Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1881-06-23
Law Relating to Express Packages.

There was once jeweler IN Wheel
ing who sent his eTrand-boy to the ex-
press Office. with little package to be
/ carried 10 New York. IL contained a
! diamond worth S125. But there was
nothing on the outside of the parcel to
1 show that il was so valuable. The err
rand boy carried it TO the express
Office and the agent there took it to be
/ forwarded. But il never reached the
person TO whom il was sent. Then
there was lawsuit to determine
whether the jeweler or the express peo-
! pie should bear the loss. The Grand
boy was called as a witness. and the
! lawyers asked him what happened
when he carried the parcel to the agent.
He said that he Just handed it to the
agent and paid him the eXpressage
and came away; that the agent did not
ask him what was in it. or what it was
worth, or anything about it, or give
him any receipt. The Court said that
if the boy was not asked he was not
bound TO tell that there was diamond
i'm the parcel, and. therefore, the express
company should pay for it. as they had
lost it.
But the law is that when a person
brings parcels to the express office the
agent may ask how much they are
worth. And if the errand-boy cannot
answer the agent can give a receipt saw
ing that the company will not pay more
than $50 if it is lost. Often an GRAND
boy takes a parcel without knowing
what it is worth. The agent asks him
the value; the boy answers. 81 don't
know" and the agent stamps on his
receipt the words value asked not
given" This means that although
there should be gold watch or a dia-
mond bracelet or thousand dollars in
the parcel, vet il it is lost the company
will paw bat : o. The reason is that if
uncommonly valuable things are sent
by express the company wishes OF
course to take unusual care OF them.
They cannot do so unless they know
which are the valuable parcels and
which are the common ones. If thew
ask, they have right to be told.
Whenever one carries Il parcel TO the
express il is important 10 lie prepared
10 answer if one is asked the value; I'M
less the person who sends it is willing
to take the risk, which very often he is.
What makes this more difficult is
that the express agent is not bound to
ask in words ''What is this parcel
WORTH" The question can be put into
the receipt. 1t is usual to give who
ever sends a parcel by express receipt
for it. Some jewellers in New York
sent whole box OF watches, worth
about $500. by express 10 Memphis.
The express agent did not ask any
questions. but he gave the errand- boy a
receipt in which the question was
printed. The watches never reached
Memphis; the empty box was found a
year afteryard. but the watches were
probably stolen The court said that
asking the question in the receipt was
just the same as asking it in words.
Whenever one carries parcel to the
express he should take notice what is
in the receipt if one is given him.
If an errand boy should put very
high value On the parcel the express
would charge extra for carrying it.
There was once clerk who carried q
manuscript of a booS, and the express
man asked what the value was. The
clerk did not really know anything
about the value. He knew, however,
that the manuscript was important, and
that the express would only pay so il
they lost it, unless he named value.
so he answered. b. guess. Five thou
sand dollars" He did not know that
the agent would charge extra But
when the parcel was delivered the ex-
pressage was seven dollars, instead of
one. which would have been about right
if he had answered, al do not know"
This is according to law. The express
has right to charge extra for very val
liable parcels. Il Christian Union.