Norwich bulletin., 1914-05-16
FREIGHT RATES LOW-FREIGHT DELIVERY SLOW!

(Written Especially for The Bulletin.)
 There is a tremendous amount of unfair criticism being leveled at the railroads, because of what are assert cd to be unduly high freight rates.
 This sort of attack is unjustified and unjustifiable. As 8 rule, railroad freights are not high. Of course there are exceptional cases where the oper- ation of the general rules which they follow works hardship. I am myself just now suffering from one of these exceptional applications. Thirteen miles from me, by highway, is a mill ct which I can buy ground lime, bag ged, for $2.5O a ton. wanted sew eral tons. this spring. Investigation disclosed that, while the cost of a carload of lime twenty tons. would be $50, the freight charge of the railroad And the mill couldn't afford to ship me a single ton, because the railroad charged them g merely for pulling a car in on their switch.
 But, in this case, the railroad does not follow the nearest line between me and the mill It was built to con- meet certain large towns and not for my particular service. Therefore, that lime would have had to be hauled, to reach me, ar-tlnd three sides of Robin miles of track and on three separate lines each one of which must have It's share of the haulase charge.
 Such cases are not common,s though they are peskily annoying when they railroads responsibility for high prices, however, is not great. In the case of milk, for instance, which they furnish special trains for pulling to New York city from Ulster and Orange and other big dairy counties of the vicinity, the freight bill is al- most negligible in computing the cost to the consumers. The railroads don't begin to get as much for hauling the milk on a special train for eighty miles as the city handlers get for hauling it a mile from the terminus to their private warehouses. The whole rail- road charge for this milk service hard ly adds a quarter of a cent a quart to the cost of the milk. The charges of the city handlers, and their profits add more than four cents a quart to the cost
 While the total amount of money collected by the railroads for hauling freight is something enormous. the amount charged per ton and per mile Is ridiculously small, taking the whole freight business they do into consid- eration. I haven't the figures by me and have forgotten the exact fraction. But I know that the rate has to be reckoned in mills rather than in cents.
 Therefore I haven't much sympathy with those who. never having investi gated the real facts and knowing lit- tie of the simple truth slang whang the railroads for their freight charges.
 What stirs my bile against the roads Is not their charges for freight, but their inexcusable inefnciency in hand ling freight. They don't. charge high rates, as 8 general thing. On the other hand they don't serve the public with either prouiptness. convenience. or ac- curacy.
 It is their confounded Incompetence which makes me kick rather than their alleged greed.
 A recent correspondent of Success full Farming hits the nail on the head when he writes. in letter to the ed- itor describing his difficulties in mar keting his truck; My grocer in the fhis produce) if I could get them to him. Freight takes from one to two weeks for the fifty -mile trip from my place to the city, and everything not nailed down or steel hooped is smashed or pilfered."
 Early in March ] ordered several tons of fertilizer from my local deal CT. to be delivered not later than April 15-earifer If practicable. The dealer put in the order In ample time. He got the shippers bill long before April e5. But the fertilizer never got to him till May Sth, thirteen days past my limit. When 1t came my team and were both up to the neck in the hurry of seeding work. We had to waste a day that was worth as much as ten days in April would have been, drawing that delayed fertilizer. More over. I had been compelled to waste several more days waiting for it; had finally been forced to put in several carly crops with insufficient or inap- propriate dressing, and shall feel the at harvesting time.