The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-06-26
RAIL RATES MUST COME DOWN

n AHROAD executives seem 10 have come TO the conclusion n
II railroad freight rates must be reduced TO revive business.
Tn announced that a reimbursement Of freight rates will
announced on trunk lines west Of Colorado and Utah and terrific
east Of the Mississippi and north Of the Ohio and Potomac rivers 4
lowing q conference soon to be held in Chicago.
The railroad problem is one Of the biggest confronting this eor
Try at this time.
Two pictrrcs ere presented Of it in recen, addresses Of pub
men, One is by senator capper Of Kansas, who places the emit
blame for the greatly disturbed agricultural conditions ON the hi
railroad rates, and the other picture is by Herbert Hoover who agrs
that railroad rates should come down. but takes a little dihere
view Of the situation.
The Senator in his indictment Of railroad rates said:
1T costs more to ship fruit from the Pacific coast 10 the
middle west, or produce from the middle west TO the east,
than IL does 70 bring these products here from foreign eoun-
tries, and the high value Of the American dollar and the ex-
cessvc exchange rate do the rest.
t'whle Italy sells her lemon crop here, our lemons rot
because they 40 not bring enough to pay freight , rates. ,, we
Denmark. eggs and poultry from starving Chine, potatocs
from Norway, mutton from New Zealand, corn and beef
from South America, and wool from everywhere.
AT the same time sheep from our ranges, fruit from
Florida and California, vegetables from Texas and the south,
hay aud oats and other products from the west, have been
sold in the big market for less than enough 10 pay the freight,
consequently enormous quantities Of these homegrown pro-
duets se now bring permitted TO rot because 1t does not
pay 20 ship them"
The senator further says:
THE people have paid the railroads nearly one billion
dollars within the last few years by way of a government
guaranty. On cop Of that they have paid higher rail rates,
amounting 70 from 80 10 50 per cent These rates almost alb
sorb the farmers grain, also a large percentage Of his live
stock they have absorbed the decrease in the price Of lum-
berF they have helped in many ways TO demoralize the bus
iness Of the country and to- prevent lis rccuperation. And
with al this the roads now arc stalled ON the up grade; they
are not making expenses and are not getting any new bus
iness,
"The chief reason is that. with other values coming
down and with farm prices al bedrock. the roads are charg-
ing more than the traffic will bear. This means that as long
as present rates are maintained the roads win not be able TO
do enough business 20 maintain themselves"
In an entirely. different line OF reasoning, Mr.. Hoover says;
THE railways in the United States, more than in any
other place in the world, are the keys Of industry. No one
cap question the financial difficulties Of the railways and the
fundamental necessity Of producing for them financial sta
hiify. But I conceive that the continued use OF an emer-
geney horizontal basis OF rate increases can be seriously
questioned. I believe any examination Of the rate-making
structure Of this country viii show that II was based funda-
mentally upon charges varying TO a rough extent with the
value Of commodities. This method was modified by com.
petition. aud by the deliberate policy Of the railways 10
stimulate local industries and local production. Horizontal
rate increases have thrown the relatively Of these rate scales
out Of gear, both rs TO value Of commodities and zones OF dis
fribufion. The increase Of the rate may amount TO . per
cent on the shippers value of some commodities and so per
cent on others
cheapest transportation in the world for their basic raw
materials, with a higher diderenial on their finished pro-
duets. We have many complaints Of the hardship worked
By the upset In ratio; complaints that IL is ~readjusting the
commercial and industrial map Of the United States com
plants that In some industries the charge can be passed ON
10 the consumer, while in others, such A. agriculture, II falls
largely upon the producer; and complaints that Il is sitting
production.
must be earned BY the railways, there must be a commodity
and class rsadiustment In rates. both IN the interest Of the
community and the railways themselves. Such q readJust-
ment Of rates was indeed forecast by the interstate com
merce commission as a necessity at the time Of the last hor-
f1onfal rate increase. We must also look forward 20 ulti-
mafe REDUCTIONS in rates IL the economic levels Of the coun-
try are 70 find an equilibrium
fcrerf They have been attempting TO get railroad wages redn
ana have succeeded. though not 10 the extent they desired. III
vfews on The quesution Of whether lower rates will increase busin
aud thereby revenue, can probably be deducted from 'heir amour