The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-03-13
Represented By the Hundreds of
Thousands in Topeka Today.
Cattle Men Here From All Over
the State.
THEY MEAN BUSINESS.
Shippers. Want the Present
Railroad Rules Changed.
Present Their Case to the Rail-
road Commissioners.

About sixty cattle shippers from diff
ferent parts of the state and about ten or
a dozen railroad attorneys and officials
are before the board of railroad COM
missioners today discussing the recent
change in the shipping rules by the rail-
road companies. .-..-
The meeting is being held in Repre-
sentative hall
Capt: joe Waters of Topeka and T. P.
Kelly OF Eureka are the lawyers who
are presenting the stock mems side of
d, the case and the defense for the roads
is being made by C. W. Blair, attor-
ney, and John A Sergeant, general
freight-agent, for the Memphis: j. II.
Richards, attorney, and J. A. Lincoln,
general freight agent for the Missouri
Pacific; NJ. A. Low, attorney, and ID.
Atwood and G. A Kimball, heads of the
freight department for the Rock Island,
and A A. Hurd, attorney for the Santa
Fe.
Two members, w. A. DIworth and
j. H. Sutherland of the Nebraska board,
and NJ. L. Mcdowell, deputy secretary
of Nebraska, are here also. Mr.. Dill
worth is accompanied by his wife.
The question ISL "Has the recent
change in rates on stock shipments from
dollars per ear load TO cents per hundred
pounds incre 4sed the rates?"
The meeting was called by the Kansas
board on basis of its own observations,
but since the cali upwards of forty
formal complaints have been filed from
different parts of the state.
I'VE expect to show" said Captain
Waters, ''that the change has increased
the rates on stock shipments from 10 to
so per cent on cattle and from to 10 per
cent on hogs"
hot 4
vance under the new rule" said MIR.
: Hurd. 1--WE have not had time to pre-
pare formal answer to the formal com
plants because we understood that this
was to be simply an informal discus
sion.''
while it may be true that in some in
divtdual cases the rates are higher at
the end of the year you will find that the
change has been a saving to the total
shipping interests of Kansas" said Mr.
Low.
J. H Richards of the Missouri Pacific
said: "Hhe Missouri board recognized
this change as satisfactory and this is
the first complaint of it we have ever
had As matter of fact this rule is
more just TO small shippers than the old
was. The change is to get the revenue
from the overlooking some men do, not
to increase the rate. Overloaded cars
should be paid for accordingly. Even
the Humane society has taken this mat
ter up in the interest of the cattle them
selves [smiles from the shippersl and
the old way the shipper lost by reason of
manned and bruised cattle"
William Bradbury of Broughton,
shlpper-"This is great thing for the
railroads and we don't blame them for
trying TO keep it. But they will find that
the cattlemen can stand together just as
firmly as they can. We were all satisfied
with the old mathn6 I
the new method makes higher rates by
every shipper in this room. The gentle
man has spoken about bruised and MAIN
ed cattle More of this results from un-
der loading than from over loading
because it allows more of jostle 1t is
necessary TO load a car full TO keep the
cattle from getting down. 1t gives them
united support This new rule falls
with crushing effect on the small deal
ers. 1t is almost prohibitive of mixed
loads. Itraises the rate from 50 to $40
Fer car.
Il. NJ. bort of Valley Falls spoke along
the same lines
there has been any raise at all
the rate on mixed loads has
been responsible for it, and that
was changed on February "a, when the
rate on mixed loads was lowered. All
the evidence we have has been gathered
from reports of shipments prior to that
time, and even then we claim we can
show that there has not been any ad-
vance. In February the number of cars
of live stock into Kansas City was 1908
ga SO Of these there was no change; on
$50 of them there was slight increase:
on 779 there was decrease. The total
increase was $59667, or an average of
81 cents per car"
Jacob Baston, of Overbrook, said in
his talk: "rhe rate on 36-foot cars from
my town is $40. 40. In December
shipped ten cars and paid 1904 for them.
Under the per hundred rule in January /
shlpped ten cars, the total freight on
which was $233.s3 an increase on ten
cars of $29S3"
Mat Edmunds, of McLouth-"There
Is another thing I object to most |
seriously in this matter. and that
is the weighing at the stations |
before shipment and the weighing at the |
yards in Kansas City l have suffered |
almost as much from that as from the
that pay about 1927 more per car than
under the old rule but if we must pay |
that let's pay it per car and doSAway with |
the weighing. The new method is un-
just"
Mr.. Edmunds said to another JOURNAL
reporter:
The railroads have simply assumed
that the shippers are in total ignorance
OF what is to their best interests in the
sh1pment of stock, and have decided to
teacn them the manner in which stock
should be shipped"
"a shipper always loads car in such
manner that will be most comfortable