J
Vol. XVI.
LINCOLN, NEB., MARCH 10, 1905.
No. 43
A LI
4
i
i!
i
4
f
)
RATES OIIJRIIITURE
The "Reasonable" Extortion Pract
iced on the Furniture Dealers
and consumers
r LOCAL HATE IS TREMENDOUS
The Shrewdness of "Experts" in Rate
- Making-They are Simply Well
Trained Pickpockets.
, Editor Independent: In this letter
-we will speak only of car load rates
on furniture from Chicago. A mixed
car of furniture, fourth class, mini
mum weight, 20,000 pounds, to Gales
burg, 163 miles, by way of C, B. & Q.,
or to Burlington, la., 206 miles, the
freight is $44. To Des Moines, 372
"miles; Oskatoosa, S35 miles; Ottumwa,
280 miles, it is $53. To Creston, 393
miles, fourth class, is 31 cents per 100
pounds, making the car $63. To Red
Oak, 443 miles, the fourth class rate Is
32 cents, making the freight $64. To
Omaha, 500 miles, the special rate is
30 cents per 100 pounds, making the
freight on our car $60. To Lincoln,
550 miles, and a little less distance to
Fremont, the rate to either point Is
$68, although the through class rate
would indicate $73. To Columbus, 590
miles from Chicago, or ninety-four
miles from Omaha, the through class
rate would indicate $106, but, by using
the special 30 cent rate, Chicago , to
Omaha, and the local fourth class
rate of 31 cents, as we are entitled to
do, the freight is $102. It would be
interesting to know from tne lurm
ture dealers at Columbu3 which rate i
has been ; and is being collected of
them. One hundred and two dollars on
' combinations of Omaha and local is the
rate, to Norfolk,' fifty miles ; nortn . of,,
Columbus, but the short line and nat-
ural route. west to Norfolk is via the
C. & N. W., and Norfolk , is entitled
to much lower rates than she gets
because the long haul of a competing
(?) line makes the rate higher on the
short haul than it should be in order
that the spoils of competition (?) may
be divided on a high rate basis. The
furniture dealer at Norfolk has had
some experience in trying to get 3hore
line rates.
' The freight on our car of furniture
to Central City, 135 miles from Omaha,
and 630 miles from Chicago, is $116
on Omaha combination. The rate to
Grand Island, 156 miles from Omaha,
is $120 from Chicago. In other words,
the 500 mile haul, Chicago to Omaha,
is $60, and the 156 miles further haul,
Omaha to Grand Island, i3 $60 more,
making $120 total. If we figure the
'Grand Island rate on the through class
' rate basis from Chicago, the . freight
'would be $124.
To St. Paul," Neb., twenty-two miles
from Grand Island, the rate is $136, or
$76 for 176, mile portion of a 676 mile
through haul, while the 500 mile por
'' tion is $60, And they tell us ton per
" mile rates, as made by railway "ex
perts," are reasonable. To Kearney,
200 miles from Omaha, the rate is 67
cent3, made on the 30 cent special rate,
"Chicago to Omaha, 500 mile haul, and
Z7 cents, fourth class local for the 200
mile further . haul to Kearney, total
$134. " The through fourth class rate,
Chicago to Kearney, is 69 cents, and
At billed through on that rate the
freight would be $138, or $4 overcharge,
and more than likely that is the rate
which Mr. Switz and every local dealer
in the state has been mulched into
paying. ; To Callaway, sixty-five miles
. up the Kearney branch, the car rate is
$158 from Chicago on the sum of local
and through rate, but the fourth class
rate through makes the car $162, so
in all; probability Callaway dealers
," ' have been mulched into $4 overcharge
on all their car load business. To
. North Platte, 294 miles from- Omaha,
the Chicago freight on our car of fur-
niture is 55 cents per 100 pounds plus
30 cents, or 85 cents through, making
: $170 for the car. The clas3 rate is 87
- cents through, which means $4 a car
- more if the class rate is collected than
the dealer should pay, even though
based on their extortionate local rate
- Rheet. The writer 1$ not advised
whether there is a furniture -dealers'
association in the state or not, but if
there be one, their attorney snould
get busy and collect the thousands
of dollars stolen from the furniture
dealers over the amount of the rate
to Omaha and local west of the Mis
souri river. The facts are: the rail
road "expert" rate maker enables the
roads to place their local agents in
the position of a pickpocket and a
thief for them, because of the agents
not being able to figure the true rate
to which the shipper is entitled. This
is done in like manner as Is the igno
rant child of a thief taught and made
the agent to steal. Let us make this
plain. An agent, say at Kearney, who
is honest and upright in intention and
working for his road as faithful em
ployes should work for their employer,
gets a shipment billed through from
Chicaeo and the classification sheet
shows the goods fourth class, and the
through rate to be 69 cents per 100
pound3 and the shipment weighs 20,
000 pounds. . He will naturally render
and collect an expense bill to the ship
per for $138. But there is a special
rate as at Omaha from Chicago on.
