Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-10-04
THE BELOIT CASE.
The Kansas BOard of Railroad Com
misslnncrs Render Decision IN the
BclOiJ case.

| Inc mayor anu council Oi tile city Oi BelOlt,
complainants, vs.. the Missouri Pacific Railway
company respondents; before the board OF
| railroad commissioners Of the state of Kansas.
This is a complaint Of the mayor and cOuu-
ell Of the city Of Beloit, alleging that the
rates charged for freight carried over the
| Ni'sOuu faCitic railway to said city from
other points, are unjust and unreasonable,
and that the charges made for services per-
formed on said road are excessive, and asking
an investigation Of said charges and decision
| thereon.
Due notice was given the COmplainants and
respondents that the board wOud proceed to
investigate the complaint Of Bcoit on July
| llth, lNS3 ut which time and place the board
met aud proceeded to examine witnesses. 1t
was found that such record evidence as the
hoard needed was not kept by the officers In
kansa' who had the immediate management
| Of this road, and that such evidence was In
st. Louis Mo. A rCquisitOn was made upon
the general officers Of the company for such
evidence as was deemed necessary, and the
board adjourned TO meet for the further in
vcstigatlOn Of the complaint at Atchison, on
| August IS at which time and place the board
met and evidence quite vouminous was in
troduccd, careful examination Of which re-
vcalcd the fact that II was incomplete in not
showing the dOing5 in transportation and
! financial statement Of the road for the six
months ending June 80 1888 The absence
Of this was accounted forby the fact, as stated,
that the accounts could not be made up until
reports from numerous agents both In and
out Of the state, has been read and audited,
| In which there was necessarily from one to tive
months delay. This additional evidence be-
| Ing nee sSary the board ordered that it be
produced rs soon as it could be made up,
which was done.
This complaint is brought under section "A
NJ the act oi legislature of Kansas Of March
| u, lN>j, concerning railroads and other com
| mon CirriCrs.n
The section reads: "Tn all cases where
| complaint shall be made In accordance with
| the provisions Of section IS, hereinafter prov.
| idrd, that an unreasonable charge is made, or
! that the rates charged for freight are unjust,
unreasonable or eytOrtionatc, aud the board
shall liud such complaint to be true, they shall
require modified charge for the service reu-
IrrCd, such as they shall deem to be rcasOna-
bic, and shall certify their finding to the man.
aging officer Of the road against which com
/ plaint is made, and the rates so determined by
she board shall be, by the railroad company
| Affected thereby, accepted, and posted up In
each depot on the line OF its road that may be
designated by said bOard.n
The question rs to whether rates Of charges
on freight transportation rates are reasonable
or otherwise rests upon numerous considera-
| tion- aud circumstances, and it is not in all
cases easy to decide whether any given rate is
reasonable or otherwise. The board has given
the evidence in this case careful consideration,
and believes that the earnings Uf the road,
over expenses and charges, have a sufficient
surplus to afford Il reduction in the rates of
charge.
The board find and decide that reasonable
charges for the transportation Of freight to
and from licloit, Kansas, frsm and to State
line, Kansas City, Kansas, over the Missouri
Pacific railway, governed by the classification
now in force by said road, are as follows;
Merchandise, in cents per 100 pounds: First
class, 60; second class, 81; third class, A;
fourth class, IS.
Car loads of not less than minimum or more
than maximum, as shown in classification, in
cents per lOl pounds: Fifth class, 81; class
a, -; class B, 20; class G, 16; class d, IA:
lumber, lath and shingles, Is; salt in barrels
or bulk, cement aud plaster in barrels, II;
wheat, flour, corn meal, flax seed, potatoes
castor beans, mIllet seed, broom corn, SIG 50;
corn, rye, oats, barley bran and mill stuff
sligo; hay pressed in bales, II; soft coal, 10;
hard coal, l2ii.
