Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1911-02-24
The Railway Proplem of Idaho
The burden of high rates falls upon the purchaser
xaota IL .a.,Ix


titled 'Why and Why Not' "a Talk With Man From
Missouri It's purpose to discourage the railroad
mission idea. 1t cevery written Parts of it not
wanting humor For instance it sought to persuade the
farmers that the movement for railroad commission sole
ly the interest of the obbers" In latter publication,
known the Red Book the agitation for railroad regulation
charged to the clamor Of the jobbng fraternity This
by the first time that the railroads have tried dis
credit the movement by this same argument The Southern
Pacific used it the struggle Nevada doing they did
not give the average farmer credit for high order OF
tegence Any bright boy Of knows that the and
producer the freight both to the market and from the
market The jobber pays in the first instance but adds to
the price OF his goods and gets back from the wholesale
house The wholesale gets it back from the retail merchant
and the merchant gets back from the The
sumner pays it and never gets it back.
The problem of the obber not necessarily to get low
rates. but rates low lower than the obbers in the
other cities competing the territory would
do the Ogden obber substantially much good to have Salt
Lake City rates increased 10 cent to have Ogden rates
decreased 10 per cent The obber primarily
with relative rates. the and producer with absolute
The obbers organized than the producers
and consequently legislation first directed against
discrimination 1t is only recently that the interests
of the and producer have been considered and steps
taken to insure reasonable rates.
When Spokane demanded lower rates. the Jobbers of Sc
attic and Portland joined in resisting them When Reno made
her fight for lower rates. the bbrs of Sacramento and San
fight bound rates. the railroads voun
tay from Francisco Nevada points
to enable San Francisco obbers undersen Reno Reno
territory
The original freight paid by the jObber has greatly in
by the time finally paid by the Each
middle handling the goods adds to them percentage
of profit and the cost of the goods includes the freight 1t
a
tona ten cents ton for mining anthracite COAL the price
the dealer advanced 25 cents and the price to the
so cents per ton.
Freight rates operate the Freight on lumber
Portland Shoshone is 40 cents per hundred pounds
the rate to Denver than twice far thous
and ordinary dimension lumber weighs $500 pounds
The freight thousand feet $1,000 The lumber merchant
is said to add uniform profit of 80 13 cent The whole
sale price of dimension lumber at Portland about $50 per
thousanda 1t the dealer at Shoshone $3.50 He adds his
profit of onethird and sells at $500 thousand When
the buys thousand feet at $780, he the $1,000
1888 freight thousand feet of dimension lum
bera little than one half of the retail price
The average lumber per per mile in the United
States for the year 1909 little threeqnaers OF
cent per ton per mile to be exact II of cent average
haul lumber only los miles This average rate
short hauls well long haus and branch lines
we'll as main lines IF the mieage rate from Portland to Sho
shone, distance of go miles, the O. R. NJ and the
Oregon Short Line the the mileage rate
the States it would be little less than "a cents
hundred If the the the average line
for equally long hau it would be less than 20 cents to
Shoshone reduction lumber rates from 40 cents to 20
would the Shohone dealer $500 thousand and
would save $3.50 per thousand We think of
nothing that would give such wonderful impetus to building
in the towns OF Southern Idaho as such reduction IN our
lumber rate
Every pays freight lumber whether he buys foot
of lumber If he builds house he pays freight If he
house the cost of the lumber an element in the
of rental he must pay 1t is also element in the
rent of business houses and stores and enters into the price OF
The rates upon furnish another Illuminating iustra
on The rate coal on the railways of the United
States was little more oneha of per per
m-to be exact So of cent The average haul was 10
Coal of the heaviest and cheapest commodities
Most of from Kemmerer and Rock Springs The
rate from points Shoshone $3.50 The dis
Kemmerer 2S2 miles haul more than twice
long average and all which main line and down grade
hauling coal to Shoshone should be considerably
less than average which obtain throughout the
but paid the average tariff the rate coal from Ken
merer Shoshone would be S43 saving to the dealer of
$500 per ton and allowing the usual profit saving to
the consumer of $3.50 to S275 per ton. a
More onehrd of all the tonnage of the United States
1t yields than other commodity The
rates for hauling generally lower than
important article of freight This reminds of the Oregon
Short Line cred Books, 1.-THE How and Why of Freight L
Rates. every reader will get 1t is curiosity
The writer makes valiant assault upon the European zone