Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1894-04-05
A cAR-sEARcHER's DUTIES.
How One Agent Had to Pay "Demur.
rage"


How ooe Agent had to Pay "Demur-
rage"
II you want to get an idea OF the i'm
mensity of American railroading, talk
to u car-searcher. The United States
covers n pretty large area, as some one
observed, but the railroad men, and
particularly the car-searchers, know
their way about it as u policeman
knows his beat. A car-searcher, be it
said for the benefit Of the uniformed,
is an official sent out by one of the
companies to look for cars which have
been borrowed by other lines and
treated like borrowed umbrellas. OF
course, these officials are experienced
men, n great trust is reposed in them
and they have great weight of re-
sponsibility to carry on their shoulders.
One of these men whom met few
evenings ago talked of one car "some-
where around by Eagle Pass" or
chance of finding another ut Portland,
Ore, as if these places were only a few
squares the other side of Broadway.
He had been sent out by one of the big
lines that cover the territory between
New York and Seattle to find certain
freight cars that had been running mp
long bills for 'demurrage" against
their borrowers. "Demurrage" is
charge made by the owners of car,
at SO much per day, for the time the
car is kept away from its own line.
They'll take car" he said, some
where down south, and, instead of
sending it back when they're done
with it, will use it for some other
work. That goes on and on until,
first thing you know. the car gets in a
smashup"
"Then you have no more chance of
finding it," l interrupted. This was
where displayed my ignorance.
Haven't ], though? go to where
the car was sent and make them show
me the books. Let me tell you about
one car belonging to our line that got
away down south and nobody could
trace it. The agent at that depot was
little bit of man, all beard. When
showed him the entry on his books
and asked him where that car was he
said he didn't know anything about it.
'0ne night he says, Il left it here on
the siding and when came next morn
ing it was gone. Some of those freight
conductors must have come in here in
the night, and looking around for a
car, they just took that one You're
u - liar, said. I've been railroad
ing all my life, and | know that CON
ductors don't go rawhiding about a
yard at night time looking to get cars.
They amt SO anxious to find extra
work as all that. Now said, you
just tell me where that cars got to or
! will report that you lost it, Well, he
commenced whimpering about his fam
lily and how he'd lose his job if l got
him into trouble about that car. At
last he owned up that one day they
were short of cars in the yard they
took and loaded up our car with agri-
cultural machinery for Atlanta, Ga,
the train was wrecked and the car was
all burned up. If you had told us that
at the time said, you would have
had to pay three hundred or four hun
dred dollars. Now you'll have to pay
about seven thousand dollars for de.
murrage, and serve you right. AS for
your family, I've got family, too. II
l go back and tell the company can't
find that car what is my family to do?
And was right. They had to pay
about seven thousand dollars. Louis.
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