Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1911-08-25

ns half load Of hogs TO market
ihe other day over Ii road knee
.eep in mud that made me realize
inere were other things than
freight rates involved in the high
cos Of living. | had case of eggs
on one SIDE and a tub Of butter on
the other. both bringing such good
~ taai mother. bless her dear
heart, She looks better i'll calico
shan amy other woman in silks, eau
Toned me against reckless driving.
a new idea came TO me. II was
that by giving the consumer the
benefit of the waste that attaches
TO existing methods and conditions,
we could by this greatly reduce
the cost Of living.
THAT sci me to figuring. II took
me a whole day with a team and
wagon to haul 1900 lbs. Of hogs the
ten miles / had to go. At the rate
of $3.50 per day for team and driv-
er. | easily ascertained that the
wagon haul, without allowing any
thing for repairs or keeping myself
and team. was costing rs cents
ton per mile. Great Heavens that
was over sixty-One times more than
the average charge per ton per mile
by the railroads, as shown by the
reports of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, and yet every bod
seeking to reduce the high cost of
living was bitterly inveighing
against railroad rates and blindly
marching behind blind leaders to
that end When the roads were
not muddy, | hauled 2500 lbs to
lead and yet that was % cents a
ton per mile, or over thirly-seVen
times more than the average charge
by the railroads. The reports OF
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion showed that the average cost
by railroad was 3-l of one cent a
ion per mile.
In a pamphlet issued by the De-
parlment of Agriculture, | read
that the farmers of several states.
the farmers Of Penn
syNania, by the construction of
geea.feads had doubled their wagon
loads and thereby decreased the
cost of wagon transportation 90 per
cent. That meant on poor roads
a saving of % cents ton per mile,
and on the dry roads basis a saw
ing of II cents ton per mile.
When | realized that this enor-
nous waste applied to all the great |
farm crops of this great country |
for every pound or ton of surplus
farm products must be moved by |
wagon to the cars or elevators at |
-he railway station, was staggered |
first at the enormous waste and, |
second, at the stupidity of so-c
I'd economic philosophy. 1t cost |
ne $3.50 to haul 1900 lbs, whereas /
With good roads | could haul 5000 |
bs. at the same cost, showing
.learly to me that on that wagon
laul ! had a clean loss of 10 per
,ent. The average amount |
would have to pay the railroad for
hauling the same load the same
distance is less than cents. In
,Iher words. for what it cost me
$3.50. ther railroads do it for less
han 6 cents and the average
mount the railroad charges me Is
actually less than 3 per cent of
he amount that is wasted i'll the
wagon haul.
Il got s 1-3 cents pound for
ny hogs that day, 20 cents for the
,utter and % cents a dozen for the
.ggs. When | computed the cost
# wagon haul on my hogs and as
ertained that it was 2 1-3 cents
pound, and when just before 60
ng home | stopped at the meat
market and paid the butcher %
ents for two pounds of the porl ~
which but few hours before
lad sold him for -i6 2-3 cents, |
asily concluded that the primary
alise in respect to the high cost
f living was clearly one of great
waste and large profits.
There may be other elements of
waste which have failed toSmen-
ion, but unlike the curbstOne
| do not pretend TO
now it all and | simply want TO
emind my high-browed friend that
he desires to effect practical
olution of this problem, hee may
rel set aside academically gar
ished sophistry and turn to the
lore practical effect of muddy !
Dads, expensive wagon transpor-
alton, middle mems profits, ex-
'avigant and unsystematic methods
T distribution and other kindred !
auses. These may be new phases