The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1911-01-12
DUE TO FREIGHT RATES
IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
HIGH COST OF LIVING.
Millionaire Says That People Are 5led
to Pay Dividends on Nine Bill
lions of Watered Stock.

Akron, O.-Declaring that excessive
freight rates are responsible for the
high cost Of living, Ohio c. Barber.
the millionaire match magnate, has
sent letter to every member of con-
gress demanding reforms.
In addition to the regulation OF
freight rates. he demands that 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-
road 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,
l appreciate fully the importance Of
stability of vested rights in property,
corporate or personal.
But l vigorously contend that the
commission of excesses in the capital.
ization of corporate companies for
feits instantly the right to claim face
value for such capitalization in the
levying Of tax upon the American
public for the payment of dividends
upon this watered stock. And in this
offense the railroads always have set
the pace.
Conceived in the master minds OF
Huntington, Morgan, Hill and Harri-
an, this policy has been worked out
to 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
lines 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 ne.
cessity for quick transportation.
Approximately nine billions OF
this 18 billions of railroad capitaliza-
tion is fictitious; purely and simply
watered stock, upon which the people
Of the United States are taxed in rail.
road rates to maintain the annual div.
idends.
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 Ii years.
In 1894 the dividend rate was 1.66
per cent. Last year it averaged 3.6S
per cent. and the railroads earned a
net income of $685., 2,l53,2S0.
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.
tion 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 Ar
mour 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"