The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-07-26


d years men have been trying to gt
:, a road built from Rogerson, nes
: Twin Falls, to Wells, New, to cor
8 meet with the Western Pacific. Dul
: ing the past two years such an Ell
!, fort seemed to have been just abou
completed, but nobody would ad
vance the money to build it, an
only recently 1t was given up. Will
e the promoting was In progress tn
Union Pacific kept their hands Of
+. and put no obstacles in the way, an,
now they have been asked to bull,
the line of nfnety-seven miles t
haul freight to. = competitive line
taking the long haul east away from
their own road and by = short haul
turning 1t over to another road t
take to market. This looks like poo
business on the part of the Uniol
Pacific. but 1t will be such q goo.
thing for southern Idaho farmer
and stockmen, they decided to do i
and take the consequences. since
the Los Angeles route was built, Il
has been a great advantage to Utah
/ and this shorter route from Idaho
to tidewater4 should benefit Idaho.
Regarding Freight Rates
Freight rates will always hold out
two different view points the same
as the buyer and seller of any COM
modify will always hold two differ
ent viewpoints. The shipper wants
low rate. The consumer wants a
low rate, and the railroad needs a
good rate in order to make good
with the stockholders, to protect its
credit, to keep up improvements and
to pay the much-demanded living
wage. Railroads are not now max
ing money, but are working to get
/ into a position to handle the large
volume of traffic that is ahead, and
they hope to make money. A year
and half ago there was an insistent
demand for lower freight rate on
alfalfa hay, and cut of five dollars
a ton to Chicago was granted to see
II it would afford relief to the Idaho
alfalfa growers. The net result was
that the price of alfalfa hay dropped
IS ton in Chicago when the lower
rate went into effect, the growers got
just the same for hay that they did
before, and the railroad company
was doing the hauling at less than
cost. An emergency rate on Idaho
potatoes last fall only served to in
crease the glut in the markets, and
it is doubtful If the growers received
any benefits. What the farmer
needs everywhere is a better price
for his products, and it is only by
the excellence of the Idaho potatoes
that they got into the markets at all
last year because the great cOnsum-
ing centers could get potatoes from
any direction. The same difference is
not expected to hold true in grain
shipments, and reduction of six or
seven cents on grain from the Snake
river valley is soon to 60 into effect
There is q world market price on
grain, and our shipping some grain |
is not likely to affect the market !
price as did our alfalfa to Chicago /
and other lake points. The western |
and Australia are pro-
ducing heavily in wheat, and Europe
has not the money to buy, so it may
be best to raise but little wheat for
few years, or, better than that, ar
range to consume 1t on the farm by
feeding 1t to stock. This will fit in
with the dairy program of solving
freight rates and markets Raising
grain and alfalfa to ship east for
dairymen to use, men who ship their
products to the mountain states and
the Pacific coast, might better be re-
versed and feed the products to dairy
stock here and ship the concentrated
product in the form of butter and
cheese cOndensing trainload of
he raw product into a carload or
wo of the finished product such as
)utter and cheese, and the freight
IN it will be so little as compared
With the freight on the trainload, it
will be Insignificant. Much has been
aid for lower rates in this valley and
lot enough has been done by the
armers themselves, to get their pro-
ucts into condensed form for ship
nent such as has just been mem +.
toned, and in getting potatoes
orted and graded so that no freight .
eed be paid on the culls and dam ,
ged ones. Raising and shipping \
etter and fatter stock is in keeping
18th the same idea and in all things Z
here it is possible, the product that +
as a large value per ton should be I
hipped, rather than the product :
aving the low value per ton. 1t is :
orth just as much, 1t costs just as I
luch for the railroad company to L
aul ton of one thing as ton of '
mother. The fact that ton has a L
w advalorem value does not make '
any easier for the company to L
aul 1t. but it makes a vast differ u
Ice whether the farmer and shipper a
1t one dollar for it over and above =
lie freight charges or a hundred =
)llars. j
There has been considerable talk \,
certain quarters, about making n
ilroad rates on a mileage basis in D
cad of on the present basis, and If =
is were done Idaho products would I,
lily get about as far as GREEN River
the present rates. Such basis is T,
vived occasionally and does not D
and the test of analysis and D
actice. n
The question of rates is never a I'd
after of vital interest excepting q
len the markets are demoralized.
lie people and the railroad can do D.
pre- toward keeping markets nor Al
al by storing part of their crops G,
d letting them be moved to the HI
assuming centers gradually as FL