Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1874 — The Question of Cheap Transportation. [ARTICLE]

The Question of Cheap Transportation.

At the recent session at Dcs Moines of the lowa State Grange, Grand Master Smedley, of vhe Committee on Transportation, made the following interesting i report: . - ; • The question of cheaper transportation is | one which to-day stands out in bold relief, j dwarfing all other questions of public policy. : In mv report to you at our last annual scssiou ; I endeavored to show the importance of this j question to the people of our State, and by carefully-prepared statistics show the amount j of local, municipal and governmental aid fur. ; nished to the various railways, together with I the corresponding ratio of taxation between ! railway and farm pro; erty. 1 also aimed to make clear the discriraina- ! tioii in rates between long .and short disj tances,and the actual cost of railroads per ! inile. It seems eminently proper that I should I at this time communicate to you whatever ot interest may have happened* during the year tending to throw light upon the i subject. The year which is just closing has [ been of interest as marking the first organ- ! ized effort on the part of the people and Gov-' I eminent to resist the eucroaebments of these ! immense corporations, and of determined resistance on the part ot the companies agaiust i such effort. j The last General Assembly of the State of I Wisconsin passed what is known as the • "Totter law," a law enacted by the legallv- ! elected representatives of the people, and approved by the Executive March 11, 1874. This law fixes the maximum rates of fare and freight on all roach in the State, such as was believed would ; leave ample margin for profit to the eom- \ panics; and provides for a thorough and conj tiuuous investigation into the affairs and do- | : mgs of the companies. Three,commissioners ! 1 were provide ; for and-appointed, whose duty j • i was to classify the different roads uude'r ! the law— to conduct the investigation, and to i report ali facts aud, information,to the next ! • Legislature. Immediately upon the law go-. : ing .intellect two of the most powerful eomj panics gave public notice that they should ] : disregard’ it —and regardless of the pnxla- j j ination of the G >veruor, who, an hat oath of i iTiYr-required him to do, was determined j tie law should be obeyed, they treated the , | law < f the State with'contempt. The ex-i | ecutive officers of the State proceeded at ! ! once t > test the question in the courts; and .by a dec i ion of the United States Court, July ; 4. ai.d a decision of the Supreme Court of : Wisconsin, Sept. To, the people were* sustained. 1 i The companies were finally compelled to respect the decision of the courts aud obt v the law; but they openly declare that they intend to apply to the next Legislature ’for its repeal, and have already carried the ease to the. Supreme Court of the Linked States. The spirit manifested by the railroads es that 1 * • demonstrates .very clearly that there-, straiuts of law were applied none too soon. • In our ow n State your committee, appoint,. ed at your 1 st session, met the House Committee on Railroads, and submitted lor their

consideration a synopsis of a law which, in Seir judgment, would meet the necessities e ca#e. The General Assfentblvj however, saw fit to disregard their suggestions, and enacted a law, which was approved. Thi* law - fixes maximum* rates for freight and passenger fares, and provides against unjust discrimination. It does not, however, provide for any complete System of investigation and provides for no general supervision or enforcement of the than such as the Executive Council tlf the State Government can give. Tlie intentruj of your committee was to; simply provide against discrimination—to by law require each cope pany to take the cars pf other companies as low as they transport their own over their own lines, thereby inducing competition, aud tn provide-- through a competent commissioner, for a complete and continuous investigation into the general methods of ritifwuy luimugement—and by.- thiß- moans prepate tlie way for future legislation. While tlie present law was doubtless designed in good faith, it is difficult to understand why some of the essential "requisites in such legislation Should Have been omitted. Ten thousand dollars were appropriated to aid in any prosecutions commenced for its infringement; but practically every citizen suffering from the aggression is left to fight his own battles single handed and alone. Taking the valuation of railway property in the State placed on it by the officers of the companies, we have nearly $100,000,000 invested in this kind of property; and to protect the citizens of the State against the encroachments of this immense capital slojooo were appropriated. The citizen who must (to gain redress) tight his owni way from the lowest to the highest court iu the nation,, finding opened to him at every step the most de-* termiiied and tlie best talent in the country, may well ask, is it lhe duty and province of Government to protect the rights of the weak against tile-aggressions of the strong? If it was the purpose of our General Assembly to economize and make the expense 4yf the-State Government as low as possible, they no doubt succeeded, because the appropriation will not carry one suit through the wbole range of tlie courts as it ought to be curried through. But whether that eeonomy is conducive to the best interest of the commonwealth and calculated to redeh the end in view, I leave to your intelligent judgment. There lias been a good deal of adverse criticism in regard to our Railroad law, and many public journals have had a good deal to say about -“Grange legislation.” The injustice of this will be seen when we remember that hut a single one of the suggestions of the State Grange Committee were incorporated iu the present law. A majority of the railways of the State have complied with the requirements of the law, but some of the strongest companies openly and flagrantly disregard it. -The officials say, when interrogated, “Yes, we know that it is the law of the State, but it is not ouk law.”

