The Price of Freight Discrimination
Spokane mill owners testify that predatory railroad rates make it impossible to raise workers' wages, sparking a call for state regulation.
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The Spokane Lumbermen's Association is currently contending with a demand for a nine-hour day from mill workers. The strikers proposed arbitration under the Hemrich act, but the association declined. State Labor Commissioner William Blackman requested a sworn statement for their refusal, which reveals a complex web of freight rate discrimination. The mills claim they cannot grant the 11 percent increase in labor costs caused by shorter hours because they are being squeezed by railroad monopolies. For instance, window glass from Indiana costs $1.52 per 100 pounds to ship to Spokane, but only 40 cents to the coast, where the glass is glazed into sashes and reshipped to Spokane at a lower rate than if the Spokane factories did the work themselves. This discriminatory practice, signed by Association president E. F. Cartier Van Dissel, has reignited the push for a state railway commission to curb the influence of railroad giants over local industry.
“This is not the worst feature of the case, for the coast mill can put the glass into sash and ship the glazed sash into Spokane in carload lots at a rate of 40 cents per 100 pounds.”
The 1903 conflict between Spokane's industry and the railroad cartels echoes modern frustrations with supply chain monopolies and the regional impacts of international logistics. It highlights the recurring Washington state challenge of balancing independent regional development against global transit interests.
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