Car loads in dollars, per car: Cattle aid
hogs, - feet car $50; horses and mules, 80
feet car, S3j; sheep and calves, 30 feet car
$2S.
The complaint has reference to the rates of
charges for freight carried to and from Be
lott In this lnding it is proper for us to
state that the rates to aud from BCloit over
said railroad were not in excess Of proper
tiOnatc rates charged at other points. We
therefore call attention to the following pro-
Visions Of section ~, Of the act above cited
"Nor shall it Che railrold company charge
more for transporting freight from any point
on its line than fair and jHSt proportion of
the price 10 charges for the same kind of
freight transported from any other pont.n
In the opinion Of the board this provision
requires the railroad companies In this state
to mnintan fair and just prnpOrtionate rates,
and that when change Is effected upon com.
plant, Us in this case, the law required an
equalization of tse rates at other points, to |
maintain such proportion in thcgenGril rates |
We also call your attention TO another pro-
vision Of the statute above cited, contained |
in section IA, and which reads: "And the |
rates so determined by the board to he reason
able shall be, by the railroad company affect. |
ed thereby, accepted, and posted up in q con |
spcuOus place in such depOts on the line of |
its road that they may be designated by said |
board"
In conformity to this provision the board |
hereby dcsignates the railway companys de- |
pct at Kansas City, Kan, at Atchison and |
BclOit, Kan, in which said rates so found by |
this board TO be reasonable shall be posted up, |
and the board orders and directs that such |
posting be done in ten days from the date OF
order.
Signed this eth day Of September, 1888.
Attest. Henry HOPKINS,
L. j. TURNER, JAMES HUMPHREY,
Secretary, l.. l.. TURNER.
ANOTHER BELOIT DECISION.
The Union Pacific comes in for its share of
the attention of the railroad commissioners.
The Mayor and ouncil OF the city u Belq!t, COM
Eanants against the Union Pac0c Railroad
This is complaint made by the Mayor aud
Council of the city Of BcOit, complaining that
the rates charged for freight carried over the
respondents railroad to said city from other
points, aud from said city to OthCrpouts, over
said railroad are unjust and unreasonable,
and that the charges made for services per-
formed on said road are excessive, and re-
qucsting an investigation of the said complaint
aud decision thereon. Due notice was given
to both cOmplainants and respondent of the
time and place of Il hearing OfsuCh complaint,
The times aud places for the hearing of this
complaint were the same as in the case of the
same complainants against the Missouri Pacific
Railway Company Both parties appeared be-
fore the Board and evidence submitted.
This complaint is made under section IA of
llt ACT oil Ine Legislature OF hansuS, passed
at the last session, concerning railroads and
other common carriers and that part of the
section that Immediately applies to the mat
ter under consideration, reads thus: SIN all
cases where complaint shall be made in accor-
dance with the provisions Of section Is, here
matter provided that an unreasonable charge
Is made or that the rates charged for freight
are unjust, unreasonable or cXtortiOnatc, and
the Board shall find such complaint to be
true, they shall require a modified charge for
the service rendered, such as they shall deem
to he reasonable, and shall certify their find
ing to the managing officer OF the road,
against which complaint is made, and the
rates so dctermin, d, by the Board, shall be,
ccpted and posted up In a conspicuous place
In each depot on the line OF its road that may
be designated by said Board"
Beoit is common point as to both OF the
companies. The rates at that
point over both the Missouri Pacific and
Union Pacific Railroads arc substantially the
same, and it is evident must be the same as to
all freight destined to the same terminal
points. The Board has decided in the case OF
the mayor and council Of city of Beloit against
the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, that
the rates Of charges for freight to and from
BelOit from other points arc too high, aud has
decided what rates are reasonable. Owing to
the apparent fluctuations In the business of {
the respondent company in this case, It Is
difficult to say what rates should prevail
along Its line, but the Board, after consider
Ing all the evidence adduced, believes that It ,
s rna soma hin and nronnr IN odiust tho rn tae ut