The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-02-20

f, a. ."'9 ihcetHS lhit rate approx
mating that of Illinois. promulgated
| by the Warehouse and Corporation
Commission of that State should be
Issued for Virginia.
Tho Norfolk and Western. Chcsa-
pcake and Ohio. Virginian. Richmond
fredericksburg and Potomac, Carolina.
Clinchiicld and Ohio, and Washingto
and Old Domonion with reasonable
promp,ness lived up to their agree
ment. but the other roads. with a
unanimty which would have done
| credit to oidday gentlemen agree
mcnts' as then known In rail-
road circles. promptly broke or de-
MED their obligations and refused to
satisfactorily reduce the rate
have before me pamphlet issued
by the Southern Hallway and its sub
ordinate lines entitled The Use of
Lime for Soil Improvement" TO which
is appended the signature OF President
Finley
Were proof required that lime is
necessary soil improvcr in Vir-
GINA this pamphlet would be, at least
TO the railroads. conclusive Excerpts
from reports of experiment stations Of
Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida Ken
lucky. Tennessee. Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island. Ohio. Indiana and Illinois ex-
plot over seven pages the great bcne-
lit OF lime TO the farmer in the re-
habilitation Of his soil The relative
merits of burned lime and ground lime
stone are judged with an impartiality
quite natural to a carrier that is as
sureu OF rich freight rates no matter
which kind Of lime is used, and we
must content ourselves with an answer
to that question BY it's enthusiastic
author quite worthy OF the Dclphic
oracle, that the weight OF opinion
seems TO be largely in favor OF its
use in the form in which IL may he
gotten cheaply in any locality"
The cheapest form in which lime is
to be had is tina, OF ground limestone,
and the most important factor in Sc
curing cheap lime for our farmers is
cheap transportation therefor.
Upon this vital factor In the prob
lem Of cheap lime the pamphlet is
silent; Mr. Finley. the orator and
would-be philanthropist, finds in his
altcr-cgo, Mr.. Finley the railroad
president. an insupcrablo obstacle to
the relief OF the necessities OF the Wiz
Ginia farmer
1t is quite likely that the railroads
will point 10 their heavy expenses and
their fixed charges as n reason why
ground limestone cannot he moved by
them ut profit at the Illinois rate.
Few laymen understand the theory OF
freight rates. According TO leading
authority briefly the theory Is that
railway charges are fundamentally
like taxes All experience shows that
railway rates are based not on the
cost OF furnishing the service but on
what the purchasers can afford to pay"
The problem therefore is at the bot
tom one OF ethics involving those con-
siderations of public policy and of
right and wrong, which recur in the
discussions OF proportional or progress
sive taxation. The need OF considering
the means and the purchasing power
OF the passengers and shippers forces
itself on every railway manager. and
1t supplies striking illus .~ation of
the indestructible link between ethics
and economics"
SO many factors enter into the abili-
ty OF Southern railways to earn divi-
dends upon their usually heavily
watered stock or ovcr-bohded systems
that they are not likely to be affected by
true economic or ethical considerations.
They lose sight OF the future In the
financial exigencies OF the present.
The theory that the rates should be
governed % ywhat the traffic will
bear" has been invoked to a point in
the case of ground limestone. where
the traffic fails to move at all The
differences in the rates charged by
railroads Tor the transportation Of coal,
OF ores or Of silk, arc not based upon
the relative cost of the transportation
Of these articles to the general eX-
pense and maintenance Of the road. or
tho risk OF transportation. but are
based upon tho fact that the cheap
goods Will only move at q low rate
while the higher class goods can
bear the burden OF higher
rate and still contribute TO traffic
The Southern Railway occupies a
strategic position in the distribution
OF lime from the Valley of Virginia and
might to local points whore there is
no competition create a monopoly, or
arbitrary ruling, as in the case of the
city or Danvillc, but for the inArpo-
s1tion under the constitution of the
PUT THISLARRL ON YOUR GOODS