that commodity of 30 cents, or a total
through rate -of 67 cents per 100 which
the agent does not know about, or, II
he does know, he dare not mention to
the dealer, and the dealer only knows
the tariffs local to his town. The road
pockets $4 on that car and tells us
none but an "expert" rate maker can
make rates."' Before we made efforts
to regulate , the rates, in explaining
thir greater charge for a short haul
than for a longer one, they told us
the longer the haul, the less they could
make the rate, and on the ton per mile
theory that stands to reason as being
true. But we find they now make a
638 mile haul on which the first 500
miles is 30 cents per 100 pounds and
the 138 miles balance of the haul Is
also 30 cents, making 60 cents per
100 pounds for what on the ton per
mile haul with no reduction of rate
would make a 66 cent race inrougu
haul; The rate on 6ur car of furni
ture on that basis would be $76 to
Grand Island, but we find it Is $120,
and to Kearney in like manner the
rate would be 42 cents per 100 pounds
or $84 for our car as against $134. The
tax which the roads put upon us west
of the .Missouri river . would turn a
Turkish tax collector in Armenia green
with envy." We send men to repre
sent us in the legislature and they are
either iznorant or base enough to per
mit the corrupting element of rail
roading to apply anarchy to our busi
ness rights in this way. -
The eerm of life in the corn produces
corn, as does the germ of other things
produce its . kind, and our , railroad
f fiends are producing a crop of an
archy; which, in their ignorance and
greed, they know not of. The time is
coming when they will cry out to sucn
men as is the . writer to save them
from result of their crime, as does the
murderer cry out to the policeman to
save him from the mob.
A. J. GUSTIN. Kearney, Neb. '
Speaking of the 'appropriations, Mr.
Hemmenway says: "I am advised by
those most competent to judge that the
deficiency in the revenues of the gov
ernment for the current fiscal year will
not exceed $18,000,000. This deficlency
Is brought about by unforeseen expen
ditures in two directions namely, $13,
000,000 on account ; of - new ships for
the navy and also in the probable ex
cess of $5,000,000 or $6,000,000 expen
ditures for the postal service over the
postal receipts for 1905."
Mr. . Livingston, after giving various
expenditures, says: "Contrasting Mr.
Cleveland's second administration as
to appropriations with that of Mr.
Roosevelt, we find that a strenuous
government, dominated by the policy
of a 'big stick,' costs under Mr. Roose
velt $220,412,329 more for the army,
$258,184,157 more for the navy, $19,'
477,563 more for fortifications, and for
the three combined military purposes
$49S,074,050 more than did the same
objects under Mr. Cleveland's last four
years of office, a sum large enough to
erect a. public building in every city
and town in the country, with enough
to spare to improve every harbor and
waterway, necessary for "the promotion
of our commerce; or it would have been
sufficient to construct 200,000 miles of
perfect roadways throughout the land."
REGULARITY
RAPPED
The New York Journal Seems to
Have turned Populist-Thinks
Regularity not Essential
PEOPLE 00 HOT ttAKftfilE LAWS
What is Needed is the Iniatiative, the
Referandum and the Impera
tive Mandate.
The New York Journal seems , to
have at last come to the conclusion
that there is no question of "honor"
involved in the demand that a man
who, attends a convention must be
"regular", and submit to whatever that
convention does. The Independent
tookthat position from the first and is
glad to see that the Journal has got
around to it at last as will be seen
upon reading the following editorial
from that paper,' besides endorsing
the rest of the populist platform: ,
"Under our present system of gov
ernment the power of originating laws
and controlling public offices is in the
people that is, in theory; In practice
it is not in the people.
"The executive ' committee, the so
cret conference, the political ring con
trols legislation and governmental pol
icies. " '
"In deciding what shall be done in
municipal affairs, state affairs and na
tional affairs there is really no public
deliberation, no public- discussion, no
public sentiment. - The policy which
controls is decided upon in some pri
vate conference, in a private - room,
behind closed doors.
"And after these bosses have agreed
upon a program they go about creating
public sentiment in favor of it and pur
chasing the votes necessary to support
it. Newspapers and subsidized, : lead
ing politicians are approached, and the
star chamber policy agreed on la se
cret by the bosses is foisted upon the
people by the use of what Bismarck
called the reptile fund.;
"Thus it is that the great body of
the American people, in whom the
constitution of the country recognizes
sovereign power, are reduced to help
lessness. "Roughly, they are divided into two
great parties republican and demo
cratic. The individual democrat must
indorse the star chamber methods and
policies of his party or be villifled by
its newspapers and its leaders as a
deserter and a traitor. The individual
republican must swallow whatever
dose his star chamber bosses prepare
for him or be denounced by the edi
tors and the leaders as a renegade or
an apostate. ,
"Thus the party lash makes coward3
of us all, and has subdued us to a polit
ical servitude that is shameful to our
selves and destructive of the best In
terests of our country.
