Show RATE HATE INCREASE NECE til SARY FARMERS UNION OFFICIALS OFFICIAL THINK RAILROADS ARE ENTITLED ro ra MORE REVENUE products of plow and farmer who lives live at home should be B exempt from increase Inore aie by peter radford lecturer national farmers farmer union the recent action ot of the interstate commerce Cont mission in granting an increase in freight rates in the eastern classification of the applies tion of the loads to state and inter state commissions commissio nR for an increase in rates and the utterances of president wilson on the subject bring the farm ers ere of this nation face to face with the problem of an increase in freight rates it is the policy of the farmers union to meet the issues affecting the weltie weirdie of the farmers squarely and we will do so in this instance the transportation facilities of the united states are inadequate to effectively meet the demands of commerce and particularly in the south and west additional railway mileage is needed to accommodate the move ment of farm products it if in the dorn dom of our railroad commissions an increase in freight rates is necessary to bring about an improvement in our transportation service and an extension of out our mileage then an increase should shoula be granted and the farmer is willing to share such ouch proportion ot of the increase as justly belongs to him but we hai hae e some eon e suggestions to make as an to the manner in which this increase shall be levied rates rate follow lines line of least assist ance the freight rates of the nation have been built up along lines of least resistance si the merchant the manufacturer fac the miner the miller the lum lumba lumberman bm and the cattleman have had their traffic bureaus thoroughly organized and in many instances they have pursued the railroad without mercy and with the power of organized tonnage they have hammered the life out ot of the rates and with strained greed they have eaten the vitals out of our transportation system and since we have had bad railroad corn com missions these interests with skill and cunning are represented at every hearing in which their business to la involved the farmer to is seldom represented at rate hearings as N I 1 organizations organization have never had tin the dunles nan cea to employ counsel to develop his bis side of the case and as a result the products product of the plow bear an unequal burden of the freight expense A glance at the freight tariffs abundantly proves this assertion cotton the leading agricultural product of the south already bears the highest freight rate of any necessary commodity tn in corn com merce and the rate on agricultural products as a whole Is out of proportion with that of the products of the factory and the mine we offer no schedule of rates but hope the commission will be able to give the railroad such an increase in rates as is necessary without levying a further toll upon the products of the plow the instance seems to present an opportunity to the railroad commissions to equalize the rates as between and other classes 0 of t freight without disturbing the rates on staple 0 farm products what Is ie a fair rate we do not know what co constitutes Us t I 1 tu too a basis for rate making and have never heard of anyone who did claim to know much about it but if the prosperity of the farm is a factor to be considered and the railroad commes slon sion concludes that an increase in id rates is necess necessity urY we would prefer that it come to us through articles ot of consumption on their journey from the factory to the farm we would for example prefer that the rate on bogs remain as at present and the rate on meat bear the increase for any farmer can then anold the burden by raising his bis own meat and a farmer who will not try to raise his own meat meal ought to be penalized we think the rate on coal and brick can much better bear an increase than the rate on cotton and flour we would prefer that the rate on plows remain the same name and machinery pianos and such articles as the poor er farmer cannot hope to possess bear the burden of increase the increase in rates should be so arranged that the tamer fanner who urea at ahme he me will bear no part of the bur bar don den I 1 ut let the farmer who boards boarde in states and countries aad who feeds his stock in foreign lands lando baj pa the price of his folly |