The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1921-05-05
ASK LOWER FREIGHT
RATES FOR IDAHO
STRONG RESOLUTIONS PASSED
BY COMMITTEE FROM THE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE..

has passed resolutions which are K
he sent to Senators Borah and Good
ing and Representative French ant
Smith. The resolutions follow.
"Whereas: The present freight
rates make it practically impossible u
market the products of the farms
the mines, and the forests of the
State; and, whereas, the perpetuatlor
of these industries depends upon ar
immediate reduction of freight rates
that affect this territory:
Therefore Be 1t Resolved by the
Chamber of Commerce at Moscow
that the matter be brought to the I'M
mediate attention of our Represen-
tatives in Cngress with the request
that they exert every effort to bring
about an immediate amelloratlon OF
this condition.
81. H. FORNEY
'sWm. E. LEE
"E. J. IDDINGS
"FRANCIS A. THOMSON,
COMMITTEE. y
&c. J. MUNSON,
"Secretarv Moscow Chamber of
Commerce"
In discussing the freight rate ques-
tion with the chamber of commerce
committee, w. J. Jordan, general
agent for the Northern Pacific at
Lewiston, said:
In connection with matter OF re-
.duction in freight rates, that SO many
things enter into the question. That
in order to get the facts that it will
be necessary to go back to 1918, or
before the war Conditions so far as
TRANSFORMATION lines were concern
ed. were bad enough at that time,
brought about by state and federal
LEGISLATION. There was no one who
cared to purchase railroad securities.
The result was the railroads were in
bad way financially, when the roads
passed into government control. One
of the first things that was done was
the pooling of equipment. This means
that the interstate railway could load
a car with cotton in New Orleans,
and ship it to Seattle, or Northern
Pacific car could be loaded with lum-
Der at Puget Sound and billed to New
Orleans, or any other point in the
south. Within three months some OF
the big railroads had less than one
eighth of their own equipment on
their own rails. The light equipment
of Eastern and Southern roads was
soon out of service on account OF
shortage of men and material. Few
repairs were made to cars during the
period of government control. The
result was that when the roads were
turned back about one year ago, the
freight equipment was in horrible
condition. 1t will take millions and
of dollars to put it back IN
shape to handle the commerce OF this
nation, when once it starts to move. /
II foId 1fc nf
money to rebuild the cars and equip |
ment that must be provided. Did you
ever stop to think that railroad
brings every commodity that gets in
to your home, sugar, coffee, flour,
linen, tableware, etc. Then they pur
chase all sorts of material, plush,
leather, lumber, steel, iron, in fact
every commodity that is used in any
factory or home. They pay the same
for all these things that you pay You
of the price of coal, stop
and think for just one minute what
his one item means to a railroad?
Mr. Shearer just spoke of paying
! carpenter $500 a day to do some
work on his ranch Stop and think
# the thousands of carpenters and
,ther mechanics that it is going TO
AXE to put the equipment of Ameri- /.
an railroads back in the shape it
vas in before the war. Did you ever
top to think that the Northern Pa
ific Railway pays three per cent Of
he taxes of Latah County-the cost
f construction of your highways. In
lez Perce County, Lewiston, the
Northern Pacific pays one-eighth of
be total tax of that county, paid one
ighth of cost of the famous hill +.
ighway, one-eighth of maintenance !,
f all other highways for the automo-
lie. The stage and the automobile :
elp put them out of business. An
ther factor that is doing more to !
auperize the western railroads than !.
ny thing else is the Panama Canal. :
ou never see train of tea or train !
silk any more; on any of the west
m railroads. All Of the exports and
nported goods that formerly moved
trough the western gateway, for the
rient are moving through this canal. n
he same applies on structural steel, r
anufactured products that origina- =
d in Newark and other Atlantic sea- y
BARD points that in te past meant i
} much to the railroad company. .
his too, is moving through the canal :,
on all realize the part labor is play u
3 III CIlc OpcTdLlOu Ol CIo American h
ailway. Sixty-eight per cent of the n n
tai earnings is being paid out in p
ages. This is matter that has N
ken up practically all of the labor M M
ards time since first of January,
th no decision yet in sight. Now
so long as this condition
lists, how can freight or passenger
tes be reduced? No business man P.
r one minute wants to see our az
get any worse than it :,
at this time. Stop and think of W
lat the situation might be today to or
e nations of the world, had Ameri- ia
n railways failed to function dur B1