Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-01-26
Petersen Talks
To State Farm
Bureau Meeting
Railroad & Warehouse
Commissioner Discusses
transportation.

Following is the text of Hon.
Hjalmar Petersen's address be-
fore the Farm Organization on
January 18, when he took as his
topic Transportation AS 1t At
fects The Farmer"
Most of us in the daily rounds of
our lives are sharply aware when
prices rise or fall, but few of us try
to understand the reasons for such
changes. We accept them as we do
the change in the seasons or any
other phenomena due to natural
causes. 1t can hardly be expected
that those who are compelled to make
living by daily work, have the time
to devote to study of the subject
of the cost of consumer goods or a
study of what makes up the income
received by the seller of goods, and
particularly the seller of raw pro-
ducts.
Most of you farmers who are pro-
ducers of raw products are aware
that you pay the cost of transporta-
ton of the products you sell, at least
to your primary markets. You know
that when you sell cattle or grain that
the transportation cost to your pri-
mary market is deducted from your
check. For instance, when you send
carload or truckload of cattle to
South st. Paul, the cost of transport
ing such cattle from your farms to
the primary market at South St.
Paul is directly taken from your
check, or when you sell a load of
wheat to the elevator, you receive the
Minneapolis market price less the
cost of Transporting your grain from
the local elevator to Minneapolis.
AS a producer you may also have
to pay part of the cost of transport
ing the finished product from the
packing plant or the mill to the ulti-
mate consumer, although most experts
on the subject claim that the agri-
cultural producer pays only the cost
of transportation from the point of
production to his primary market.
However, as consumers, you pay the
transportation cost of the commod-
tiles you buy from the manufacture
ing plant to the point at which you
purchase them, and from that point
to your farms, because you transport
them from the retail store to your
farm homes in your own automobiles.
Transportation Cost Pertinent.
You are, therefore, vitality inter-
ested in the cost of transportation
more vitality, probably, than any other
class of individuals in the United
States, because you pay both as a
producer and as consumer. You
are in a different class, generally
speaking, than the manufacturer,
wholesaler or retailer, for these
classes generally pass the cost of
transportation on to the ultimate con-
sumner and simply increase their
prices to cover this cost.
You, as the producer of raw pro-
ducts, are unable to increase your
price, because you do not make the
price. Generally speaking, prices are
set for you. You are, therefore, in
a less fortunate situation than other
classes and are more vitality con-
cerned in transportation costs. And
yet, in spite of your double interest
in this cost, you are the least rep
resented of any class in America,
so far as rate making or transporta-
ton costs are concerned.
Little Representation.
When rate making, which is the
fixing of transportation costs, is up
for consideration either before the
interstate Commerce Commission or
before the various State Public Util-
tiles Commissions, as, for instance,
the Minnesota Railroad and Ware
house Commission, you will find the
railroad companies, truck associations,
chambers of commerce and the var
lous classes of shippers whose in
terests are affected by any rates to
be established, to be present at such
hearings; but rarely will you find
agriculture as a class so represented.
1t was true that at the hearing
last winter before the Interstate
Commerce Commission in which the
railroads asked for a Is percent in
crease, the position of agriculture
with reference to such increase was
ably presented but that was due to
the efforts of your local Public Util-
ity Commissions of Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and other
states. At that hearing, testimony
was presented by State Commission
experts and by the leaders of various
farm organizations. The president
OF the Farmers Union of North Dako
ia gave his own personal experiences
as to farm income and increased cost
OF operation. But on the whole.
agriculture as a class is not repre-
scented when rates are fixed except
through state departments and the
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