Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-26
ACCUSES CARRIERS
B. N. PursseII Says Express
Rates Are Too High.
CAUSE OF FOOD PRICES
Advocates Law Compelling Rail-
roads to Own and Operate
All Cars.
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
With all the investigation and popular
agitation regarding the causes of the in
creased and increasing cost of food, it
seems strange that one of the factors of
the many which serve to raise the prices
or almost every article of food should es-
cape immediate and general attention.
refer to the exorbitant and extortionate
rates charged by the express companies
upon all food products of perishable ma
ture, of which they have a monopoly of
transportation, such as meats, fruits,
fresh fish, butter eggs. milk. berries,
vegetables, etc. The only principle which
governs the rates to be charged upon our
food commodities by these companies is
to impose the highest rate which the traf-
tic will bear. / have no doubt that a care
full analysis of the present cost of art-
cleS of food transported by these cOmpa-
MES would show most of the increase due
TO cost of transport. express charges.
There does not exist in the world today
so powerful and absolute monopoly as
he express companies in this country.
| They are not content with net profits
upon more or less watered capital stock
of l., Is or 90 per cent, but at the an
nual meeting of the officers of one of the
more prominent of these corporations in
a western city a year or two ago certain
stockholders raised great row because
the dividend proposed was less than IS or
20 per cent for that year, and insisted
that too large a sum was being passed to
the surplus"
l think the management finally compro-
missed upon % per cent dividend.
Great Profits.
No person knows, save the principal
officers, how great the profits of these
carriers are. Notwithstanding the inter-
state commerce law requires publicity of
their rates, the actual charges seldom
coincide with any information upon the
subject that may be wormed out of the
agencies, and very frequently the rate
when paid in advance is collected at the
other end, also. This more particularly
on gifts at Christmas time, and against
small shipments. The several companies
have parceled or divided the territory
among themselves in such manner that
there is absolutely no competition, and
If one desires to send a package any con-
siderable distance, or through or beyond
the next large city, he has to pay two
rates. For instance l go to Cape Cod
for the summer and | have box of
goods too valuable to intrust to ordinary
freight; find | must pay 81 per hundred
pounds, Washington to New York and
81. % beyond New York, because two sep
arate companies have to handle it. And
yet each of these companies maintains
offices and service within the territory of
the other.
Rates Vary.
l get fifteen-gallon carboy of water
about once a month from town about
100 miles away from Washington In
summer it is sent by ordinary freight
at q cost of 53 cents, but in cold weather
it might freeze, SO is sent by express.
The charges have been from $3.50 to
$4.O1 on the same identical carboy, but
never the same charge twice in success
sion.
1t is a well known fact that the con-
trolling men in these companies have
passed to the surplus Cor reserye) fund"
hundreds of millions of dollars of their
extortionate profits in the express bust
ness; that they use these vast sums as
they will, and for whatsoever purpose
they willard this after paying dividends
that would make Il Standard Oil official
blush.
1t is plain to the intelligent man who
keeps abreast Of current events in our
economic and political life that very
large percentage of the increased cost of
living goes to support these parasites.
who exist and grow fat because of our
railroad and Transportation system-of EEK
press companies fast freight compa-
dispatch companies" Refrigerator car
lines and SO on world without end
Let Roads Run Own Cars.
Let us have law which will re-
quire all railroads to own and operate
their own cars. with no vampires of mid
dlemen to suck the life blood from both
the people and the railroads.
Is there any basic reason Except the
freed for gain) why one company should
own our terminal facilities another the
railway carriages, another the bridges
and another the right of way, the rails
and locomotives?
Let us have a parcels post law under
which one may send any proper package
through the mails without regard to
weight, provided only he pay the fixed
postage rate. For trifiing sum / am
now permitted to send through our mails
to Great Britain any package that weighs
no more than eleven pounds, but if l
wish to send a similar package to an ad
jacent city in my own country l must di-
vide 1t into three parcels before / may
have the privilege of the post. If my
eleven-pound package be not divisible
can send it by express.
But we cannot have a parcels post
in this country until we first do away
with the express companies. With but
one agency-the railroad company itself
to handle all classes of transportation,
both of persons and things; with a COM
prehensive parcels post system, and with
laws that will make agricultural pursuits
profitable and otherwise desirable. the
present excessive cost of living would
soon be reduced. But 'what fools these
Omitted States) mortals be-" The So
called downtrodden peoples of most of
the kingdoms and monarchies of Europe
reeuate such Of their domestic economies
as transportation of goods in their own
interests and to their own satisfaction.
They have their parcels post systems, by
which they may send by post almost
anything from a card to a cow or
cookstove; but we here, under the very
shadow of the Goddess of Liberty--well.
We do what the corporations permit us to
do. We are told daily that we are en-
joying such prosperity as we never have
had before. But there are some millions
of just plain everyday folks who can
not survive this excessive prosperity very
much longer It's too expensive, too gilt
tering; it dazzles the eye, but does not
fill the empty stomach. Guess it must be
sort of high-grade prosperity. suited to
corporations, trusts and other fat folk,
but not for the common people.
BENJAMIN MILLER PuRSSELL.