The Ward County independent., 1910-09-29
NORTH DAKOTA may
WIN CASE BEFORE INTER-
STATERY COMMISSION

Rates on Cream and Milk from
North Dakota Points Would Work
Harm to Local Dairy Men.
At St. Paul on Saturday, Sept. IT.,
was heard before Commissioners
Prouty of the interstate commerce
commission, an application on behalf
of R. E. Cobb & Co. and ten or twelve
other centralizers of the twin cities,
to put into effect an express rate on
cream from North Dakota points,
which was the cause Of a small he
gira of North Dakota officials to the
sanity city.
Several years ago one Of the heavy
stockholders Of the c. B. & Q. Rail-
road company, who was also interest
ed in a creamery at Beatrice, Neb.,
discovered that he could boom his
creamery business by buving cream
IN the country districts and shipping
it in baggage cars at a very low rate
to Beatrice, there to be made into but
ter. Gradually there grew up quite a
large business in the shipment Of
cream to central points. and these
central creameries became known as
centralizers. Hundreds of these Gen.
tralizers grew up in railroad centers
thru Nebraska. Illinois. Iowa and Wis.
consin. Tho express companies, find
ing that there was no profit in hand
Ling cans Of cream at the rate origin
ally installed. attempted to increase
the rate to a much higher figure and
out of this ACTON grew a proceeding
before the interstate commerce CON-
mission, which has come to be known
as the Beatrice case.
In this case the interstate CON-
merce commission. after taking a
mass of testimony and making a
thorough investigation Of \the cream
shipping business, decided that a Ger.
tain rate should be put into effect in
the state above mentioned, which
rate has become known as the Bea-
trice rate. Under this rate cream can
be shipped as far as seven hundred
miles to the centralizers and manu-
factured into butter and the butter re-
shipped to the starting point and sold
in competition with the product of
the local creameries and, of course,
had the effect Of killing OF manv Of
the local creameries in the states
affected by the rates.
Last spring the St. Paul centralizers
made an application to the interstate
commerce commission to have the
Beatrice rate put into effect in the
territory tributary to the Twin Cities.
This application was resisted by all
the express companies, because they
claim that it is a nuisance to handle
cream anyway, because the cream
spoils in being hauled such long dis
tances and often times the cans ex-
plode, throwing the cream over the
other contents Of the car. All Of the
creameries OF North Dakota were up
in arms over the duplication, because
the effect would be to drain the state
Of its cream, 80 that the local cream
cries could not compete in the pur.
chase Of cream for their plants and
eventually would be forced out Of
In North Dakota are cooperative in
their nature, it affects practically all
of the dairy men and owners Of cows
throughout the state.
The butter and cheese manufacture
en- Of Minnesota also objected to the
application to put the Beatrice rate
into effect, for the reason thatthe
railroad commission Of Minnesota has
already put into effect q rata on
cream for that state which would be
disturbed by the putting of the Boa
trice rate into effect. a
Tho railroad commission Of North
Dakota being applied to for relief by
the creamery men Of the state, after
mature consideration Of the matter
and careful investigation Of the STU
alton, and upon consulting with Dairy
Commissioner Flint became con-
vinced that the best interests Of the