Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1913-02-21
DISTANCE TARIFF BILL
SENATOR EASTMAN ANSWERS
TWIN CITY JoBBERs- POINTS
OUT UNFAIR RAILWAY RATES


OUT UNFAIR RAILWAY RATES
"All Of the twin city papers of last
Sunday and the Sunday previous con-
tanned full page advertisement call
ing attention to an alleged injustice to
such towns as lie between Mankato and
Owatonna on the Chicago and North
western railway, = said Senator T. E.
eastman yesterday in answer to the
twin city jobbers and railroad men.
The advertisements reads in part as fol-
lows: tThe result under present condi-
tions is to favor short line rates upon
the longer lines as maximum at inter
mediate points, thus insuring these
points lower rates than their mileage
distance would procure
''This statement is anything but
true. The facts are that the short line
rates between Owatonna and the twin
cities and Waseca and the twin cities
are made very high in order to allow
the Chicago and Northwestern railway
to compete with the Chicago and Mil
waukee and Minneapolis and st. Louis
railways, hauling 122 miles by cir
cuitous route around by way Of Man
kato. At present the people Of Owa-
tonna and Waseca pay a rate Of 10
cents per hundred on wheat and flax
that they ship into the Twin Cities.
Under the Iowa law they would pay
but IL cents per hundred. They now
pay cents per hundred on corn, oats
and barley, while under the Iowa law
they would pay but 5.8 cents.
A Difference in Lumber
"They now pay 9 cents per hundred
on lumber shipped from the twin
cities, while under the provisions of
the Iowa distance tariff they would
pay but 51a cents.
"They now pay ~ cents on fat cat
tie and hogs, while under the Iowa law
they would pay but 8.8 cents per hun.
dred. Those are the rates in Iowa on
all commodities named for q distance
of 20 miles. If the people Of Meriden
were compelled to ship their wheat to
Minneapolis their rates per hundred on
wheat would now be 10 cents, while
under the Iowa law it would be 81a
cents. Under the Iowa law they would
pay 6.6 cents per hundred on lumber
instead Of 9 they now pay, l0.4 on fat
cattle instead Of IL they now pay. The
GAINESVILLE, Smiths Mills and :. Eagle
Lake rates would be some less be-
cause their mileage is somewhat
shorter. ~ d
The facts Of the matter are the
Meriden, GAINESVILLE, Eagle Lake and
Smiths Mills people do not ship every
thing they produce nor buy everything
they consume to the twin cities. The
jobbing houses at Mankato, :Waseca
and Owatonna supply The greater part
of merchandise in that territory. Chi
cago competes in merchandise with the
twin cities in that territory. Most
of the wheat produced in that section
is milled at Waseca, GAINESVILLE or Owa-
tonna. ~, ss@E
Two Sides to Question
"Like all public questions, the dis
tance tariff has two sides, and can
be looked upon from two viewpoints,
the one from the railroad companies,
who find it more profitable to build up
a business that will centralize business,
draw the people to one center and give
them an excuse to exact exorbitant
rates which will pay dividends on in
flated values and watered stocks
their excuse is often substantiated BY
some judge who will decree that divi-
dend Of per cent is just on these in
flated valuations. The other from the
viewpoint of the man who desires equit
able freig hit rates to enable him to en-
ter into fair competition with his more
wealthy competitor.
"The Armour Packing company a;
Hill City has large holdings and s;
given a very low rate. As the rail
roads are public service corporations
some of us cannot understand why the
rich man should be given any advan
tage over the poor man or that one
locality should have any advantage
over the other. The manufacturers
and jobbers of the twin cities enjoy
very low rate on lumber, but how
about their little competitors out in
the country districts9 The people il,
Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Marshall
Mankato, Owatonna and other point,
also use lumber. They, too, would like
lower rate.
Man Who Uses Paper
"The man who uses paper at Fergus
Falls cannot understand why he shoul,7
have to pay 33 cents per hundred on
carload of paper from International
Falls into his town, a distance of 29f
miles, when the same kind Of paper is
, shipped from International Falls to st.
Paul, a distance of 334 miles at 10
cents per hundred. The man residing at
Fergus Falls cannot understand why
he should pay rate of cents on cut
stone, curbing and street paving from;
st. Cloud, distance of 113 miles when
the same material is shipped IS miles
into St. Paul at a rate Of 3.5 cents pei
hundred and cannot understand why
he should have to pay 13 cents per
hundred on polished stones and monu-
ments when the Twin City man has a
rate of Z cents. The miller in Alexan-
dria cannot understand why his Min.
neapolis competitor can ship flour into
his territory at Ogema, a distance of
230 miles, and compete with him at the
samye rate for q hundred mile haul. The
man residing at Kennedy, Minnesota.
cannot see why he should be compelled
to pay rate Of 15.5 cents per hundred
on lumber shipped from Park Rapids,
21.8 miles, when the Minneapolis man
has q rate Of 8.5 cents for the same