The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-16

state are fair. They are willing to
give the railroads a fair deal. l be-
lieve that a little cooperation would
| work wonders.
THE rates committee, of which /
| am a member, found that the rates be-
tween Montana and the east are not
excessive. But some of the charges
between points in Montana are almost
prohibitive."
The Northern Pacific.
NJ. S. Gum, speaking for the North
ern Pacific, responded to the toast,
The First Line" Mr.. Gum presented
forcibly and ~analytically the railway
side of the rate question. He declared
the country needs more railways and
that no section of the country needs
them more than Montana. But, the
speaker said, If there are burdens i'm
posed upon the railways which make
it impossible to obtain the money
necessary for the extension of lines
and the improvement of equipment,
then the railways cannot expand. He
cited local instances where the advent
of the railway had multiplied land
! values many times. He quoted the
president of the Southern Pacific,
| speaking of the regulation of rates in
California, who said that while the
reduction of rates had saved the peo-
pie of California 81. GOO, 900, it had pre-
vented the railways from spending
s40,0 900, 900, because with that 81, 0lO.-
600 the companies could have Dor
roWed that amount for new construc-
ton. 4 Mr.. Gunn urged conservatism in
the relations of the public 10 the
transportation companies.
The State University.
President Craighead of the state uni
versity spoke eloquently in response to
My Adopted State He said he is
a Missourian and he had found tina
Montana is composed principally 81
that rae of people. Therefore, he
didn't feel that he was q tenderfoot,
as he moved through the state. He
paid a tribute to the pioneer and pic
tured the sourc of Montana
graphically. But, he said, the great
est Of the possibilities here is the
possibility for a splendid educational
system. That state is greatest which
has the hest school system. Montana
is splendidly endowed, naturally, and.
located upon the crest of the con-
tinent. she will one day be at the top
in the ranking list of educational ad-
vantages.
r. M. Calkins.
r. NJ. Calkins of the Milwaukee
railroad responded to the toast, New
Friends" Said Mr.. Calkins: "On Be
half of the president of the Milwaukee
railroad | want to thank the people of
Montana for the generous support they
have given our road. We have tried to
glv you a modern railroad. We didn't
accept one cent in subsidy when we
build our great transContinental line,
but you have helped us more than you
think. just the same.
you have heard a lot about freight
rates. SO have +. That is my bust
ness. The subject of freight charges
is one Of the most complicated and
most difficult with which railroad peo-
pie have to deal. There is one fallacy
which I Would like to correct. Rates
are not fixed by distance, but by COM
petition. The rate on oranges from
Los Angeles to New York is low in
order that California fruit may com
pete with Florida fruit on the New
York market. The rate between the
Pacific and the Atlantic is just the
same as that charged for shipments
from Los Angeles to Denver THE
-, .,-.. a,t Il.a,c 1>,r Ir,1 ,,rnFif.
in order to develop business.
9TH railroads of this country re-
ceive less and pay more than h rail-
roads of any other nation. Dur en-
gineers, for instance, get about $3.50 a
month, while the engineer who runs
the fastest train in the world, between
London and Southampton, receives ten
pounds a month. Compare with this
the fact that English roads receive
about so per cent more for handling
freight than do the roads of this coun-
try.
People ask us why we do not build
more branch lines. We know that the
granaries of Montana would amply
repay us for our Investment, but we
must first get the money with which
10 pay for construction, Banks and
insurance companies are slow to lend
money to railroads when talk of rate
reduction renders such Investments
hazardous. You must help us secure
the confidence of investors; we will
repay you by developing your re-
sources.
In Conclusion.
State Senator Stephens of Mime
sofa, a visitor in the city, where he
has extensive investments, responded