Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1912-09-05
REPLY TO MR.. PRIEST.

Editor Enterprise:
l see that Mr.. Joel L. Priest, O.
behalf of the Short Line railroad i
Slightly ''peeyed' at me for som
things said in my article som
time ago in regard to railroad rates
do not doubt for a moment tina
Mr. Priest is honest and SINGER
in his desire to do the very best h
possibly can for the patrons of hi
road, and heartily accord the same
motive to all the other officials o
the road Men make the mistake O.
assuming that this IS some kind of 6
personal controversy, but l am franz
TO say that entertain for such mer
as Mr. Priest only the kindliest sen
timents for { know from past expert
ellce that they are men Of estimable
character. So let us drop the idea
that we are gratifying some person
al grudge in lambasting the rail
roads.
Ii is the system under which we
are operating that is all wrong. To
quote recent utterance of great
writer: because the trouble is not
with the tariff nor with bad men
nor with the Panama canal nor with
the lading of the pie counter, nor
with any other thing or one day or a
thousand. The trouble is with a
vast Industrial system the basis of
which is an essential wrong and
Lideous injustice, and until the
wrong and the injustice are abolished
the anarchy will grow worse and the
disorder multiply.
Now when I quoted that rate on
spuds knew that was not the car
load rate. and have accomplished
the very purpose / lad in view
when l quoted it. That object was
this: The local freight rate l knew
Llust be from Sl.50 to $500 per
hundred to points in Kansas Now
right here Mr.. Priest has taken the
same dodge to obscure the issue
that all others dc who defend our
present industrial system. He knows
very well that the small farmer new
e~ ships BY the car load, and for
that reason must resort to all the in
termediary agencies to get his pro-
dice to Isarket, and we all know
from sad experience what that |
means. So far as the small farmer is
concerned there is no consolation in
quoting car load rates to him for
lss cannot get the benefit of it.
What want to know is how the
.smaIl shipper is going to get his
lroduee to market just the same as
the man who ships in car load lots. |
Isn't it a fact that the railroad is
charging local rates on car loads of !
freight made up of numerous small
shipments having practically hte same
destination? The whole system is +
arranged to benefit the big shipper
st the expense of the small one.
The small producer must either
pay a local freight rate or consign
his stuff to the mercies of the com
mission business and we all know
what that means If we had a sys-
TEN of transportation that would
grant the railroads so much per
ton regardless of car load or local
rates there would be some equity in
1t, but under the present order of
things that would be impossible. SO
you see Mr.. Priest, SO far as l am
concerned. the rate applicable to my
case and to a vast majority of the
pr dueers is the very one / quoted,
Tor it is either that or give the diff
1szaIee between local and car load
rates to the middle men. In either ;
can repeat that we are simply robb-
ID. Mr. Priest assumes that /
aant the kind of government owner q
nip of railroads in vogue in Panama. /
Re is mistaken. There the govern
aent is running the road for profit, 3
BIZ 1si>-.s is the very thing that l am p
itterIy opposed to either there or
4 wllere else. 1t is the profit sys-
M that is at the foundation of all
and exploitation. | can think
10 greider Injustice than the rum y
rg Of public utility by anyone for %
profit The kind of government
+nership Of railroads that want
4 tfat the people are going to have
FORE many years is that that gives