Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-12-15
Objections to Mileage Rate

1 1. Gan a mileage scale of rates be
 adopted to apply generally from in- 1 terstate points, without seriou, in- ,! jury to long established business! In answering this question we must assume that all rates, class and corr l mOdity, from originaticng or produc- ] ing territory, will be -graduational, l and this being true, what effect will 1 these rates have on the present rat l es as they now influence commer- | ciol conditions. We must consider : the effect on every established busi- , ness at given points~ located in the i territory aected Ly the proposal. 1 It is necessary to remember that i every industry. manufacturing or ] jcbbing, now located and operating in 1 the prescribed territory. was estab- hshud and built up to it's present i potency by the ingenuity of man, whoee first thought vas supply and : demand for the goods which he manu- ! factured or d. 'iEuted. He must /, have taken into consideration the freight rates as they affected his business. And so as the time went ; by, cities and towns were built up and business establishments grew
 with them.
 Now any change in commercial conditions that will materially weak en or destroy the established busi-
 ness of these cities and towns is fun damentally wrCng and directly 1n- juries great many people. Any mileage scale will destroy the
 prevailing relationship in freight 1 cost, as it now exists between Arkan-
 sas cities and towns, because the
 present freight rates are not on
 mileage basis. and do take into con-
 rail and water.
 Our analysis of any scale of feright rates where distance is the deter
 mining factor. is that it will eventu- ally destroy fifty percent of the job
 ping or wholesale business now done in Pine Bluff. Arkansas, to say
 nothing of the indirect injury to the
 manufacturer and retailer
 It is true that this great loss in business to Pine Bluff would be { gain to other nearby towns and cities but we insist that to tear down one city in order to build up another, would be clearly a calamity and an
 unbelievable procedure. incompatible
 with our ideas of justice. ?. To what extent will the prOpa- sed mileage scale affect Pine Bluff, Arkansas?
 It is impossible to answer this ! question in full because the proposal limiting the application to certain i territory is evidently incomplete i We are able to judge the effect only ! as it applies t9 certain basic rates | from producing territories tf. Pine Bluff and surroupdine destinations. Business and Population. At this point we should summarize
 the larger business pursuits of Pine
 Bluff. it's populaticn and location : 1 Statement of; the annual business
 transacted in Pine Bluff by the va ricus classes:
 Wholesale Grocers. 10 firms s5,- | 400 GOO.
 Wholesale Gran. Mixed Feed and l Flour. 6 firms, $4.50O,O0O.
 Whole hacking houe products, I
 Whole hardware and dry goods, 6
 firms. $2.000,OO0.
 Wholesale lumber products, 15
 firms. $3,725,0 ,00N.
 l Wholesale cotton seed oil and pro-
 ducts. 3 firms. $3 BOG, GOO. l Wholesale produce, 3 firms. $5Oo.- 000 { l Wholesale foundry and machine
 shops. 6 firms. $aO0 900. I Retail lines. $49SO.O .O0O.
 Cotton receipts. l50.0O0 bales, $22.- 800 0OO
 Freight paid. inbound. $1 .30O.O
 Freight paid. outbound. $SO0,000. < Population. g 900.