Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1889-09-21
The FREIGHT BUREAU.
How This Important Branch OF Railroad
Enterprise Is Conducted.


Enterprise Is Conducted.
Few people have any idea of the
comprehensive system that attaches
to the receiving and forwarding OF
freight by the railroads. Here, for
instance, at sheds of the st. L., X. Il
n. W, the casual observer would sup
pose that the freight is simply re-
ccived from the wagons on one side o.
the depot, carried or trucked across
and dumped into the outbound cars
on the other side. He would also as
sumo that only local regulations gov
erned the handling Of freight On the
contrary. there is a perfect system cX-
tending all over the country, and rec
ognized by the Interstate Commerce
act, so that the same rules equally ap-
ply in Boston, st. Louis and San Fran,
cisco. More Immediately we are an
der the control of the Western Rail
way Weighing Association and In
spection Bureau, comprising ove sew
entv railroads, with George L. Car
man, general superintendent, at Chi
cago, and Charles Johnson, agent, at
st. Louis. This association-as there
are others like it, covering other parts
of the country-issues classification
and rate sheets four times a year, and
special bulletins at more frequent in
tervals. OF the Importance of correct
classification and rating you may
Judge when | cite section 10 OF the
Interstate Commerce act. which
makes it a felony for a common car
rier or any of its agents or employees
to knowingly %connive at false billing Of
freight or false weighing, and visits the
same penalty of 5000 fine or impris-
onment in the ~penitentiary for two
years upon the shipper who knowing
ly resorts to false weighing, or bribos
any railroad employee to resort to dis
elimination in behalf OF such shipper.
The inspector must check over the
classification by the latest sheet, and
verify the weight OF the freight, To
do this he must open and examine the
freight and make corrections. This
saves considerable to the railroad, for,
either through ignorance or design,
the shipper often gives a wrong CLASH
~fcation and as frequently underwcighs
the Shipment. ! am obliged to make
weekly reports Of these examinations
to the local agent OF the road and to
the general Offices Of the Inspection
Bureau at Chicago. and my corrections
frequently show erroneous rating and
weighing to the value of 5000 or $500.
This sum is saved to the railroad, for
it is an extraordinary exception when
the shipper enormously bills against
himself, Even the Ovcr-worked bill
clerks are apt to make mistakes in
classification, the changes ue SO
numerous, and it is hard to remember
the relative relations of thousands
OF articles shipped by freight.
SO, perhaps, it is little wonder
that a shipper sometimes bills cut
lcry as hardware or that another may
try to get through a barber's or dent
lists chair as ordinary furniture. But
they do not succeed. The inspectors
know freight and what to change the
classification to in case of error. Be-
sides the Inspection Bureau resorts to
Il species of detective business i" the
case of suspected shippers who under
bill, and we interchange bulletins OF
warning. The system is as nearly per-
feet as any thing human can be, and
the shippers are so far learning the
fact that they now make out their
shipping tickets far more correctly
than formerly.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat.