The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-11-01
HALF MILLION
SAVED DAKOTA
ON C0ALBILL
Railway Administration Wins
Important Victory in Fight
for Ignite Rates.
OLD TARIFFS RESTORED
Freight Charges, Going Down
From 80 Cents to 50 Per Ton
on Native Fuel.
OLD TARIFFS RESTORED

North Dakota's winter coal bill will
be from 100000 TO 100000 less as a
result OF an insistent campaign
waged by the North Dakota railway
commission unremittingly since early
April, and whose success was an
nounced in an order received today
from the federal railway administra.
ton restoring the freight rates on lig.
mite 10 the favorable .-sledule which
prevailed prior TO the federal rail-
way administration horizontal ad-
vance OF all rates last April.
The saving on local shipments with
in a radius OF l25 miles, and which
will affect - per cent OF North Da.
ko,as coal consumers, will be 50 to
~ cents per ton, stated James A.
Little, rate expert for the North Da.
kota railway commission, today. On
longer hauls. up to $50 miles. the say
ing per ton will be propOrtiOnately
greater. and on interstate rates into
Minnesota and South Dakota territory
the saving per ton will be from ninety
cents to 81.
Consumer Gets II.
I uucT luc CuAOASSi W
the federal fuel administration, this
saving will be passed on to the con.
sumer. For instance, Bismarck will
pay but $3.50 to $40 per ton for VIII
ton and Beulah Ignite, instead OF 50
as at present. Fargo's saving will be
between 80 cents and 81 per ton, in
all probability, while the reduction
70 the twin cities would be 81 per ton,
Enabling North Dakota Ignite mines
to sell their product in competition
with the cheap Indiana and Illinois
bituminous Goals.
These rates will be made effective
on one days notice following the pub
LEGATION of the new tariffs, which
should be out by the middle Of the
month. The reduction will then auto
nlatically affect all retail sales OF llg'
mite in North Dakota. The new
schedule of rates Is practically the
same as that which prevailed in North
Dakota for several years prior to the
general advance in freight rates ord
cred by the federal railway admins
tration last April. The order not only
appied the horizontal increase Of %
per cent to North Dakota Ignite rates,
but it wiped out entirely the preferen-
tial rate which the state railway adj
ministration had succeeded in estab-
fishing after "a several years battle,
and applied to- the intrastate tariff on
Ignite previous advances from which
this special tariff had been immune,
making the entire boost somewhere
etween 40 and 65 per cent.
Rail Board on Job. :.
The North Dakota railway commits
sion. acting entirely on it's own in
itiative, Immediately protested this
advance. A conference was held at
Fargo, where all the producers, ship
pers, retailers and many consumers
were represented, from South Dakota
and Minnesota as well as North Da-
kota. In May second conference
was held in the Twin Cities. where
the railway commissions Of Minnesota
and South Dakota joined with the
North Dakota board in presenting
memorial to the federal railway adj
ministration. Rate expert James A.
Little made trip to Washington and
spent two weeks there In May and
June dining iuto the ears Of admins
traticn officials the injustice of the
new Ignite rates. Then. in Septem'
her, there was a thir dand f.Ial con-
ference in tho Twin Cities. The Ma
tional Association Of Hallway Com
missioners helped the - tn Dakota
board with its fight, which has fin
ally resulted in one of the most COM