The Holly chieftain. (Holly, Colo.) 1897-1987, 1910-07-01

motive power and equipment TO move
their freight with promptness and econ
omy. Where can they get the money!
Only by increased earnings from ad-
vanced rates, and by SO doing better
their credit by attracting the uninvest-
ed dollars that are now going to other
more attractive but less productive in
vestments.
What will the advance cost the vi.
innate consumer7 Poor's Manual says
the average haul Of all freight In 1908
was 142 miles. The average rate in
1909 was three-fourths OF a cent per
ton per mile.
The average total rate for the aver
age total haul. assuming 1t to be the
same as 1908, would be $1.0S per ton.
An advance Of 1919 on this rate would
increase the cost 10 cents per ton.
or 1900 of a cent per pound. An ad-
vance of 1919 on the present specific
rates would increase the cost Of 100
pounds dressed beef In New York.
shipped from Chicago. An cents: 100
pounds canned fish in st. Louis,
shipped from Maine. $40 cents; 100
pounds -four In New York. from Min
neapolis. cents; suit of clothes In
Chicago. from Boston. u cent; the
same for woman's suit On mans
outfit, coat, trousers. shoes and hat.
New England to Mississippi Valley, not
to exceed / cent. The Ultimate
Consumer can multiply these illustra-
| lions indefinitely. The manufacturer.
! jobber and retailer could easily absorb
this slight advance. because. II his
business increased but one unit. that
would more than pay the increased
cost on one hundred units.
Railroad net earnings thus increased,
the railroads would have ready mar
ket for their securities. and with the
money thus obtained again start all
the business and Industries now COM
paratively idle that are directly or in
directly dependent on their property.
The working men would be fully en-
ployed. their families would again pur-
chase freely, and that means good
business for everyone.
There are 100000 railroad en-
ployees. 1t takes $500 900 men to sup
ply what the railroads need, and vast
number Of men are employed in sup
plying the personal needs Of the above
100000 men and their families, rep
resenting 100000 people Every
kind of business is dependent in some
measure on railroad prosperity
High cost Of living: If it had not been
for the encouragement given railroad
investors in the past. where would we
have been to-day for our food supply ?
They opened up thousands of miles
of undeveloped and unproductive land
and yet our food is high. because of
( lack of supply; our consumption Is in.
I. creasing faster than our food produc
I ton. If the railroad investor stops as
| he now has, there will be an advance
t in food rates soon that will be far
| greater than increased freight rates.
; High food means high labor, and high
, labor means high everything. There.
r fore the Ultimate Consumer and the
, State and National Governments should
i. be interested in developing land that
t will produce bountiful food products.
Half of the country west of the Mis-
, sissippi is not used, and will not be
! until covered with railroads. Who
> would want to build roads In unproduc-
:. tive lands when those in cultivated
q country will barely pay the lowest rate
9 of interest, and the owners and man.
A ayers are being harassed and maligned
I as in no other business?
( This condition will only improve
{ when the business man realizes that
the investor does not provide the
/. source of his own investments. He
D waits for you to do that in some de-
| sirable form. By your individually let
: ting things drift, and doing nothing.
5 your legislator. with no business ex,
Y perience, hearing no advice and receiv.
/ ing no direct information. which he
s gladly would from you quite likely
e you do not even know his name), lis
/. tens to the only voices heard; the agi.
: tator or the aggressive shipper whose
t views of the business world are OBJ.
Y tanned by looking out Of the small
hole of a funnel directed at his own
= plant, unconscious of other conditions
: of far more importance to his own
e business than the freight rates. Such
!, men as these by their vociferous vigor
Q have stirred up popular anti-corpora'
5 ton agitation that has cowed all par.
< ties, and they are SO scared of being
3 charged as owned or bought that all
! questions Of principle, equity or the
t general good are ignored. The rail.