"The great body of the people know
nothing of the laws that .are being
passed until they are called on to obey
them. They have no hand in building
political platforms. They have no con
trol over political nominations.
And when they put men in office by
their submissive votes they have no
control over the officer during his term
of service.
"In the case of the federal Judge we
have an officer not appointed by the
people, not in touch with the people,
not controllable by the people, and yet
exercising vast powers which he alone
defines; which his selfish Interests and
ambition cause him constantly to en
large; and neither the executive nor
the legislative branch of the govern
ment seems disposed to assert itself,
and, by checking the usurpations of the
judicial department, preserve that bal
ance between the three great branches
of the government which was contem
plated by our fathers and is necessary
for the wellbeing of the republic.
"Neither tf the two old political
partiea proposes any remedy for this
alarming state of affairs. A new party
should propose a remedy, one which
has been tried in a civilized state,
among Christian people, and found ef
fective. It should give to the peo
ple the right to initiate such laws aa
they think they need and to do this,
by petition. It should give them the
ngut io veio sucn laws as wey ao not
need, and this may be done by bavins
all laws referred back to the voters for
their discussion and ratification.
"If they do not approve the law, they
vote against it and thus condemn It
That would be the end of It.
"A new party should give the people
the right to instruct their officers and
to compel those officers to represent
the people.
"When such an officer refuses to do.
his duty and becomes a traitor to the
people who elected him, then they
snould have the right at once to recall
him, to cancel his commission and to
choose another representative,"
Right You Are
The Yonkers Statesman fcets off the
following:
"I was reading in the. newspaper of
the great American desert?" asked the
lady at the head of the table.
"Why, I believe the great American
dessert is prunes," replied the thin
boarder, feelingly. .
And they were four Inches deeD un.
der the trees all over the desert wher
ever there was irrigation, left there to.
rot, because the railroads had made a
"reasonable" rate that took more than
the traffic would bear.
Let Us Get Together
Editor Independent: The complain!
is often made that reformers abuse
old parties too freely. The right to
expose corruption and injustice Is, per
haps, the greatest bulwark of liberty,
and the patriot is confronted with no
sterner duty, perhaps, than to show
the wrongs imposed, upon the people.
If the Deople, being deceived, seem loth
to receive a knowledge of actual griev
ances, then the more urgent bcomes
the duty to impress them with that
knowledge. Constructive statesman
ship is good in its place; but we first
had to be made to detest the rule of.
George III; to detest the institution of
slavery before setting up new orders
of things. The destructive policy ex
hibited by the French Revolution and
perhaps every revolution was first In,
order of time. After thi3 comes the
time for constructive statesmanship.
Statesmen may theorize and build air
castles in advance of a crisis, Just as
Russia conceived plans by which tc
suddenly conquer Japan, but policies
must be shaped, to a great extent, by
the demands of the hour. To Impress
the people with the dark, loathsome
crimes committed against them even In
their name, is to unite them in an ir
resistible demand for justice and lib
erty; but too much philosophy and
state policy Just now will divide us
into populists, single taxers, prohibi
tionists, etc. Let us ior me ume, uaou
aside all minor questions and unite to
HofhrnnA inlauitv in high places, and
trust to common sense, common Justice
and common patriotism for a ongnter
future. No matter now long we may
wait or how much we may theorize, we
can at last do no better than to rely
upon the whole people in the true spirit
of democracy, which spirit is the soul
of the Declaration of Independence,
which the plutocrats so much hate.
No plan, no policy ior gooa, can avau .
much till the people's friends get into
power. God himself might give us a
perfect law on tables of gold, and yet
it would be wonnress in uie uauua
of its enemies. The all-important thing
is to dethrone wrong ana to piace upon
the throne the common justice, the
common sense of the people; ana wnen
the people'3 will is enthroned a prop
er way will be iouna u ucuumyiinu
our ends; but unless the will is in the
throne no plan nor policy will be of
much value to us. I have a theory
which under certain conditions might
be fruitful of much good, but it is idlp
to think of that theory being testev
while our present bosses are in power.
My theory: Give each voter the rightl
to vote each ticket on the Australian V
ballot. The republican, or course, win
not vote the democratic ticket, and the
democrat will not vote the republican
ticket; but each will vote to kill the
be at liberty to vote some reform party
partlzan has voted to kill the vote of
some one on the opposite side ire will
-
