Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-08-17

uring the results 81 high freight
rates on tho producers Of food, the
interest TO the commerce commission
must use the earne basis It use In
figuring the results OF rate changes
on the railroads; that is, It must take
into consideration the effect on the
the wages Of the men doing the work
Question Of Loss.
"As q matter Of fact, the commits
sion cannot consider the effect OF
freight rates on the farmers net pros
at, in most cases, It - question of
reducing his loss as Tar as possible.
and giving him some return for his
physical labor"
That practically the entire burden.
of increased freight rates on grain
has been borne by the, producer him
self, was shown by statistics cornptl-
ed by the Minnesota Farm Bureau
federation and introduced before the
commission by Mr.. eastman. High
transportationsScosts also are directly
Responsible for paralysis Of the build
Ing industry during the last two
years, which has thrown the country
as q whole far behind normal heus-
ing program. Mr.. eastman declared.
The farmers are not altogether
selfish in their fight against exorbi-
tant, rates." he told the commission.
Their own business depends on a
reduction Of rates to a reasonable
basis. But the interests of other
business enterprises and of hundreds
Of thousands Of unorganized citizens
are being undermined by unwtse
transportation charges"
Hits Building.
On. July ~, he said, a lumber cssn-
pany in Everett, Wash, shipped q
carload Of lumber to q dealer in Owa-
tonna, MINI. The total charge laid
down at the Minnesota station was
$1,575, he said, while the freight and,
war al amounted to $564.8S, leaving
S1,0I0.o2 or less than two-thirds OF
received by, the lumber company. On
April Is, he said, a Seattle lumber
company received $108.S9 for a car-
load Of lumber shipped to Minnesota,
and the freight amounted to $500.
Thousands of American families
will be compelled to pay exorbitant
rents because high freight rates have
increased the price of building ma
terial until the families that normal
" would have been building their
own homes have been unable to pay
Compare Prices.
The Minnesota farm bureau\ pre-
scented an exhibit showing prices paid
for grain on the Minneapolis market,
July IL this year, and the prices paid
on the same day, for the same kind
and quality Of grain, al country ship
ping points at varying distances from
Minneapolis and St Paul. The ex-
hfbit showed that on July Is, the,
price Of southern Minnesota No. i
Red Spring wheat was $1.58 a bush
eli, while at Bird Island, SO miles
southwest of Minneapolis, the price
was $1.41 q bushel, the freight from
Bird Island to Minneapolis being IL
cents q hundred weight. . At Monte
video on the same railroad in the
same general direction, 1874 miles
miles from Minneapolis, the price
paid for the same kind Of wheat was
$1.4o, the exhibit showed, due to the
fact that the freight rate to Mime:
apolis in this case was one cent q
hundred weight more from Monte
video, than from Bird Island.
On the same date, Mr.. eastman
said, the Minneapolis market was
paying IS cents a bushel for oats,
while at Milbank, 8. D., the farmer
was receiving Is cents a bushel, the
freight rate making up the difference
in price.
A large part Of Minnesota's pros
pective surplus Of corn and oats
must 60 to waste, Mr.. eastman told
the members Of the commission, un-
tless freight rates on grain are re-
tducei. A@