The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-03-06
eastman Distance
Tariff Law Strikes
From Tuesdays Daily.

MdnhdtO luuustIits bs the SdShuidf
distance tariff law. The prosperity
of the city is being impaired. The
injury Is vital.
None Is suffering more than the
lime and cement manufacturers and
shippers. The Widell company, the
Mankato Cement Works, Fowler &
Pay and the T. r. Coughlan COM
pany all feel keenly the harm that
Is being done TO them by the injus-
tice that the new law works.
Merritt Coughlan OF the T. r,
Coughlan company said today:
The new law has raised the rates
on stone so that II is absolutely i'm
possible 10 get crushed stone ship
ned from Mankato TO the twin cities.
This used TO be an important feature
" our business.
'Nankato used to have equal rates
on lime with Shakopee and Redwing.
Now these points have a four-cent
rate 20 the twin cities while Man.
Rato has a six-cent rate.
Favors Mason City.
Mason City. Iowa, can ship ce-
ront into St Paul and Minneapolis
~ FIVE cents per hundred pounds.
Nanka.o. which is only half the dis
,ancc away. is compelled to pay n
,iN-ront rate.
Duluth and Superior, which are
vice the distance from the twin
cities that Mankato is can ship lime
into those cities at the same rate
that is>charged for a shipment from
Mankato.
'Lime-producing points in Wiscon-
sin. which enter into competition
with Mankato, and are three or four
times as far away from the twin
cities as Is Mankato, get rates OF
seven or eight cents, while Mankato
gets the six-cent rate"
Hits Cement Industry Hard.
b. F. Pay Of the firm OF Fowler 4
Pay. manufacturers OF lime and Gem.
ent. was advised of the statements
made by Merritt Coughlan, and he
fully substantiated them. THE Cash
man law has raised the rate on the
products that we manufacture in our
plants in Mankato, Austin and Lyle,
and have practically shut us out OF
the twin city markets. Another
thing. the law has advanced the
switching charge on brick shipped
from the F. p. Panenberg brick yard
in lie Hitler from 81 per car to SIG,
depending upon the capacity OF the
car" Mr.. Pay stated that the law
has crippled Mankato industries be-
yond what was predicted some
months ago at a meeting OF the Com.
mercial club.
II. E. Carney, manager OF the Man.
kato Cement works, said:
The new law has raised the rate
on the bulk of the Mankato cement
shipments fifty per cent II Is true
that II has given us favorable rates to
points within a radius OF thirty miles,
but such orders as we can get within
that radius are not enough to keep
the works going for a week at a
time"
Mr.. Pay Calls Il Yard-stlek Law.
w. II. Pay, manager of the Pay
Candy company, when asked today
what he thought of the eastman
distance tariff law, said:
81 would call this measure a yard
stick law. The nearer you are to a
point by rail, the greater Is your
advantage. This law does away with
all competitive service by the rail.
road You can do business with the
rcints that are near you. You have
lOr % do business with your next.
door neighbor. II does not allow
-aiirOads to make rates that compete,
one with another, II one happens to
have much longer haul than the
n.hpr.
# vOu look at any railroad map
ne state you viii notice that all
o." roads lead to the twin cities. You
know the old saying, All roads lead
to Rome Well, St. Paul is our
Rome. Now, you can readily see that.
the twin city merchants can ship d.
rectly to about any point in the
state, but the shipper Of Southern
Minnesota, in order to reach most
other parts Of the state, must ship
to the twin cities first. In order TO
reach a point a hundred miles TO
the north, he must often ship a
hundred miles to the east and then
q hundred miles back west. You can
readily see how the distance tariff
law puts the southern Minnesota
shipper at a tremendous disadyan-
Rge, in competition with the twin
city. shipper.
ITO points on a straight line from
Mankato. the rates are about what
they were before the new law went
into effect.
The railroads we're opposed TO the
distance tariff law. So were the ship.
pers. So the people forced II
through"
From Tuesdays Daily.
Henry Rines, speaker OF the last
house, has come to the defense OF
the legislature in the matter of ex.
penditures and appropriations OF
T. a.