| Show INDICTMENT OF THE C P The importance to the Utah people of the Reiny Reilly funding bill now before Congress which proposes ses to extend for fifty years the gigantic debts to the government of the Central and Union Pacific railroads has hae already been commented upon in the DESERET published ws N-ws lever several I times and figures pub pub- limbed to demonstrate the necessity for Utah people watching and doing doine their share of resistance unless they wish to tobe tobe tobe be struck truck with the present exorbitant rat rates for lor another fifty tty years The funding anti-funding bureau in San Francisco has already received the enormous number of signatures to a petition to Congress protEsting against the passage of the Reilly Beilly fund fund- fundIna funding funding ing Ina bill blU Of these signatures are from frum California and the balance from Oregon Washington Nevada Arizona na Idaho Utah and other states The probable effect of this great peti peti- petition petition petition tion upon Congress is beginning to seriously alarm these roads and the Southern Pacific has bas been writing to toODe toone toone one ODe of ot the Salt Lake papers A letter was recently published by bya a friend of ot the Central Pacific pro pro- protesting protesting testing against certain statements pu put putout putout t tout out here on behalf of the funding anti anti movement that the freight charges on the Central Centra Pacific were excessive and burdensome to Utah people The friend of ot the Central Pacific gave as ashi hi his reason for writing that he be had the l interest of Utah in views view as the publication cation of ot a statement that Utah was burdened bOned by heavy freight charges would deter peo people le from settling here bere This anxiety on the part of the Cen Con Central Central Pacific that tbt Utah people should not DOt hurt burt themselves in in- in view of ot the pMt pact t history of that road hereabouts hereabout is refreshing Some of that history might profitably pro be recalled say for Instance the history of how bow the Central Pacific s agent got around the Deep Creek rail rail- railroad railroad road project a few years ago and laid it sway away on ice foe where it has since re- re remained re remained Mr W H Mills land Ind agent or ot the Central Pacific at the big irrigation congress 6 in Salt Lake two or three years yean ago told the congress congress what he thought of Utah Uth This is what he said Three hundred and aDd twenty s of ot land in California are worth more than the entire acres of land that I have myself sold in the Territory of Utah Vide report How does that strike the people of Weber and nd Box Elder counties where Mills sold lold his acres ores Mr Mills wanted at that time to t to give taffy to the large Califor Califor- California California nia Dla delegation present and nd gratuitous gratuitous- gratuitously I ly insulted the Utah Uth people In these theRe I latter days the he Californians have gone back on OD Mil Milles Mille's s railroad and the rail rail- railroad railroad road Is 18 coming cominS here bere to tell Utah how much mach It thinks of us os Tte Friend of the Central Pacific says lIay- bis his road does not make high charges freight charges on wheat and lead led and to prove that thac the rate is not high he says ss the rate has bs been for years jus just 85 per cent nt of ot the rate eastward to toOm Omaha ha We Well suppose 85 per cent to tobe tobe tobe be true what does doel it prove Merely that the Ue Central Pacific is 18 not more mOle uco extortionate onate than thaD other roads If the Pacific h has wished to do this Territory any ny good it could have long ago quoted such a rate as would have compelled the eastward roads to lower theirs Are the Central Pacific rates reasonable Der per ee se That ThatIs Thatis Thatis Is the question The cb charge r e on wheat per cwt from Ogden Francl Francisco co to Is eight thirty eight cents Compare Compre this with the rate rte from Central Kansas to ChIcago an equal distance and anil it is Ie found that the Central Paol o rate is double the other About lead The rte rate rate on lead from Denver to Chica Chicago o over 1000 miles is 18 per Der too ton The rate from Oden 0 den to San Francisco a less les distance I is near near- nearly nearly nearly ly three times times as much As to coal the Friend of ot the Cen Cen- Central Central Central Pacific says the rate from Ogden to San Francisco is 4 per ton only In view 0 of this the strange thing is that so 0 little Utah coal can get to the Coast and that San Sn Francisco is im im- im importing importing porting tons annually which ought to be mined in Ut Utah b and could be sold on the Pacific coast at retail cheaper than interior inferior imported coal now sells BeUs there Freight rates on coal are very susceptible susceptible tible to jugglery and the fact that the Utah coal hardly gets into the cost coast market Is better evidence of freight rates than a published tariff It H was wall recently pointed pointe J out oot to the present writer that part of the difficulty difficulty difficulty culty in getting coal to the coast coalt was the existence of a rate to Ogden and another one beyond so eo that tbt two lines have bave to be dealt delt with with-a with a condition which caused a higher total rate It may be pointed out in answer that tbt as asfar asfar far as the subsidized roads are con con- concerned concerned concerned such rate rte is contrary to their charter Page of ot the Pa- Pa Pacific Pacific Pa Pacific R B R B Comm Commission report 1887 reads To guard agal against nIt possible abuses of these great powers power Congress enacted d that they the subsidized rods roads should bind themselves to operate all the lines JInes in the Pacific system as a G one connected continuous l line ne Then fol- fol follows follows fol follows lows a recital of ot how this has hal been evaded In the face of this charter charte It does not appear that these roads roada have any ny right to make one rate to Ogden and another beyond that point but it itIs itis itis Is Just by jugglery in that way wy the rate iq 1st made against coal col eat exports from Utah The friend of the Central Pacific says that the road Is II not interested In inthe inthe the coal business on the roast out and nd Is not interested in keeping Utah coal ot of that market If this be true tb the e remarkable thing is that the Central Pacific should never have moved a finger to dev develop lop a coal export business from this Territory to the coast and that the road rod has never doneso done so is 18 the best beat pr of that tbt it Is no friend of this Territory Look at the facts San SaD Francisco is Ie yearly Importing ton tons I of foreign coal which is being eing retailed in San Ban Francisco at prices prices away above what better coal from Utah Uth and Wyo Wyo- Wyoming Wyoming ming could be mined hauled and nd retailed at in the same market The coal is in these mountains The road needed the freight The Utah people needed the work and the merchants the business arising from this tons of coal which might have been exported yearly Yet the Central Pacific ha has never moved a finger In Inthe inthe inthe the matter Truly a valuable friend for tor Utah to The friend of the Central A claims th tb t the extra cost COlt of J western roads means higher This might be true to justify a free frao increase but not to justify x ems exorbitant rates rte And the producers producer r- r rT T this region redon who need to get their at tc over the railroads to market are coming to believe that these roads which owe the gigantic debt they can oan never t could be operated by the govern a aso J so as s to give Kive a trunk line of trans tion tion with freight charges away what the scale is today 7 |
