Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-07-01
Important if True

Announcement is made by the Rail
way Record, a weekly paper published
at Chicago in the interest OF the rail
roads, that the higher rate schedules
which the railroads have been trying
to force upon the people have beer
agreed to by the big shippers, and par.
ticularly the meat packers, who have
been persuaded to withdraw their op-
position to the advance in rates and tC
consent to an increase Of IL per cent
on packing house products from the
Mississippi river to the Atlantic sea
board. After telling these glad tldings
the Railway Record continues:
1t has been intimated that great deal
Of the opposition OF shippers as a whole
to the proposed advance in rates was Gre
atcd by the fact that the impression had
got abroad among them that in making
the advance packing house products and
a few other lines. comprising in the aggre-
gate a great bulk Of the traffic OF the rail-
roads, were 70 be specially favored. This,
II was claimed. would have thrown the
great burden of the proposed increase upon
the shoulders of the smaller classes of
shippers, and hence the vehemence which
they exhibited I'm resisting the efforts of
the roads to advance their rates Now
that the great packing house interests have
signified their willingness to pay the inn
portant advance referred to, and as other
great lines OF industry such as the steel
interests are understood TO be prepared to
take similar action, Il is believed that the
opposition of the smaller classes Of shippers
will be entirely overcome, and that when
the railways again file increased tariffs
with the Interstate Commerce commission,
no question whatever will be raised con-
corning their reasonableness and justice
and thus the whole trouble will be peace
fully and happily overcome.
Should the smaller shippers persist in
their opposition 1t is believed that the ac-
ton of the representatives of the larger
lines, In thus agreeing to a considerable
advance in the rates on their traffic, will
establish such a preponderance of evidence
in favor of the case of the railways that
the Interstate Commerce commission will
have no recourse but to decide in favor
Of the railway companies, and they will
thus get all that they have been contending
for in the premises
This may be important If true, but
even IL true we apprehend that the
smaller shippers, who are not also bis
owners of railway stock and therefore
in no position to milk the COW at both
ends, will not be stampeded by any
such agreement, nor will the Interstate
Commerce commission be constrained
to approve a general rate increase JUS
because the packers may be willing tc
pay more on their products and take II
out twice over on the live stock mar
from whom they buy and the consumer
to whom they sell.
No doubt the railroads will agar
file their increased tariffs. All the
signs point to such determination OF
their part, particularly their continued
cry of tight money and loudly pro
claimed abandonment of projected ex
tensions and improvements. But Il
the railroad rate-makers have lee
themselves to believe that no one will
question the reasonableness and jus
tice of the new levy they propose tt
make on the traffic of the country they
are likely to find themselves mistaken