Mexico weekly ledger., 1914-11-12
CRISIS WHICH.
.c0NFRONTs MISSOURI R. R..
Facts of Vital Interest to Every Far
mel, Business Man and Citizen
Of the State
IN MISSOURI
Time Has Come When Rates Must
BE Increased or Railroads Win
Be Default.

haps the first distance IN which the
railroads Of a great state have gone
direct 10 the farmer, the business mar
and the citizen generally TO discuss
with them In q frank and candid man
ner this great problem which, in Its
varied phases, so vitality affects the
welfare Of very man, woman and
child in the land. The average Amer
lean voter wants to be fair about any
public question and he Is, once he
fully understands the surrounding
pramises-and thus. had the rail-
ronds Of Missouri and other states
taken their troubles directly to the
people some years ago, the chances
are we would not be confronted with
the stagnation which has gripped the
business world for some time past
and which, unless remedied In the
near future, threatens utter industri-
al paralysis throughout the ccintry.
Every railroad official in the Ma
ton today is doing everything in his
power not only to obey the mandates
Of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission and the different Public Ser
vice Commissions, but also to aid and
facilitate their work in every posi-
Bile way. As evidence of this state
ment, we cite the following facts
with reference to the situation in
Missouri: In 1907 the Legislature of
State enacted a 2-eent passenger fare
and also greatly reduced freight
rates upon a number of important
items. The railroads appealed and
won their case in the trial court.
Thereupon the state appealed to the
Supreme Court of the U. s. and that
high tribunal reversed the case with
out prejudice to the railroads on the
ground that the valuation of. the
properties had not been properly es-
tabiished. 1t did not say by its de-
cision, as is commonly supposed by
many people, that a two cent passen-
ger fare is adequate in Missouri, or
that present freight rates in this
state are fairly remunerative.
Had the railroads of Missouri cared
to do so, they could have filed new
suits the day after the Supreme Court
made its decision. Instead, however,
they chose to make the best Of the
situation. They met with the Public
Service Commission at jefferson
City and agreed to give the reduced
rates a thorough trial-and today, in
stead Of going to the courts for re-
lief, they are laying their troubles be-
fore the people and the Commission
with full confidence in their sense Of
fairness and in the belief that they
win be willing to grant such an adj
vance in rates as win enable the rail-
roads to continue to give good service
and to play their great part In the
further development Of the state.
Present Situation in Nut Shell
Briefly speaking, the present series
Of articles has sought to establish the
following facts:
First, that the closing of the Euro
pean Money markets, added TO their
already heavy burdens, has suddenly
brought American railroads face to
face with the gravcst crisis in their
history-and hence the recent appeal
Of President Wilson.
Second, that contrary to public
opinion, American railroads are own
ed by nearly two million investors,
large and small, rather than by a
few rich men in Wall Street or else
where.
Third, that hundreds Of millions of
dollars Of the assets of our old line
life and fire insurance companies,
savings banks, benevolent assoeia-
tons, etc, are invested in railroad Sc
c~urities and that when you destroy
the value of these securities you af-
feet the welfare of millions of hold
ers of life insurance policies and
bank depositors.
Fourth, that the railroads are the
largest employers of labor, buyers of
steel, fuel, lumber and other supplies
and the largest taxpayers in the Ma
ton, and that for this reason they
constitute the very cornerstone Of
the Country's prosperity.
Fifth, that while the products of
the farmer, the manufacturer, the la
boring man and all kinds of materials
have advanced in cost by leaps and
bounds during the last 20 years, the
railroads stand out as the one gigan-
tic industry in the Nation which has
not only been permitted to increase
its rates, but compelled to continually
reduce them.
The Situation in Missouri
Looking at the matter from purely
a Missouri standpoint, the time
has come when the people must
choose between giving the railroads
some substantial increase ir freight
and passenger rates or sending a
lot more of them into the hands Of re-
c%eivers. There isn't a single road in
Missouri which isn't losing money by
carrying passengers at two cents per
mile and the same is true Of freight
rates, which in many instances are 40
per cent lower than those of adj
joining states or numerous inter-
state rates which have received the
APPROVAL Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
In the meantime, the recent state
ments in the metropolitan press to the
effect that the railroads are asking
Tor general advances of from so e
cent to 225 per cent are of course un-
true and misleading. In the near fu-
ture the public will be informed of
the exact requests which the railroads
will make.
AS a general proposition, however.
the general public is inclined to view
an increase of railroad rates with
exaggerated alarm. An increase Of
~ per cent, for instance, over rates
u effect now on distances of between
oVo and LOCO miles would amount TO
between s mills and one cent on the
average suit of clothes, 8 to 4 on a
palr OF shoes, less than one mill per
pound on meats, less than two mills
per dozen on eggs, IL 1-2 cents on a
tWo-norse pillow and 90 1-2 cents on a
Iafm wagon-and for hauls of less
than from 800 to 1000 miles the in
crease would be proportionately less.
Is there, therefore, anything about
this problem which should alarm or
inspire the antagonism of the average
f0r every postage stamp a Missouri
railroad uses it must haul a ton of
coal I'VE miles, and many similar ex-
amples could be shown. To give them
adequate rates for the services they
render means they can go ahead with