butter before the centralized
creamery was established and one
mound of butter fat will make one and
one-fifth pounds of butter In addition
10 this the farmer has the benefit of
the SKINNED milk for his stock and his
wife and family are saved the drudg-
erv of butter making.
1.-The decision just rendered is as
much If not more in the interest of the
lf-x16 aTr7n ~