Railroads vs. The Ranchers
An editorial warning that railroad companies are risking their own future by cutting off travel perks for livestock shippers.
The latest railroad proposition is the abolition of the return stock passes. A meeting was held in Chicago on September 1st to take action. The trouble with the average railroad management is that it does not realize the value of its live stock traffic. Before long, if they continue their repressive measures, some of them, at least, will have no live stock to haul. They might increase revenues for a short time by making the shipper pay his fare back home, but in the long run, it would be a suicidal policy. What some railroads need at their head is men who pay less attention to Wall Street and more to the requirements and necessities of the territory their lines are supposed to serve.
“What some railroads need at their head is men who pay less attention to Wall street and more to the requirements and necessities of the territory their lines are supposed to serve.”
This reflects the deep-seated tension between rural producers and the monopolistic railroad corporations that controlled the flow of goods to market. It highlights a recurring theme in Pacific Northwest history: the struggle of local industries to maintain leverage against distant, Wall Street-controlled infrastructure.
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