Judsonia weekly advance., 1915-02-10
RATE INCREASE
 NECESSARY FARMERS UNION OPEL CIALS THINK RAILROADS ARE ENTITLED TO
 MORE REVENUE Products of Flow and Farmer Who Lives at Home Should Be Exempt From In-
 crease.
By Peter Radford Lecturer National Farmers Union


 I Lecturer National Farmers Union The recent action of the Inter- state Commerce Commission in granting an increase in freight rates in the eastern classification of territory; the application of the roads by state and interstate commissions for an increase in rates, and the utterances of Pres ident Wilson on the subject bring the farmers of this nation face to face with the,s problem ef an increase in freight rates. It IS the policy of the Farmers Union to meet the iSfsts affect Ling gthe welfare of M farmers EsquaEely and i've wiM do so in this Stance.
 l2 ThM transportation facilities of the United States are inadequate to effectively meet the demands of commerce and particularly in the South and West additional railway mileage is needed to ac- commodate the movement of farm products. If in the wisdom of our Railroad Commissions an in- crease in freight rates is neces- sary to bring about an improve
 nent in our transportation ser- vice, and an extension of our ] mileage, then an increase should ibe granted and the farmer Is will ing to share such proportion of the increase as justly belongs to him, but we have some sugges- tions to make as to the manner in which this increase shall be lev jed.
 Rates Follow Lines of Least Re- sistance.
 The freight rates Of the nation have been built lip along lines oi least resistance. The merchant, the manufacturer, the miner, the
 miller, the lunlbernan and the
 cattlenan have had their traffic buiTaus, thoroughly organized and l in many instances they have pur- sued the railroad without mercy and with the power of organized tonnage they have hammered the life out of the rates and with ur- restrained greed they have eaten the vitals out of our transporta- ton system and since we have had railroad commissions, these interests, with skill and cunning, are represented at every hearing in. which their business is in- volved.
 The farmer is seldom repre- sented at rate hearings as his or ganizations have never had the finances to employ counsel to de- velop his side of the case and as a result, the products of the blow bear an unequal burden of the freight expense.
 What is a Fair Rate?
 We do not know what consti- tutes basis for rate making and have never heard of anyone who did claim to know much about it, but. fl ff1e prosperity of the farm is a. factor to be considered and the railroad commission con- cludes that an increase in rates is necessary, we would prefer that it come to us through ar ticles of consumption on their tourney from the factory to the farm. We would, for example. prefer that the rate orr hogs rr-- main as at present and the rate on meat bear the increase, for any farmer can. then avoid the burden by raising his own meat. and a farmer who will not try to raise | his own meat ought to be penal- ized. We think the rate on coal and brick can much better bear an increase than the rate on cot l ton and flour. We would prefer l that the rate on blows remain the
 same, and machinery, pianos and such articles as the poorer farm CT cannot hope to possess bear | the burden of increase.
 I The increase in rates should be
 so arranged that the farmer who lives at home will bear no part of the burden, but let the farm- 1 CT who boards iii other states and countries and who feeds his stocl, in fnreion lands. pay the price of