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Show WILL THE RAILROADS EXPLAIN? ; It is asserted by experts that if the freight rates which" have just gone into effect on both the East7 ern and Western railroads are maintained for a year the additional revenue, even should there be no increaso'in the volume of business, should be between be-tween $150,000,000 and $200,000,000. At a conservative conserva-tive estimate the freight rates have been increased an average of 10 per cent On many kinds of freight there has been no change, but on all the principal commodities there has been an increase of from 5 to , -50 per cent. On manufactured iron, for example, the Eastern lines have increased the rate 40 per cent, and the Western roads even more from the Mississippi river to Colorado. The advance in grain rates will also make n big difference in the ship- meuts from the estern wheat fields to the Atlantic Atlan-tic seaboard. The reason for this unusual increase in the charge for freight transportation is said by railroad oftkials to be that the rates on certain articles ar-ticles have been placed so low that they do not pay the cost of haulage. tWhile in rare cases this may be true, we have yet to hear of a railroad East or West that has not reported big increases in net receipts re-ceipts for the past year. Only laf t week a railroad man told The Telegram that the various lines East andWest were unable to handle their freight traffic; that new engines and cars were being bought to meet the increased demands. Almost all the roads in the country have raised the wages of their employees, em-ployees, and it has been understood .that the railroad rail-road world was enjoying the most prosperous period in its history. Under these circumstances what have the railroad presidents to say that will justify them in holding up the public for 200,000,000 in increased freight rates the coming year? |