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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1902)
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT DECEMBER i, 1902. FREIGHT RATES Wewspapera Lambasting thm Railroads for Increasing Freight Itat, bat Over look Vita! PrlnclpU It must be evident to any person who has given the subject any serious thought, that the proposed. Increase in freight rates is right and proper when viewed from tie standpoint of private ownership of the railroads. Under private ownership the theory is to charge the value of the service ren dered without regard to the cost in other words, "all that the traffic will bear." That is the theory which prevails in all private businesses. If values of wheat and corn and land and numerous other things have risen, why should not values in freight rates go up to correspond? There seems to be no good reason why they should not, if we accept the private owner ship theory as correct. Socialists, who confuse the ideas of value and cost, might not grasp the Idea at once, but populists will un derstand it. Under public ownership of the railroads, freight rates would be based on the cost of the service rendered and not on the value of such service as is the custom today under private ownership. The distinction is well shown in J. L. Cowles' "A Gen eral Freight and Passenger Post" (G. P. Putnam's Sons, N. Y.). "In speed, in accommodation, in ease and comfort of travel," says Mr. Cowles, "the gain to the public from the improvements made in the rail roads in the last half century has been wonderful, but the transportation tax levied on the traveler today is very generally as high as it was at the commencement of the railroad era, and it is full half as high per mile as was the charge on the old stage lines, al tliough the cost to the railroad, where the transportation tax Is such that the People can use railway trains up to Jieir capacity, is not a fiftieth as aiuch as by stage. "On the main stem, the fare from New Haven to New York today (18941 is $1.50, the same as in 1849, but from most of the stations west of New Haven the fare for the round trip to New York is from ten to twenty cents higher. From Bridgeport the increase for the round trip is thirty cents, from Hartford ten cents. From Boston, the traveler of 1850 could make a trip to and from New York, over the three or more short lines of the route via Springfield and New Haven, for one dollar less than today over the con solidated through line. . . . And yet the cost of running a railroad train, hauled by modern coal-burning en gines over the consolidated steel track of today is far less than it was over the short iron roads, with the slow, wood-burning engines of 1850." What is true of -passenger rates is true in slightly less degree of freight rates. The principal idea is to change a little less than what the goods could be transported by wagon for, without ar.y regard to what the service costs the company. In some places in Ne braska fair wages have been made wagon-freighting goods for a trifle less than railroad - freights, but of course no permanent business could be attempted in that line, because, af ter the teams and wrfgons are all fitted out and the businesl begun regularly, the railroads would reduce rates just enough to crush their slower moving r'val. ' The Independent sees little to be gained by cursing the railroads be cause they expect lo increase their earnings by raising rates. It is time wasted. Why not instead insist upon , public-owned railroads hauling freight and passengers at cost of the service rendered? The San Francisco Chronicle says: It is evident that the railroad offi cials of the country have virtually de termined in their own minds that there shall be a general increase of freight rates, and Second Vice President Paul Morton of the Santa Fe has been se lected to break the news to the coun try. In this proposed movement we see tne results of the general railroad consolidation which has been taking place and which makes possible a policy which would have been impos sible without it. Nevertheless, the time has long passed when railroad corporations could claim the right to tax the traffic of the country at their own discretion, and a proposal to in crease the taxation by railroad cor porations Is as legitimate a subject for public discussion as a proposal to in crease taxation by government. The Question of what constitutes a "rea sonable rate" for transportation is suf ficiently difficult when confined to one commodity between two points. When considered in connection with a pro posal to make a general increase It in volves the preliminary determination of the capital upon which, upon the average, it is "reasonable" that a road should earn revenue. This, again, brings up the question of the method of valuation, which has vexed the courts for many years that is, whe ther the "value" of a road shall be taken at its book cost of construction, its "book cost" less losses by bad judgment or speculation, the cost of reproduction, its probable future earn I" cmcitv, or some combination of all.thes? elements. Without discussing this most com plex of subjects, there is one thing which may be taken for granted: So long as the net income of a railroad system steadily increases the roads can .only justify themselves to the public by a complete expose, which it is in their power to make, but which cannot be made by any outsid er, of their financial history and con dition and by affirmatively showing that stockholders' monev. actually in vested and prudently administered, is ! not prouucine lor its owners surh a revenue as a competent and impartial judge would call "reasonable." We are convinced that this cannot h Anno. Railroad accounts are notoriously jug gled by placing the cost of better ments m sinning expenses. From the standpoint of the financier this may be commendable, as showing con servative management and financial strength. It may be also claimed that by this method the "water" in the stock is gradually squeezed out by ine introduction of hard coin. That, however, is only taking from the public money which it ought not to pay and placing it where it may pay unearned dividends to stockholders in the fu ture. It is a device well calculated to deceive the public as to the real earn ing or a railroad. Taking Mr. Morton's own road as an example, it is now regularly pay ing all interest on its bonds. 