The Springfield herald., 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 W.
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 q cent per
ton per mile.
The average total rate for the aver
same as $685. would be $1O6 per ton.
An advance Of 1919 on this rate would
increase the cost 10 cents per ton.
or 1900 of cent per pound. An ad-
vance of 1879 on the present specific
rates would increase the cost Of 100
pounds dressed beef in New York.
shipped from Chicago. Az cents; 100
pounds canned fish in st. Louis.
shipped from Maine. l $40 cents; 100
pounds flour In New York. from Min
ueapolis. 2 cents; suit of clothes In
Chicago. from Boston. n 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 a 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 a 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: II 1t 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 undevelcped and unproductive land
and yet our food is high. because of
lack Of supply: our consumption is In
creasing faster than our food produc-
ton. II the railroad investor stops as
he now has. there will be an advance
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
fore the Ultimate Consumer and the
State and National Governments should
be interested in developing land that
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
country will barely pay the lowest rate
Of interest. and the owners and man.
ayers are being harassed and maligned
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
waits for you to do that in some de-
sirable form. BY your individually let
ting things drift. and doing nothing.
your legislator. with no business ex
perience. hearing no advice and receiv
Ing no direct information. which he
gladly would from you (Quite likely
you dc not even know his name). lis
tens to the only voices heard; the agi-
tator o. the aggressive shipper whose
views t,f the business world are OBJ
tanned by looking out of the small
hole of funnel directed at his own
plant, unconscious of other conditions
of far more Importance to his own
business than the freight rates. Such
men as these by their vociferous vigor.
have stirred up popular anti-corpora-
ton agitation that has cowed all par.
ties, and they are SO scared of being
charged as owned or bought that all
questions of principle, equity or the
general good are ignored. The rail-
road man draws his salary. whether
the road pays or not; he does not own
1t. If he does say anything he Is sat
upon. The stockholders as body are
defenseless. You are the sufferer and
the only one who would be listened
to. Will you not study your own inter
ests. find out your legislators name.
and tell him the real situation? Other
wise we must wait until grim neces-
sity starves out the present anti-rail-
road fever.
June 6, 1910.
T. A. GRIFFIN.
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