The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-07-28
EFFEcT OF NEW FREIGHT RATES.

with the boosting OF prices, and ne foresaW q
revival of the old familiar excuse that advance
in commodity prices was because OF increased
freights. Railway men now tell us that II an
Improbable rise IN price is foisted upon the pub
lie it is not justified, because when distributed
over the thousands of articles IN a consignment
sof goods, the new tariffs that will be made
Necessary to take care of an additional SIX hum
dred million dollars will not raise the price of
many things more than a fraction OF a cent. 1t
is pointed out that the freight on one hundred
pounds of butter brought from far western
creamery is less than the retailer charges for
one pound of it, so the grocer will not be justi-
fed in lacking on two or three cents pound;
nor win the price of a key Of nails, or pair OF
shoes or a new hat or a moving machine be
raised by more than small fractional part by
| the new freight rates which, of course, every
railroad must now put into operation or depart
from public view.
| It is figured that for family Of fve a thirty
per cent. advance In freight rates would repre-
sent for all the food eaten in week just the
price OF shoe shine. Ten cents would be the
maximum increase on the cost of food, while
the increase In the cost of clothing for a week
is too small to be figured out in any coin now
minted by the United States.
Let hundred men each order good steak
at hotel In Keokuk and the bill will be not less
than $3.50 for the dinner. How much more
would those hundred steaks cost the meat dealer
were the railroad to get thirty per cent. In
crease for hauling them from Chicagos Just
about ten cents for the lot
The afterdinner cigar of one man at the
table would about equal the whole extra cost OF
the beef for the entire party of one hundred!
A rise in freight rates might be used as an
excuse by dealers for boosting food and clothing
prices to consumers, but in reality it would be
almost impossible to translate such increase
TO individual cases because it would be SO small
a man will pay five dollars for theater tick
cts, plus the fifty cents war tax and regard the
transaction as an evenings amusement. But
that war tax alone on those tickets would just
pay for the extra freight charge in carrying
100 suits of clothes from the Rochester or New
York City maker to their Keokuk wearers. Pre-
lcisely half cent for the best suit of clothes is
what that thirty per cent increase spells
Vice President George Dallas Dixon, OF the
Pennsylvania railroad, figured from the rate
schedule few years ago exactly what fifteen
per cent increase in freight rates at that time
would mean to the family table.
For family of five, it meant three and one.
half cents in one week And Mr.. Dixon took a
Ill I!Iy Oh gO0Q average Size loI Vie DdSS VI uio
calculations.
Twenty two cents, which is what thirty
per cent. increase would be, would just pay for
the increased cost of two eggs eaten every
morning for the whole of next year-even sup
posing the eggs had to come all the way from
New York City warehouse to Keokuk.
For the flour that goes into faInlly's bread,
the extra charge would be negligible-less than
twelve cents for 100 pounds Of flour transport
ed from MINNEAPOLIS to Keokuk-
Maintenance of the railroads as paying In
vestment is not only vital to the trade and com
nerce of the country, it is justly vital TO the
tens of thousands of small investors who hold
railroad securities and to the immensely larger
army of insurance holders, the strength OF
whose policies is In large measure protected by
the railroad bonds which the insurance COM /
1panies have invested in The American uni
versities hold millions of dollars worth of rail
road securities in their endowment funds and
the interest paid upon these goes back to the
girls and boys who receive their training out
OF the income On these holdings. The whole
situation touches the average and woman
more than he or she mnagines and the outcome
of the effort to readjust conditions should be fol
lowed ntelHgently and not with an attitude Of
blind criticism
This has been very hard summer many
folk, particularly SO those who love to inform