The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1924-12-24

pays the Country Gentleman taxes Of
$469.65, which, with the freight totals
$1043.65.
Under Uncle Sam S operation he
will pay freight and taxes amounting
| to $l043.65. During 1928 he paid
freight and taxes amounting to ST.
0334l Therefore he lost the enor.
nous sum Of $lo.24.
But Mr.. Wheatgrower says Uncle
Sam viii pay those taxes. I didn t
drain off any taxes, All I drained
off was $7,OO0,0 100000 worth of moth
ing. III take care of the taxes SO
the wheat raiser of $500 bushels
saved $253.A when Uncle Sam opcr-
ated, or in other wards, the taxes on
his half section cost him $l0.24 in
stead of $263.40.
What was the trouble with the
Country GentIeman's figures?
Now, just one more reason against
high freight rates: While railroading
is to % years ago for J. J. Hill,
known as the "railroad wizard of the
world operating through sage brush
in parts of Dakota, all of Montana
and nothing west of Spokane to the
Columbia river but sage brush and
coyotes, going across two noun
tain ranges, part of the time over
switch-backs; later on replaced by a
3-mile tunnel at a. tremendous cost;
snow slides taking out bridges every
week during the snow season; built
two of the largest vessels afloat that
cost millions called ,the Minnesota
and Dakota; the former sunk after
few voyages and the latter he sold
for practically nothing; and of this
deal l heard him say one day he was
glad they were gone as they had never
panned out as expected He also
built in Seattle the largest dock at
that time ON Puget Sound. Us boys
were always glad, though, when ons1
of those vessels landed for it mean,
train after train to take off their car
gos, and many a time every car in a
train would be loaded with silk for
Boston or some other big eastern
city. And [ am sorry to state that
the freight bills from Seattle TO Bos-
ton would be only a trifle more than
half what they are now on car load
of coal, salt or irvine into Nezperce
for this comparatively short haul and
no such weather conditions to contend
with.
To further demonstrate this fact,
a local raneher recently told me he
shipped two or three cars of barley
to st. Lewis, Mo-, about that time
20 years ago-and the freight was 80
cents hundred. Today it is rs cents
a hundred to Minneapolis, only half
the distance.
Today those sage brush districts
have towns, elevators and warehouses.
Everywhere the railroads are putting
in provisions, coal, lumber, salt, i'm
Elements, etc, and hauling out grain
and stock; not building tunnels and
making ventures in boat and dock
building. And we were paid good
wages in those days compared with
,ther labor. The farm hand cot SIS
month. Us boys on the Cascade dl.
yision got brakemen, 500 to sos
month; firemen, $l15 to 1925; con
iuctors and engineers, around $50.
And with all his ups and downs the
abroad wizard was millionaire
ong before he died.
Today, with vast freight tonnage
n all directions, compared with those
lays, and at that time competition
Tas the keynote of all traffic, and to- I
ay with a set price and rule-noth I
ng to lose-just mild form of truss !
r monopoly.
Look back just few years and con
ider what these combinations have
accomplished, such as the Information !
| Harvester Co., the meat packers.
he shoe manufacturers, the sugar
rust, the aluminium trustl They can |,
OF, they have not, nor do they in 7
md to lose. If space would permit d
could show you in figures how eacn .
nd all cleared into millions annually =
Those monopolies hurt the masses of :
ommon people, and fear the rail
Dad merger viii do likewise; and in
set, more SO, for they run on wheels
and Henry Ford says everything
lght to be on wheels. He had
ream lately. He thought he was
lad and that six stalwart Paul Bear Z