Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1911-01-06
rHE.sRIDEs TRoussEAu.
F. |. vandesrift, Editor Of The. Earth
Talks Of Freight Rates Thereon. (.

the cause OF tnei pain people, de-
clared, with irenzied eloquence, that
excessive railway freight rates close
the path of many poor and self-re-
specting maidens to the trousseau
counter, thereby placing an embargo
upon marriage An analysis Of the
freight tariffs do not bear out the
gentleman's statement. Indeed, it
falls to pieces without much study,
and, If the freight be the only bar OBJ
structing the way of poor girls to the
altar, they may encourage suitors
without fear Of bankrupting the fam.
lily. For the freight on a brides
entire trousseau, even the costly
trousseau of millionaire's daughter,
is little more than the price OF the
rice with which friends shower her.
The entire freight charge in the price
of an ordinary wedding suit, unless
it be silk or costly wool, is not to
exceed 20 cents. In her shoes this
charge is ~ cents, and in her rub
Der oVershoes, $40 cents. So, If the
freight be the only bar to matrimony,
fair maidens may continue to keep
gas and fire burning in the parlor.
The stump orator who tells you that
railway freight rates are a bar to
matrimony speaks buncombe. O.
And when our bride thinks Of
housekeeping, she may hire her cot
tage, or fiat, and plan to furnish II
without fear of the freight. For as
the freight is a trifle in the cost Of
a brides wedding garments, so It is
trife in the cost Of all of the neces.
saries Of life. This may be demon.
strated by any thoughtful man or
woman, possessed even Of only a rudi.
mentary knowledge of arithmetic.
For freight rates are based on the
hundredweight and an application Of
the ordinary rule of division tells the
tale. The young couple will begin
.modestly, but they will not want to
borrow Of the neighbors, and 30 they
will buy all of the necessaries OF
housekeeping A full list is not nee
essary here, however. A few articles
used in the basement and laundry are
enough for examples of the cheapness
of freight. The freight on Pitts
burgh axe sold in Kansas City is
cents; on a 5O-eent paddock, a shade
above half cent; on an eighteen
gallon galvanized tub, $40 cents; on
a 200-pound stove, A cents; on a 50.
cent dashboard, 42-10O of cent; on
dozen clothespins, $4,000 OF a cent.
In the living rooms the game proper
ton prevails. The freight on a bed
stead, of course, is more than on a
dozen spoons, but the charge per hun
dred pounds is about the same.
Take the freight on foods. Eggs
shipped from the West, 1000 miles
to New York, pay cent to ~ cents
per dozen; 1000 miles, 2lk cents.
Ten average Texas turkeys, dressed,
weigh 1O2 pounds, and the freight
charge to New York is $1.5O per hun
dred pounds. This includes refrig.
orator car and ice. Say the turkeys
sell in New York for $3.50 apiece Ia
low estimate), the railways share, in.
Guiding the freight charges from the
farm to the local market and from the
local market to New York, is about
10 cents. N.Y. the freight! How the
Christmas merrymakers do groan
when they think Of that Is centsi
Then there is wearing apparel.
This item is heavy or light in the
family expense, as the tincome will
stand. Mems clothes cost from So to
$50 more for suit now than fifteen
! years ago. "0h, but the freight
Yes, the freight! The freight On Q
suit of mems clothes delivered on the
Mississippi River lis from 2 cents to
II cents. Possibly, the top figure
might be Is cents in Kansas. Think
of Is cents in the price OF suit OF
clothes!
The freight charge on the entire
apparel Everything from the skin
out, including the hat and shoes OF
a fully dressed man or woman is from
10 cents to 20 cents, possibly, ;G2
cents, the top figure. on the Missouri
River. Think Of that in the price Of
an Easter hat, or q brides wedding
toggery.
A pair Of rubber oVershoes, costing
the consumer in Iowa 70 cents, pays
freight of less than $40 cents. And
this includes the cost q transporting
the raw rubber from South America
Wool. carried from the West to
New England, and there manufac.
tured into cloth and shipped hack to
the West, pays freight Of not to ex
coed cents per yard for the round
trip! This wool sells for $3.50 a yard
and upward.
A widely advertised shoe, made in
the East, and sold in the West for 50
and $3.50 per pRir, is sold to the trade
by the manufacturer To- sl.SS +. o. b
The freight on this pair of shoes, de.
livered in Kansas. is less than IL
cents!
The material which enters into 2
pair of shoes, made in St. Louis, bars
freight charge of less than2 cents