Railroad Giant Rejects Farmers' Plea for Wheat Shipping Aid
A desperate effort to route Eastern Washington's record wheat crop eastward to avoid a shipping bottleneck at Puget Sound is crushed by Northern Pacific officials.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In order to aid the Eastern Washington farmers in every way possible in marketing their record export wheat crop this fall, the public service commission, on request of Ex-Governor Miles C. Moore of Walla Walla, notified the Northern Pacific railroad that the commission would not consider as a precedent any lower rate on wheat east which the road might agree to put in as an emergency this fall. Mr. Moore, representing several farmers’ unions, desired this assurance in order to persuade the Northern Pacific to consider making the new rate, hoping to facilitate shipment of wheat east for export instead of to Puget Sound, because of a belief there would be a shortage of bottoms at Portland and Sound points. Despite the commission's cooperation, however, the Northern Pacific has declined to grant any reduction and has so notified the commission. Reasons for this given by Vice President J. G. Woodworth of the Northern Pacific are that no rate the road would be able to put in would succeed in diverting the wheat eastward, because charters from New York were relatively as high as from Pacific Coast points, and because the eastern importers would not be able to handle the added business, resulting in congestion at Duluth and New York. It is believed the farmers will give up further effort and will send their 50,000,000 bushels export crop to Puget Sound and Portland as usual for export.
“It is believed the farmers will give up further effort and will send their 50,000,000 bushels export crop to Puget Sound and Portland as usual for export.”
This 1915 struggle over infrastructure and transport costs highlights the enduring tension between Washington's agricultural producers and the massive rail corporations that control their ability to reach global markets. The logistical fear of 'shortage of bottoms' (shipping capacity) remains a persistent headache for inland wheat growers today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.