The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1931-03-19

did not apply to points located out
side of the Fargo rate zone.
The City of Sank Centre is not
naturally within the Fargo terri
tory and transacts practically no
business with Fargo even though
these rates which were supposed to
make it possible for Fargo to COM
pete with Minneapolis and st. Paul,
in Sank Centre, have been in exc
cution for approximately four
years. g. .
Sank Centre is not a jobbing cen
ter, the only products being shipped
out being farm stock and produce
in original state or manufactured
into butter, dressed poultry, etc,
and a substation here where fruit
house ships car loads lots of fruit
and distributes the same out from
Sank Centre. It's manufacturing
and produce are much less than
Alexandria, Morris, Glenwood and
many other, points within the so
called Fargo rate zone which have
not been designated as jobbing
points.
The rate on first class L. c. l.
freight from Minneapolis to Sank
Centre by rail is seventy cents and
will soon be raised to eighty-twc
cents while the truck rate. with
door delivery to the consignee is
fifty-six cents, difference con-
sidering the door delivery, of nine
teen cents per hundred pounds. The
rail rate will soon be raised to
eighty-two cents making a further
differential of twelve cents or q
total of thirty-one cents. ~ ~
"It now costs thirty-four cents to
ship 100 pounds to Alexandria and
only twenty-six cents to return it
to Sank Centre, Freeport, Alexan-
dria, Morris, Glenwood, ETC., can
ship goods through Sank Centre to
points beyond for less than Sank
Centre can do so. ......., ars,
These rates are unfair, unjust
and discriminatory and were admit
ted so to be by Mr.. Campbell of I.
c. c. who had charge of Fargo
rate case, by the railways and by
all concerned, in 1927 when these
rates were made effective. Repre-
sentatives of the City of Sank Gen.
ire were then told that the matter
might be corrected if petition
was filed with I. c. c., but that
about three years would elapse be-
fore hearing on the petition could
be had and that in the meantime
and within eight or ten months
thereafter the I. c. c., would <am-
plete an investigation of Western
tariffs and put in effect rates which
would adjust the unfair situation.
"Our investigation showed that
petition to the Interstate Commerce
Commission could only be made
and carried through By the employ
ment of tariff expert and a great
expense which is beyond the means
of small community.
I'VE were also told that if we had
had a representative at Washing
ton, D. c. in connection with the
Fargo case, that our City would
not have been involved in this I'm
just situation. =" 90.
up to the present time the in
equities have not been corrected Or
adjusted although several years
have elapsed.
I'VE are told that trucks are
saving to Sank Centre and it's COM
munity approximately $4,000 per
year. When the proposed increased
rate is made effective this saving
will be much. greater. ,-.-,.
Although knowing of this un-
just situation the railways have
made no efforts to correct it.
"The railway service is not so
good as the truck service which
many local users declare is equiv
alent to express service. str
"At this time the truck service is
based on the old Minnesota dis
lance tariff which is entirely fair
and EQUITABLE. and which gives
Sank Centre an outlet for is pro-
ducts which is fair, reasonable and
equitable, as compared with other
similar communities.
""This law would in effect make
a rubber stamp of the Minnesota
Railroad and Warehouse Commits
sion as the Commission would be
prohibited from establishing for
trucks a lower rate than that es-
tablished by the I. c. c. for the rail-
ways and would thereby centralize
control of rates in the I. c. C. at
Washington, d. G.
Freight rates and tariffs are. ex-