The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-01-04
John Dawson Explains Missouri
River Rating Point.
Founded Upon Fictitious Water
Competition He Says.
KANSAS NOT FAVORED.
Says That Rate Classification
Discriminates Against State.
Cost of Railroad Building Here
Is Less Than Other States.

LIS Less Than Other States.
John S. Dawson, attorney for the
state railroad board, has prepared his
Drlef in the case against the Santa Fe
and twenty-six other railroad com
panies in which the effort is made to
have the interstate commerce com
mission reduce the freight rates be-
tween ST. Louis and Kansas points
The feature of the Dawson contention
in this matter is his allegation that the
Missouri river basing point rates were
founded upon fictitious water compe-
tition. Dawson contends that when
the ST. Louis rates to Kansas City, st.
Joseph, Atchison and Omaha were
established many years ago that
steamboats, were plying traffic on the
Missouri river and the rates were then
necessarily made very low to these
points in order to meet the water COM
petition There are no steamboats, on
the Missouri river now and the old
standard, Missouri river basing
point is therefore founded upon fic-
ton
In his brief Dawson gives a sched-
ule of the tariffs between st. Louis and
Missouri river basing points and also
between st. Louis and a number of
Kansas points, such as Topeka,
Hutchinson, Wichita, Goodland. Salina
and Dodge City. He claims that the
roads charge more per mile for the
long haul to Kansas points than they
do for the short haul to Missouri river
points He claims that Kansas ship
pers and consumers pay from IS to
100 per cent more than is just and
fair. In his brief Dawson sets forth
the claims of his own state for more
reasonable freight rates as follows:
The State Called Kansas.
''That the state of Kansas is located
near the center of the republic of the
United States, about eQuidistant from
the Canadian boundary on the north
and the Gulf of Mexico on the south;
and equidistant from the Atlantic sea-
board on the east and the Pacific sea-
board on the west. and is about 400
miles east and west by 200 miles north
and south, the northeastern boundary
from the fortieth parallel to Kansas
City, Mo-, being the Missouri river;
that on the right bank of the Missouri
river are the cities of Atchison and
Leavenworth, in the state of Kansas
and the cities of Kansas City, Kan,
and Kansas City, Mo-; on the left bank
of the river just above the city of
Atchison is the city of st. Joseph,
Mo-; that the state of Kansas consists
of an undulating plain, about 1900
feet in altitude on the western border,
cline from the western border to the
eastern and southeastern border,
where the altitude is about $50 feet
above the sea level; that there are 10
mountains traversing the state from
east to west or north to south, and
that owning to the topography of the
country there are no natural difficult
ties in the way of building railroads;
that the general topography of the
state of Kansas, so far as the building
- dc ic iS adqnfPd
most favorably to easy and lnexpen-
sive construction, and that it is COM
paratively level, and the grading for
railroads in Kansas in general costs
ONLY from rs per cent to so per cent
of the COS, of grading in the neighbour
ing state of Missouri; and the nature
of the soil and climate is not only
favorable to railroad building but
favorable to maintenance at small eX-
pense: and the wear and tear of the
railroad embankment and track ma
terial of all sort and of structures is
much less than in the neighboring
state of Missouri. The state of Kan
sas has developed in wealth and in
population largely within the last hf-
teen or twenty years, and there are
many cities in Kansas which nave
become large manufacturing and job
bling centers. and whose people are
engaged in mercantile and manufac-
turing business, and from which and
to which a very large amount of mer-
chandise and commodities are sh1ppeo
| in carload and less than carload lots.
A Lesson in Distances.
complainant further alleges that
the distance from St.Louis to Kansas
City is 277 miles that the distance
from ST. Louis to the city of Topeka,
Kan, is 344 miles; that the distance
from ST. Louis to the city of Wichita,
KAN. is 49S miles; that the distance
from st. Louis to the city of Sallna.
KAN is 4S3 miles; that the distance
from St Louis to the city of Good
land, Kan, is ZIG miles, that the dis
lance from the city of St Louis to
Dodge City, Kan, is SAG miles: that
the cities of Topeka, Wichita, Sal1na
and Hutchinson are large manufac-
turing, wholesale, jobbing and ship
ping centers, where large quantities
of freight are received by carload lots
and are shipped by carload lots from
said cities; that in determining the
rates to be charged on the various
classes of freight and for commodity
rates from st. Louis to the points in
Kansas hereinbefore and hereinafter
named, said defendants have estab-
lished an arbitrary baSlng line, known
as the Missouri river baSing line, and
in determining the freight rate to the
points herein named have charged for
carrying freight from st. Louis to
Kansas City a much less freight charge
per ton mile than from ST. Louis to
| the cities hereinbefore mentioned;
| that Notwithstanding the fact that the
topography of the state of Kansas is
much more favorable for railroad
building and the soil and climate more
favorable for maintenance than the
state of Missouri, and that the popu-
lation of the state of Kansas is large
and is rapidly increasing, and that
from St. Louis to the several cities
of Kansas herein named large guam
titles of freight move and are carried
in carload lots and less than carload
lots to the various cities of the state,
and particularly to Hutchinson. Wich-