Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-08-04
RATES ARE EQUALIZED
Upper Mississippi River Cities Of Iowa
Now on Basis Of Equal Competition
With St. touis-lnterior Iowa Rates
Reduced.

Special TO Republican.
Des Moines. Aug. 4.-DubuQue, DAY.
export, Muscatine Burlington, Fort
Madison and Keokuk, the Iowa Nissis-
sippi river cities known as the upper
Mississippi group, are now on basis
OF equal competition with St. Louis
and the lower Mississippi river cities in
the matter OF freight movements from
Buffalo and Pittsburgh to the Indiana
Illinois state line, technically known as
the central freight association terri
tory, by the recent opinion rendered by
the interstate commerce commission.
An explanation Of the working of the
new rates which will benefit the Iowa
river cities, when the order Of the in
terstate commerce commission becomes
effective. was made in a statement to-
day from the offiee>of the rate depart
ment of the state railroad commits
sion.
Previous to the order Of the inter-
state commerce commission, the Iowa
river cities were Disseminated against
by a freight rate OF from 8 cents to
"A cents a hundred pounds when the
distance between these cities was the
same from the point Of shipment or
less than to St. Louis, the favored
point.
The decision lowers the upper Mis-
sissippi cities rate from s2.3 cents
hundred pounds to 5e.s cents hundred
pounds, the rate obtaining in St Louis
from Buffalo and Pittsburgh. This quo
tation is On first class freight, a cor
responding reduction being made upon
the remaining classes.
In 1914. a similar circumstance ex-
listed with regard to the trunk line ter
ritory, from Pittsburgh and Buffalo
east to the coast, and the interstate
commerce commission by a decision
placed the Iowa cities upon a parity
with ST Louis. Following this de-
cision the upper Mississippi cities filed
| a second petition upon which the pres
ent decision has just been reached.
Since the parity is between the Iowa
cities and the central freight associ-
alton points. it means a heavier move
ment Of freight IN both directions.
For each twenty five miles or frac-
ton thereof that the distances to the
to the lower Mississippi river cities, the
commission has fixed rate Tor the
upper cities not to exceed the st. Louis
rate by 1 cent on the first two classes
Of freight and one-half cent on. the
second classes. The decision also in
structs the carriers to adjust their
commodity rates In conformity with all
Of the changes made by the opinion.
A reduction Of cents on the rate
for the first twenty-five miles was
made by the interstate commerce COM
| mission in the interior Iowa freight
rate case, which was decided at the
same time as the river cities case. The
| new scale obtaining from the river
crossings to Iowa cities in the interior
| of the state will now begin at cents
| and graduate up to IS cents instead OF
| from 16 cents a hundred pounds to SIS
cents hundred pounds as before. The
scale Is gagged on a basis Of mile
| age.
The rate between Des Moines and the
| river crossing cities for first class
freight hundred pounds is reduced
| from 34S cents to 80 cents. Between
Fort Dodge and the river points the re-
| duction is from 41.2 cents to 40 cents.
| Other reductions are: Cedar Rapids,
former rate, 22.s cents, new rate, Is
cents: Ottumwa, old rate, 23.e cents,
| new rate, is cents; Mason City, old
| rate. 3S cents, new rate, 3S cents.