Tlie action of these companies is not only a direct insult to the sovereignty of the State, but is without precedent in Ute history of any State or country. The question now before us is, have we in the States of lowa and Wisconsin a second government or corporation whos’e laws aud edicts are ofliigher authority than those enacted by the legally-elected rep"resentatives of the people? Judging from the history of the past year it would seem that practically, this was the case. If tliis is true, has not each county, yes, each township or individual, the right to set at defiance any legislative enactment? Under the operation of the new rate of freights, in some few localities where competition formerly made low rates even those companies who substantially regard the law niay take advantage of it to charge maxfmum rates, thereby advancing prices from these localities. .—.

This circumstance is made use of to bring any railroad legislation into disrepute. None, however, but those possessing a very limited comprehension of the subject can be influenced by so weak an artifice. THE I’EOPLB AND THIS QUESTION. The importance of this subject to the industrial aud productive interests of the State are but just beginning to be understood and appreciated. We hazard nothing in saying that the resistless march of intelligent thought, that conviction which comes trofu ail. influence jpore mighty than statutory enactutknts, more potent even than combinations of organized capital, will, with sure, resistless inarch, make this the question which must and will secure the patient, determined attention of not only the State Governments, but the Federal Government as well. When one remembers that lowa is a producing State aud that nearly all its products must find a distant market it" will at once be seen that this question is one of vital imporUaiee, PRODUCTIONS OF OUR STATE, as shown by otlieial returns, are as follows: After providing for lull subsistence for the population and live stock, we have thefollowieg for sale aud export: Buskets. Wheat 20.054.000 Corn 72.2V4.563 Potatoes.. 4.650.967 Oats * 14,032.385 Pounds. Batter 13,788,949 -Cheese—;rrrrr.7."T” 7777:....... 7 ’~ 543,870 Beeswax. 3,325 Honey 426,607 Tobacco 71,792 Flax 695,57 S Wool 2.967.043 Beef. ~..212,982,750 ALtltton.- 6.599.000 Pork aud bacon. 553,944.500 This is exclusive of a large product of horses mules and hogs, or tin aggregate weight of surplus,products equal to 37291,153 tons.

The present cost of transporting this surplus to Liverpool market is not less than $72,405,366. To this immense sum must be added tire amount paid as freights on return commodities westward. Of tlie price paid per bushel on wheat to Liverpool, nearly one-half is paid 'as freight between the farm in our own State and Chicago, notwithstanding The munificent aid given to railroad companies by .the people. The United States Committee on Transportation send us the result of the fullest investigation, upon sworn testimony, and from exhaustive analysis: “ That if proper and perfectly practicable provision by the Government lor increasing aud cheapening the means of transportation were made, it would lessen the cost thereof fully 50 per cent, below the average of existing and past rates of freight charges each way—and would at the same tiine nearly or quite double the aggregate of shipment and productions, which are now prohibited by high rates of charges.” Here is a statement of facts from competent authority which can be brought home to the thought and understanding of any farmer. Leave even 35 percent, of the money now paid for freights in the hands of the producer, whenr it justly belongs—and aud to this the possibility of a paying maiket for many products which arc now valueless owing to high freights, and the condition of the lowa farmers would be an enviable one. Senator Wade is reported to have said that “every acre of good farming land between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, reasonably improved, will be worth SUX> per acre withiu fifty years.” It is evident, however, shat this prediction will never be fulfilled while the cost of transporting our products to the markets of the world is as gre.it as now. Indeed, unless there is a radical change, we shall be shut out of those markets. SoTar as our bread-making cereals are concerned, our great competitor in the English markets is Russia, and we Aid that horn iB6O to 1864 the relative shipments between the two countries were as follows; Russia furnished the Liverpool market with 47,0UU,00p bushels. The United States furnished 137,000 000 bushels. From 1868 to 1873, 1 Bi/shele., Russia furnished .117.t00.000 The United .{states furnished IHLOUO.Oto The increase in the Russian export for tiYe j years' was 70,000,000 bu ffi Is, while our decrease for tlie same time Was 11.000.00 u bushels. When we understand that Russia has out* just begun to adopt the handling of grain by

