The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1911-01-13
is DUE TO FREIGHT EATES
1T is RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
HIGH COST OF LIVING.
Millionaire Says That People Are Bled
to Pay Dividends on Nine Bill
lions Of Watered Stock.

Akron, Ohio. - Declaring hat ex-
cessive freight rates are responsible
for the high cost of living, Ohio c.
Barber, the millionaire match mag.
nate, has sent a letter to every mem.
Der OF congress demanding reforms.
In addition to the regulation OF
freight rates, he demands hat laws
be passed that will effectually limit
railroad and industrial capitalization,
He declares the freight business OF
the railroads costs each family $S7 a
year. This latter, coupled with the
other earnings Of the railroads, he as.
serts. has boosted the average rail.
o cost per family to 1927 annually.
Barber starts his letter to the con.
gressmen with these three demands:
What is the matter with America ?
what is the matter with congress?
why has the seat of government
been transferred to Wall Street,"
Continuing, he says: personally
| appreciate fully the importance of
stability of vested rights in property,
corporate or personal.
puI 1 N~iSOIOuSlf COIllCnu lNdI IDo
commission of excuses in the capital
tzatlon of corporate companies for
ielts instantly the right to claim face
value for such capitalization in the
levying OF a tax upon the American
public for the payment of dividends
upon his Watered stock. And in this
olfense the railroads always have set
the pace.
Conceived in the master minds of
Huntington, Morgan, Hill and Harri-
man, his policy has been worked out
10 a nicely. These clothed the scheme
IN the pretty catch phrase of a com
munity of interests and cleverly set
about to grab all the through trunk
ines of railroad from coast to coast.
They argued plausibly, and with
truth, that these trunk lines were the
great arteries which maintained the
life of commerce: that they were a ne
cessity for quick transportation.
Approximately nine billions Of this
Is billions OF railroad capitalization is
fictitious; purely and simply watered
stock, upon which the people of the
United States are taxed in railroad
rates to maintain the annual dividends.
Despite this tremendous stock wa
tering, the railway net earnings have
advanced steadily and the average div
idend rate has more than doubled in
the last Is years.
In 1894 the dividend rate was l.66
per cent. Last year it averaged 3.6S
per cent. and the railroads earned a
net income OF 1852, lob, $50.
And the people paid the freight.
RAILROAD presidents Indignantly
deny that freight rates affect the cost
of existence. James j. Hill and w. c..
Browne declare low acreage produc-
ton by the farmer is responsible for
high prices.
Trust magnates disagree. All seek
to shift the responsibility. S. r. Gug-
genheim says it is extravaganza on the
part of the laborer. Ogden Armour
says it is the law of nature.
This one problem of railroad
freight rates is the great economic
question of the age. Were it fairly
solved all other lines of commerce
and trade would soon adjust them
selves and a more equitable distribu-
ton of the products Of business would
result.
What are you going to do about it?
Yours in militant sincerity,
(Signed) 20. c. BARBER"