Evening star., 1923-01-04
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL. Y. COLLINS.

Senator Capper and Senator-elect
shipstead join, in behalf of the radi-
cal farm bloc interests, in demanding
that freight rates must come down
for the benefit of farming. Senator
Shipstead made certain startling
statements in a speech before the
City Club recently. which have
brought direct contradictions of facts
from Samuel M. FELTON,. president OF
| the Chicago Great Western rail-
road. Senator Shipstead argued that
rates ought to come down, because,
he said, a freight train now carries
twenty times as much freight as 1t
did twenty years ago, and the same
crew handles it, yet rates are higher
and then men do not get enough
wages to keep them from striking"
| President FELTON, retorts that the
| average train does not carry more
| than twice as much as II did twenty
years ago and that wages have SO
increased that, instead of cost OF
.415 cents, II is now .902 cents per
ton-mile. Freights have risen 81 per
\ cent in twenty years because of the
| increased cost of handling, mainly
due to higher wages.
| y y X
| Without undertaking to decide as
to the wide divergence of facts in
| the Shipstead and the FELTON, state
ments-though it seems likely that
| the railroad president knows more
about railroad statistics than does the
St. Paul dentist-it is urged by
| friends of agriculture that there may
be possibilities of freight reduction
for farmers even without demoraliz-
| ing freight rates of the railroads.
| The whole subject is too complicated
| and multifarious for any one to dis
| cuss ii offhand or to speak oracu-
larly. 1t Is suggested that the farm
ers have, to large degree, their own
slipshod methods of marketing to
loads of sand and gravel and weed
seeds and low-grade grain mixed
| with their wheat. They pay wheat
rates on the sand and trash that
| comes out of their net profits.
grain cleaner lowers freight rates.
1t is not merely the freight on the
| trash. but the depreciation of the
! grade of grain which is costly. And
the same principle applies equally to
other farm shipments. Potatoes un-
sorted may have 20 per cent small
potatoes mixed with first grade. and
so increase the freight rate 20 per
cent or more, for after the cullS are
sorted and discarded the choice .po-
the whole lot was before sorting.
! X X
1t is much easier to demand of
others a saving which would be at
their expense while ignoring the pos
sibilities all about us to make the
saving at no expense to any party,
but with positive economy. 1t is
| quite likely that greater economies
may be introduced into freight han
ding. but not necessarily through re-
! ducing the cost per ton-mile with
| the present style of equipment and
methods of loading. and certain II is
; that the mere demand that rates
must be lowered to enable farmers
to live" is not scientific in proving
that rates can be lowered without
| lowering wages, unless more detailed
facts are found on which to base the
| claim. Competition of motor trucks
J and OF water routes will do far more
toward compelling railroads to find
possibilities of meeting that compe-
| tition than will any oratory aimed to
impress constituents. Farm CO.
operation will do more toward farm
profits than anything else.
The public has suffered severely
during the last year because of the
inadequate freight service. for thou
sands Of carloads Of fruit and other
perishable freight have been wasted
and never brought to market through
car shortage. It is claimed by the
Shipping Board that steps are being
taken to provide ships equipped to
! carry such cargoes hereafter. and
there is a bill pending now in Con-
gress. introduced by Senator Hiram
Johnson of California, to prohibit
| stockholders dividends on the stock
of any railroad until the road has a
certificate from the Interstate Com
merce Commission showing that 1t is
adequately equipped with rolling
stock to meet the market needs.
X
These are steps toward correcting g
lack of service which will be at least
as important to farmers and the
country as reduction of rates unit
it be shown that rates can be adjusted
without disturbing wages or other
conditions basic to their amount. The
lack of facilities to haul the 10000