Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1891-08-01

between the Railroad Conr,,s.
sioners and Railroad Manar.-.
In which the Rights Of Small Sh,r.
pers Of Grain is Defended.
TorExA. July A-Owing to the demand,
made BY shippers through the railroad con-,
missioner for cars, with elevators and e,,c,
leaders being represented, the board ;.,r.I
tho following circular, which was ,ent e. 4,
the railroad companies:
CIRCULAR NO. s.
I'm view of the present hatterine pro.nec,
Tor abundant crops of farm produce in Kan.
Cd and q means to avoid the possibility q,
q shortage in transportation facilities. tbe
commission desires to respectf ully impre.,
upon you the importance of thorough and
uniform system for the apportionment and
distribution of cars among the several sta.
tons and shippers along the line of you,
road. Az means to this end, we bog leave
TO submit the following suggestions and AL.
II tney meet with your approval, that in
str1ctions be issued to your agents accord
ingly, viz:
.'FirstCAgents should be instructed TO re.
quire OF shippers an estimate of the number
and kind of cars they will likely use ner
month, during the Shipping season. Said
estimate to be signed by the shipper or his
authorized agent, but this is not to be re-
cific day or date.
Experimentation for cars to be en-
tered in book of record in the order in
which they are received.
ihird-Cars to be applied in the order in
which re9uistions are filed.
"fourth-When acquisitions exceed the
number OF cars available at the time ship
menus are to be made, cars on hand to be
apportioned impartially between the several
patrons of the station, except that the agents
are forbidden to give any shipper more than
Gouble the number of cars he has loaded on
any previous day.
"Fifth-When arequisltion is fled, shipper
must be notified that any cars furnished and
not loaded at the expiration of the time for
loading will be applied on the requisltion
next In order and his original order consid-
cred cancelled and another made necessary.
'Sixth-Cars should be classified as to kind
and destination.
''Seventh-A demurrage charge should be
rigidly collected when cars are held an un-
reasonable time for loading.''
In response to this circular letter was re-
ceived from the general manager of one of
the lines asking for modification in
favor OF the elevators, plainly asserting that
the railroad companies found it to their in
terest to discriminate in favor of elevators,
which used SO many more carr. In response
the following letter was written by the board,
copy of which was sent to each general
manager:
''Your letter of the 22rd ult., in relation to
circular of the commission relating to the
distribution of cars to shippers, has had care
full consideration, and am directed to make
answer thereto as follows:
''The commission is not unmindful of the
question of relative rights, raised by you, as
between shippers of grain by men who own
elevators and whose sole business it is to ship
grain, as dealers and commission operators,
and producers, or transient dealers, who de-
sire to load directly upon cars from wagons.
This question of the relative rights of
shippers having elevators or storage faclli-
ties ana shippers vino may order cars for
temporary grain business of few days or a
sion. 1t has risen to torment the commits.
sion as often and as much as it has the rail-
road managers of Kansas.
''Complaints are constantly coming to the
commission that such determinations are
made, by all our companies, in favor of the
elevator owners, and redress demanded. To
these charges the companies have always re-
sponded in an emphatic denial.
'1t may as well be stated that no manager
or subordinate officer has ever before adj
mitted to the commission the practice, much
less undertook to defend it. To your frank
ness in admitting and defending such prac-
tice is due an equally candid response from
the commission.
''The rules suggested, then, are held to be
strictly equitable, because they do not 'recog-
nlze in any way shippers having elevators or
storage facilities as having any rights greater
than shippers who may oroer cars for tempo
rary grain business whereas you hold that
they are equitable for this very reason.
1.-The commission reads the statute and
construes the law governing carrying COM
panles in this state as forbidding favoritism
or determination of any nature. You make
carload the maximum unit of quantity and
affix to it the minimum charge. 1t matters
not whether one of these units are presented
by the producer, or twenty Of them by mid
dlemen: whether the one offers car load of
any given commodity three times during
year, or the other offers it 800 times during
year, the rights of each are the same and
must be respected alike both as to facilities
and charges.
sin urging the necessity for this discriui-
nation you say: I fear, unless this is done,
that it will discourage the owners of elevator
tho long run to all interested, including the
farming community
Admitting your fears to be well grounded
in reason, the commission still believes the
evils following a strict adherence to the law,
in an absolutely Understanding service of
the public by carrying companies, would be |
greatly less than from the practice you advo-
cate, which leads to discomfort and popular
distrust.
with or without reason the fact will 10
mann that elevators thus cherished and sus-
tanned are believed to be monopolies in q |
mastery OF avenues to the market from the |
farmer. twill he suggested, and believed, |
too, that railroad owners and railroad mans |
gers are In interest with the elevator owners, |
snanng profits magni6ed by favoritism in |
rates a. well as in facilities.
II ann instructed to say, in answer to your
question: viii you be kind enough to ad- |
vise me whether you think it desirable to |
modify your rules in some way to cover the |
anmc9ity suggested above, that it is not only |
NOT desirable but impossible for the COM
MISSION to modify rule which ia based up |
pa Justice and demanded by law and to ex-
h0k e.