The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1921-08-06
OLD TIMER ON FREIGHT RATES

OLD LINEN yin TN6lOE1A M
Dear Mr.. Editor writer has
intended, for some time, to give you
a letter on freight rates. but has
waited to see. whether he would nave
anything TO ship.%as it might be sald
of him. "Now. there is that old hay
seed, kicking about freight rates
when he has nothing to ship, even
IF we offered to haul his stun for
nothing" but it looks as If we Will
have something to ship, hence this
letter.
The freight rates can be put under
8 heads"
LIST. "They are excessive"
End. "They are still more exces-
' srd. "They are too d Excess
sive.
The railroads claim they are going
broke, are running at loss etc., but
how this can be, the writer cannot
understand. The government is just
giving them a half billion dollars.
The farmers, lumber mills, hoop
mills and every other branch OF in
dustry, over the entire country, are
working for them. as they get the
X.
stances, all the profits, in freight
rates. One of our local mills ship,
ped out a lot of slaves. They sold
for $40 per thousand delivered;
the freight rate was 1884 per thous-
and; netting the mill $2.76 per
thousand; but it cost the mill $4.06
per thousand to make these slaves;
labor and overhead expenses, you
need not trouble to figure this out,
everybody knows the answer. The
mill was working for the railroad.
The writer bought a barrel Of black
strap mol.sses, in Baton Rouge, for
$500 anu the freight from there, to
Ferriday; was $4.30 and thus, with
other freight to the end of the chap
ter, and more so.
The railroads claim, the high wages
paid their employees, is one cause OF
high rates. but this is not true. The
wages ARE no higher than in other
branches of skilled labor. There could
be more efficient service, but there
is so much red tape; so many pre-
cedents. rules, and as the wonder il,
the employees ms so welk The rail-
roads should retrench, from the top,
not from the bottom, cut the salary
Of the high priced officials, atleast
6ne-haH; squeeze the water out of the
stock and put the roads on a pay
! ing basis. An investment is only
worth the interest it pays and none Of
the holders of stock outside the pre-
Z feared class are getting any interest,
but the preferred class are getting
Instead -of the government giving
the railroads half billion dollars
10 relieve congestion" (Mr. Editor.
$5000.00 would relieve the writer's
congestion) they should be made to
4 trim down to their natural size, throw
{. ever all unnecessary ballast and run
on an even keel. We will have no re-
lief until the farmers, mill men and
all other produces, go on Q strike.
We have been taxed to put this money
I in the treasury and half billion
dollars of it, goes to the railroads
and we will continue to give the rail-
roads an the profits on what we pro-
duce while we are being taxed for
another half billion, which will also
10 to the railroads. Mr.. Editor, we
are being ''two tin6ed," what the
z hunters call shooting 'em setting
and flying" -
We need not look for any relief
from the senate or other powers in
Washington. For many of them. own
or have kinsmen and close friends
- who own, railroads stock, and thesE
who have the power do not use il
for the country's good but to block
more that might keep.
From the new point of the writer
they have no conception of the rea
state of affairs but are like Nero
~fiddling," while Rome was burning
We have no statesmen, as hav'
4 England and France, we have only
politics, who have been in power too
long. They have not kept pace witt
events. They are not promoters, bui
obstructionists. There is q tribe ole
maxim''You cant teach and old dos
new tricks" and the trouble is, tn
whole business of the world is full
Of new tricks and there are too manI
cid dogs, who cant learn them. There
4 fore, my brethren, let US get together
~The Lord keeps him who keeps him
self" Let US organize and strike; le
as put a mighty man at our head, wht
will snnite the railroad rates, as Samp
son smote the Philistines, but let us b
sure he does not use Sampson'
weapons, the jawbone Of an ass. To,
many of our so called great mel
are using that weapon, and while i
did very well to kill Philistines with, i
would not get US very far, in thes,
advanced days. Many people vii
look on this, as a joke and possibly.
may be, but IL can be made a seriou
reality and is the only way by whicl
we viii get relief.
Yours truly,
OLD TIMER.
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