The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-08-19
BURDEN ON FARMERS
a. sk,Fs III: r sia..
Increased Freight Rates
Are Great Injustice
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EFFECTS IN NORTHWEST.
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Mirnesotans Appear At Hearing
Before Interstate Commerce
-. Commission
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than the pay reductions in almost
any other line OF industry, and their
profits have been entirely wiped out
as a result OF the increases in
freight rates on farm products, put
to effect while values OF moSt crops
were rapidly decreasing, representa-,
tives OF the Minnesota agricultural
interests told members of the Inter
state Commerce commission here to-
day.
Thomas e. eastman, OF Owatonna,
representing the Minnesota Farm
Bureau federation, and E. w. Peck,
director of agricultural extension
work, University of Minnesota, APP
peared before the commission In its
hearings on freight rates on grain.
AN increase Of even FIVE cents a
bushel in the cost OF shipping grain
is enough to cut the farmers actual
wages for his labor fifty percent"
Mr.. Peck told the commission. Five
cents a bushel is a relatively small
part of the cost of product an acre
of wheat, but when the producer is
operating on narrow margin, as
even the best Minnesota farmers are
operating this year, a difference or
FIVE cents a bushel may mean a diff
ference of fifty per cent in the return
! for the farmers hour labor. In figur-
ing the results of high freight rates
on the producers of food the inter
state commerce commission must
use the same basis it uses in figuring
the results of rate changes on the
railroads; that is, it must take into
consideration the effect on the wages
of the men doing the work.
GAS matter of fact, the commits.
sion cannot consider the effect of
freight rates on the farmers net
profit, in most cases. 1t is a question
of reducing his loss as far as possible
and giving him some return for his
physical labor"
Producer Heavily Burdened.
That practically the entire burden
of increased freight rates on grain
has been borne by the producer him
self, was shown by statistics COM
piled by the Minnesota Farm Bureau
federation and introduced before the
commission by Mr.. eastman. High
transportation costs also are directly
responsible for paralysis of the build
ing industry during the last two
years. which has thrown the country
as a whole far behind normal hous-
ing program, Mr.. eastman declared.
selfish in their fight against exorbi-
tant freight rate" he told the com
missioners. "Their own business de-
pend on a reduction of rates to a
reasonable basis. But the interests of
other business enterprises and OF
hundreds of thousands of morgan
lied citizens are being undermined
by unwise transportation charges"
On July z, he said, lumber COM
pany in Everett, Wash, shipped a
carload of lumber to a dealer in Owa-
tonna, Mimi. The total charge laid
down at the Minnesota station was
s1,575, he said, while the freight and
war tax amounted to S564.9S, leaving
S1,01002 or less than two thirds of
the cost at Owatonna as the price re-
ceived by the lumber company. On
April Is, he said, a Seattle lumber
company received $109.S9 for a carload
lumber shipped to Minnesota, and
the freight amounted to S532.
Presented Exhibit.
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 normally
would have been building their own
inflated COSTS" Mr.. eastman said.
The Minnesota farm bureau pre-
scented an exhibit showing prices
paid for grain on the Minneapolis
market. July Is this year, and the
prices paid on the same day, for the
same kind and quality of grain, at
country shipping points at varying
Paul. The exhibit showed that on
July Is, the price of southern Min
nesota No. 1 Red Spring wheat was
s1.5S a bushel, while at Bird Island.
80 miles southwesti of Minneapolis.
the price was S1.41 bushel, the
freight from Bird Island to Mime
apolis being Is cents a hundred
weight At Montevideo on the same
railroad in the same general direc-
ton. 1874 miles from Minneapolis, the
price paid for the same kind of wheat
was s140, the exhibit showed, due
to the fact that the freight rate to
Minneapolis in this case was one
cent hundred weight more from
Montevideo, than from Bird Island.
On the same date, Mr.. eastman.
eaid, the Minneapolis market was
oats, while at Milbank, S. D., the farm
or was receiving twenty five cents a
hushel. the freight rate making up
napt Of S Mnnesot 's suF
plus OF corn and oats must go to
waste, Mr.. eastman told the mem
hers of the commission. unless freight
rates on grain are reduced.
FARMER Pays the ems
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Freight rates on a carload Of corn
from Nebraska farm to Omaha paw
able in 1914 " the sale of 11S bush
els. now costs the market price of
392 bushels, J. w. Shorthill, secre-
tary of the Farmers National Grain
Dealers Association. told the Inter
state Commerce Commission today at
hearings on grain freight rates.
Farmers in twelve states, Mr..
Shorthill said, had effected savings
amounting to five cents a bushel in
handling grain through CO. operative
elevators and markets system, but
recent freight rate increases had
more than wiped It out. Evan IL grain
could be produced at 1914 cents
costs, he added. farmers would lose
money at present freight rates and
prices. Corn costingg IS cents a
bushel to produce on a 1914 produc-
ton cost basis. sells today for 46
rents in Omaha, the farmer getting
about 80 cents after handling and
transportation charges are paid. he
said. -
'Tt doesn't matter whether the far
mer sells in the next town. the next
county or ut a 6stant market, he
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