The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1914-01-29
D>s<-E
RATES BASED ON A WRONG
PRINCIPLE.

w \ InD bAoED YIN a w lttjNti
PRINCIPLE.
The Republican is gratisied TO frd
the following editorial from Golfers
Weekly re-pnblished in the Sioux
City Tribune:
The railways ask for IA nearly
horizontal increase in all. existi1:g
farms, Ihey do not propose to disturb
the advantage OF New England or OF
pittsburgh or Chicago over the rest
OF the country. They do not propose
10 touch the rates which have Great
ed the fortunes of many of their IL
~rectors and which have often been
dictated by the directors themselves.
Ihey propose to keep on running the
railways in the interest of the very
rev and the interest of a small part
OF NJ country against the interests OF
the many and the interests of the
whole country. This is unreasonable.
~ 1t is to the interest of the whole
country thai railway revenues. should
be increased, it is not to the public
interest that this increase should
come from yates which.ebtild up the
cities against the country, ssIfg rates
must be Increased, it shonId be The
long-haui rates. and especially those
between the great centers. These
are rates which, from a social
and economic point pr view, are too
loMsfin general, tho longer hail i,
with Commodity freight and the
shorter haul with classified freigh,.
Ne behave classified rates are 10 be
Ealsedss1puch more than commodity
rnteEsThis may be good railway pol-
tsys from the point of view of quick
gaiSidendst-it is not good public rol-
Edty. Wfthsthe suppression of the rail
ways suppression OF water compet
|ition, we Believe it would be entirely
safe to permit the railways to raise
their long haul rates as much as thew
liked. They could not raise them
much because such a raise would
promptly check the volume of bust.
ness"
The Republican repeats that it is
gratified to find this endorsed heart;-
~ by the Sioux City paper, for the
reason that that paper has hereto
fore been disposed to criticise such a
view ofssthe rate problem when ap-
piled to this particular section of TIL G
United States. The Republican has
repeatedly declared that the inter
| pCf q 4nf SntYt1,
crease in the rates for longer hauls.
VT has been the contention of this
paper that South Dakota should he
given an opportunity to do business
with itself. The Sioux CITY paper
being actlfated by a splendid spirit
OIL iocal patriotism, naturally wants
oouth Dakota to do business with
Sioux City, rather than with South
Dakota. Therefore, the principle ad-
'yocated by the Golfers Weekly. If
applied to this field, must suggest re-
ductions in local South Dakota rates
latCo
ana increases in the interstate rates
to Sioux City and the Sioux CITY
paper would contend thai such a
chang would be all wrong.
IT is economically wrong to allow
a system of freight rates that coerce,
communities into doing business at
long range. 1t is nothing more nor
less than waste to require South Da-
kota to ship its live stock to Stony
CITY or Chicago, In order to be dress
ed and sent back as meat. 1t is Just
as much waste for South Dakota tol
ship its wheat to Minneapolis to be-
ground and shipped back into the
state for flour. The state is now rob-|
bed of its home market, thereby i'm
juring both producer and consumer.
For none can by any correct state
ment of facts or logic demonstrate
that these unnecessary long hauls are
not paid for by the man who sells es
we'll as by the man who buys.
Golfers Weekly is right and tin.
80