406 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



reason to suppose that an appeal to the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission for a substantial reduction of the eastern rate upon butter 

 might be granted in view of the fact that the rate of almost every 

 other product has been reduced in the last ten or twenty years, and 

 in view of the further fact that the rate on dressed meat, the only 

 other product that can be compared to butter, is but 45 cents per 

 hundred, and has been for more than ten years. 



The question of discrimination as between the carload and the 

 less than carload shipper is of more importance than the mere dif- 

 ference of freight rate that each would pay. There exists now, as 

 outlined above a real discrimination in favor of the carload shipper 

 if we consider only the cost of the service to the railroads and their 

 income from each of the two classes of shipments, but since the 

 rate is the same they both get into J;he eastern markets at the same 

 proportionate expense and hence go upon the market upon equal 

 terms. But a real difference in the rates paid by two classes of 

 shippers of the same product enables the one paying the less rate to 

 monopolize the market. Indeed, a situation exists in the butter busi- 

 ness which conclusively proves this contention. The price of butter 

 upon the western coatsts of this country is always much higher than 

 upon the eastern coast, yet small shipments of butter are never made 

 west, for the reason that the less than carload rate is 30 per cent 

 higher than the rate upon carloads. Only the shipper of carloads 

 can get to the markets of the west, notwithstanding the attractive 

 prices that may be offered. 



THE PRICE OF BUTTER. 



For more than a year a shortage of butter has been felt in the 

 markets of the country and dairymen have congratulated them- 

 selves upon the relatively high price of butter. There is no dis- 

 puting the fact that butter is short in quantity in this country nor 

 that the price received for it is higher than heretofore for several 

 years. The higher prices received by our creamery patrons for 

 their butterfat is not wholly attributable to the market price for 

 butter. A part of such increase in the price received by the farmer 

 is due to the fact that our creameries are better managed than be- 

 fore, fewer losses occur and the expense of operation is therefore 

 less than before and hence the income of the farmer per pound of 

 fat is increased. 