elevators, and the cost of their freight is diminishing, and that our grain-fields are re*, ceding yc#r by year fioni the seaboard, the prediction is not so visionary, that wtfen Ku*. sia lias .driven us from tlie markets of Europe she will become our active competitor in the markets of Portland and Boston, unlea* cbfcoper ifiea?.*of irauepoi tution are provided. The people of lowa nave struggled for the means of transportation and life by increasing Abe number of roads. They have afded aud encouraged their construction in every possible way. They have done this under tue delusive hope that competition between them would lower tlie cost of transportation to the lowest just and compensatory rate. In doiinr this they have imposed upon themselves heavy aud burdensome taxation —and now find that instead of bringing into the field a competition they have not only doubted tlie power with which they have to contend, but they have quartered upon themselves a ppw and expensive organization which must be supported from the products of their toil. During the last ten years a spirit of railway aggrandizement has taken possession of the. slrongest companies, since which the work of centralizatiou and absorption has progressed to an extent unparalleled in the history of the world. We find these monstrous aggregations of money power now such that they have practically banished competition. We find them,, in fixing the rates of charge upon the products of the soil, meeting in eojn--111011 conspiracy and asking hot what is just and, compensatory, hut “ w liat will the property bear.” 1 \Ve find, in addition to all this, that they are using this immense capital for the base and unworthy purpose of perpetuating gnd augmenting their already Jiangerous ascendency: 9 Tlie picture here presented, which shows a 'great people and their productions iu the thrall of unscrupulous capital, is one most humiliating to a free people. But as important as is-the material and financial aspect of the questions before us there is another and if possible a graver issue involved—and that is, the power and stability of the Government. No oue who has studied history will tor a moment believe that anv people will for another decade respect a constitution, a code of laws, or a government which fails to take care of and foster values like these, constituting, as they do, the entire productive interests of a commonwealth. Disguise it as we may, the questions before us to-day, and questions which must be met, are: Is the Government to be for the purpose of fostering the industrial interests of tlie whole people, or is it to be made subservient to the behests of the organized capital? Are the people to, through their representatives, control the management of tlnse publiccorporations? or are’tlie managers of these corporations to control the people? Are these large capitals represented by public corporations the creatures of the law? or are they over and above all legislative enactments? Is the creature greater than the creator? It may be necessary to say that in the final adjustment of this question the people have a desire to be more than generous toward those public enterprises so necessary to our prosperity.

Indeed, were any other’guarantee required, the munificent donation to the railways of our State of over $33,000,000 in land and money, given eheeriully and as a free gift, would be all sufficient. No one desires or expects the roads to be operated at a loss. If they will but meet the people half way, if they will submit to the honest, actual cost of their roads, a fair and impartial investigation, “ permitting the heat of honest search to evaporate the water in their valves,” if they will not exaggerate their operating expenses nor duplicate any portion of them with thejr construction account; if, in making up their statements, they will credit the short and tributary lines with the rebates whteh they are entitled to for gathering up the business for the through lines, will honestly report their gross receipts, and, above all, will observe all legislative enactments with the same faithfulness which private citizens do, the people will most cheerfully submit to the heavy burdens they have imposed on themselves to aid them and will also submit to tariff rates that Will myet all legitimate expenses of any kind or nature and to pay dividends on the real cost to the owners of at least 10 per cCht. It is to he hoped that men owning and controlling railway property will, for their ..gWp fpterie»t-’aa"well"aß the Tnterest~of tlftr people. accept the grave questions before the country to-day iu a spirit of intelligent consideration.

I would add one word to the future legislators of our State. 1 would speak with deference, but with a realization of the grave duties Which will devolve upon them. Compare for a moment- the pains-taking care of every other Government beside our own — notwithstanding that the question strikes at the very life and prosperity of our people, *ur legislators have hitherto neglected Us very essence and beginning. Not a single step has been taken to provide the necessary information which could lead to intelligent legislation; no systematic effort has been made to.ascertain the eondi-_ tion, extent, burdens and necessities of our internal commerce, and very inadequate means have been provided to enforce the legislation already had. The people who have dotted these broad prairies with farms, and whose interests are languishing, no longer ask but demand a different line of eonduet. —It is also a duty resting upon us as citizens that wc make legislators that are equal to the emergency. Not only is needed a realizing sense of a reform in this direction, but the ability to intelligently inaugurate measures for its accomplishment. * May every citizen in our State have a realizing sense "of the gravity of tills subject , and be influenced in his actions by an intelligent understanding. •