5 npr cent dividends on it3 preferred stock, and 4 per cent on its common stock of $102,000,000, which, on its reorgan ized basis, may be safely assumed to be largely Water. The net finrninfR of the system have been regularly in-' creasing from $15,860,217 in 1899 to $25,703,234 in 1901. There was an in crease over this in 1902. The Southern Pacific company's returns show nn equally uniform increase, whirh thv seek to keep down by charging bet terments to expenses. While these conditions continue an increase of freights rates would be robbery. And the MinneaDolis Ti trips rnm. ments as follows: Railway officials do not proposed increase in freight rates and naturally feel called unon tn mairo some defense or to offer some explana tion. The latest and most widely used ex planation (?) is to the effect that when the leading western railway compa nies were found out in their evasion or disobedience of the law that re quires all freight rates to be open and published, or, rather, forbids the giv ing of special rates to one man that are not available to another there were many secret tariffs in existence, that they were compelled to publish these secret tariffs, that this publi cation made them common property and in effect the ruling rates, that it is proposed to withdraw all these sec ret tariffs evasion or disobedience of the law being no longer possible and to issue new ones that shall con trol generally. "Granting that all this is true wherein is the justice of raising the rates to the basis of January 1 of this year when it is patent to everyone that all the railways under the opera tion of the lower or secret tariffs are making more money than ever before are spending more in betterments than ever was dreamed of, feel justified in increasing their obligations by many millions, do not hesitate in some in stances to water t-heir stock enor mously, knowing that high dividends can still be paid on the increased ag gregate? Wherein is the public service with which these roads are charged con served by railway managers whose sole purpose seems to ho tn muto aii - - " uii the hay possible while the sun of prosperity shines? When prosperity's sun is rlnnrlpH nr sets we will be told, as aforetime, that rates must be raised or at least kept as high as the traffic will bear be cause Of the chanced rnnriitlnna fo tightness of money and the reduction in snipments. Once in a while, inad of the plutocratic daili ' ' v v l l what comes very nearly hpint- tho truth. The New York Mail and Ex press, m commenting unon an artir-lp in this paper, says: "It needed no su preme court decision to tell silver dollars are a full legal tender, out a sKepticai Michigan man seems to have required a revelation from that quarter to satisfy him." That is a stagger towards the truth, but Is partially false after all. Silver dol lars are not a legal tender when "it is otherwise provided in the contract." ! lilllwiMniiwIii -UTil.limiiilrn Cornstalk Disease Pd 19 am K9 Which is Now Killing Hundreds of Cattle in Many Localities of the Corn Belt. mer, why do you let your Stock die. and abandon vnnr ctnplr fipldei whan rpliaf is at hand. simply because you have no confidence in us or our remedy? You al low the idea to control your mind that this stalk disease cannot be pre vented. This is a sad mistake of yours. If you are losing stock in the stalk fields, just drop us a card and we will come and prove to you that we can check the disease at once; if we cannot we do not want your money. Remedy is fed with their salt Price $10 a pail, which will protect 60 head for the season. And hundreds of people who have had nerve enough to try our remedy are rejoicing today. Not one dissatisfied m n in all our long list. Neighbor far- do EADDRESSi Kit National Cornstalk Remedy Go,, RAMGE BUILDING, OMAHA, NEB. WHAT IS YOUR REMEDY FOR THE TRUSTS? The Independent, during the next six months, desires to receive and print the views of ten thousand people regarding the cause and cur.- for the trust evil, state vour iders pointedly. Tell the whole story in n t more than two hundred words. Write plain, 'what causes tiusts tar fT, freight discr minations, or what? What is the remedy free trade, tariff for revenue, protection, government ownership, popul sm, socialism, single lax, or Jeffersonian democracy? Give your idea , 13 WEEKS' EDUCATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION. io CENTS. Enclose a silver dime with your manuscript, get The Independent on trial 13 weeks, and study this subject. Box 2431. THE INDEPENDENT. Lincoln, Nebraska. Tha Great Remedy , For Cornstalk Disease In Cattle and Hordes It disolves. neutralizes and deetrovs the nnisnn fmm cmnt nr Ana. ' J 1 " v ... . w v ""V prevents all animals from becoming affected by it. For particulars write E. E. BRUCE & CO., Sole Agents for U. 5. A. OriAHA, NEB. A Holiday This bill of staple Groceries securely packed by our ex pert shippers and delivered to your railroad station upon re ceipt of 10 dollars in draft, express or money order. Every article guaranteed to be of standard grade or vour money back. You are perfectly safe in sending a house like ours your money. We have been in business over 11 years and today sell more goods than any three stores in Lincoln. Call on us when in the city. Write any bank in Lincoln or to this paper if in doubt. Stop paying exorbitant prices for grocer ies. Let us save you 25 per cent. 70 lbs Best Granulated Sugar $1.00-W3 Pay Freight CHRISTMAS COMBINATION. 70 lbs. best granulated sugar... $100 6 10c pkgs. best soda 50 2 lbs. best baking powder..... 50 6 pkgs. best corn starch 50 4 lbs. best Japan tea 2 00 25 bars laundry soap 1 00 2 lbs. purest pepper 50 2 gallons best vinegar 50 10c pkgs. gloss starch 50 6 lbs. choice prunes. 6 lbs. choice rice.... 4 lbs. choice raisins. 4 3 pkgs. Rising Sun stove polish. 3 10c cans lye , 2 lbs. Mocha and Java coffee. . . . 50 50 50 lbs. choice peaches 50 25 25 50 $10 00 All the above order packed as stated and delivered to any railroad station in the northwest for $10.00. Write for a complete price list. We sell evprvtr,; 10 distinct stores under one roof. FARMERS GROCERY COMPANY Largest retail distributors of groceries in the west 226-228-230-232-234-236 North I Oth Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.