The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-06-28
Reform in Freight Bills.

Hlc ciioiIS Arc on lOOC 10 prOQuco
general reform in railroad manage
ment, there Is one point never before
mentioned, to which We wish to call
tho attention Of tho Railroad Commits
sioner, as the correction may come in
the line Of his duty. 1t was formerly
the custom, when articles were ship
ped over several railroads, for the
road last transporting tho article to
state separately on it's freight bill the
amount charged cn the other roads,
and the amount charged by it. Now,
however, the charge is made in n
lump, and the merchant has no way
of knowing whether the G. G. g. A.
r. II. is exceeding the charter limit
or not. The present convenient prac-
tice, we presume, is common to all
roads, rs it makes detection Of imposi-
tions almost impossible. We think
that Commissioner Bonham has the
power of requiring the roads to make
all itcmizcd bill Of charges. fit is an
honest bill no one can object to giving
all tho particulars; but charges in
gross are fruitful field for fraud.
AS an evidence Of the dcsirability of
this reform, and to show how the
Charlotte Road has treated Winnsboro
in the past, we will give two or three
Instances taken at random. We will
do Mr.. Solomon Hans tho justice to
say that these particular grievances
were committed before he took charge
of the freight business. They occurred
before the road jumped from the
Southern Security Company's frying
pan into Mr.. Tom Scott's fire. But
they are all of q piece, and indeed we
have no guaranty that the Road is not
doing the same now that it did then.
On the 18th of March, 1877, Mcssrs.
Beatty & Brother shipped some bacon
from Baltimore to Winnsboro direct
by the Coast Line, that is, over tho
Wilmington Road via Columbia, and
paid 68d cents per hundred. Learn
ing that very favorable rates wcro
given to Chester, they adopted the
expedient of having another lot ship
ped from Baltimore on the Goth Of
March, 1877, which was sent rio Co.
lumbia to Chester, and then shipped
back from Chester to Winnsboro, an
extra distance of about sixty miles,
and at the trouble Of one more hand
ling. Yet the charge from Baltimore
to Chester was % cents, and from
Chester to Winnsboro 20 cents, (25
cents was the Charge but it exceeded
the printed tariff and rebate Of five
cents was allowed.) both together
being 48 cents or 20A cents less than
when shipped to Winnsboro direct.
And Of this, almost half the entire
charge was made for tho distance be-
tween Winnsboro and Chester. Then
the road refused to take any more
freight in that way; SO that on the
18th Of April another Lot was shipped
to Winnsboro direct, and tho charge
was 75 cents per hundred. ,D...f.
We wish our readers to understand
this. The road shipped bacon from
baltimore to Chester, passing right by
Winnsbore, and charged only % conts
And yet when the bacon stopped al
Winnsboro, tho charge was from 68I
to 70 cents. Again, when tho road
charged 20 conts from Chester to
Winnsboro twas exceeding its char.
ter. And yet,it was not content tc
do this; but actually refused to take
any moro freight at the same ratio. Il
was not satisfied with skinning Winns
boro at the rate Of twenty cents hun
4 drad, but made sausage meat Of 1t a
PSI The rate Of forty and fifty cents.
Before e1this, some Of tho merchant.
had had articles shipped to Columbia
- and thence to WinDsboro, thus sayin,
q handsome sum, for tho through, rate
TO Winnsboso were even tn8re goug
ing than tho local rates. For soma
tamc this succeeded but whom th