Local Growers Battle Railroad Freight Hikes
The White Bluffs Community Club joins a regional coalition against rising transportation costs that threaten the profitability of Eastern Washington farms.
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Adding its voice of protest to those of other communities in Eastern Washington, the White Bluffs Community Club at its December meeting passed a resolution against the proposed increase in freight rates from east of the mountains to Coast points. The resolution states: 'Resolved that, whereas the railroad companies have asked for an increased freight rate on farm products from east of the mountains to coast points, this club in regular session does vigorously protest this increase for these reasons: 1st, Farming conditions are at the present time such that the present rates are all the industry will bear, and if newspaper comment can be used as a guide the railroads can operate profitably under the present rates. 2nd, Increasing rates as proposed would be discrimination against the farming industry of central Washington.'
“Farming conditions are at the present time such that the present rates are all the industry will bear.”
The economic vulnerability of regional farmers to railroad shipping costs is a recurring grievance in Washington history. This struggle against corporate monopolies over transport routes directly informs modern debates over public infrastructure.
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