Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-02-23
IHE RETAILERS SD
Railroads Manner of Handling
Coal Forces Them to Charge
Higher Prices
LETTER TO THE IOWA PRESS
Chairman Moore of the Legislative
Committee of the Iowa and Nebraska
Coal Dealers Association, Gives oqt
Some Starting information = Pay
ment on Basis of Coal Delivered.
;peclal to Times. Republican.

LcMars, Feb. a3.W. Il. Moore. of
this Place, chairman OF the legislative
COMMITTEES OF the Iowa ana Nebraska
Coal Dealers' association, has issued a
letter 10 the Iowa press giving some
startling information relative to the
manner in which coal is handled by
the railroad companies. Indicating that
the retail dealers must charge a large
margin over COS. in order to cover
shrinkage. II Is understood the assoc
citation will father a bill In the legls-
lature designed 10 compel railroads to
place scales at convenient points and
compel them to .ccept payment of
freight on the basis OF coal delivered:
Moore's letter ie as follows:
This evil OF short weights on coal
has assumed such alarming proportions
in the middle YVES. that the coal as
soc!ations In order to save many OF the
retail coal dealers from financial ruin.
have had to take hold of the matter
and seek a remedy. The Iowa & Ne
hraska association has been the pion-
eer in this movement for reform, and
at last meeting at Omaha passed res
ci,ltions favorlns Legislative action to
remedy thu evil That this evil has
Always existed TO more or less extent
goes without saying: and that there
Is a natural shrinkase of soft coal by
eva pcration Is also an established fact
A further fact that coal when being
transported In open cars Is subject to
stehiage while in transit IL we'll known
to the general public. The writer be-
neves that on an average the loss from
natural shtnkage would not be more
than per cent or two per ceipN and
taking 1t the year around / per cent
would cover the stealage. How then,
are we TO account for the fact THAT
during the last one CT two years the
retailers who have handled coal Ship
ped direct from tho mines, and who
have either weighed out their coal
themselves and kept careful account
OF same, OF, as is the case In the
greater cart of che cars In the sta
afstics which I include in this article,
have had d. weighed on track scales
on arrival by the railroad companies
themselves I repeat. how are we to
account for the fact that this coal on
arrival shows a universal shortage
running as high as tons to the car;
the entire average being more than
10 per cent and in some cases as
high as 25 per cent. The writer has
devoted much time and study to this
problem. First, he made careful ex-
animation of the cars consigned to his
firm on arrival and in the statistics OF
NJ. A. Moore & Co. he has not included
a car that showed signs OF having been
robbed In transit. On the contrary, the
cars showing these large shortages
were as full as they would hold on ar
rival His conclusion IS simply this.
that in many cases the weighing at the
mines Is the mcrest farce and the rail-
roads take these weights without
question. The guessing at the mine Is
based upon the marked capacity OF the
car, and as the writer knows dbso-
lutely, from his Investigations 1t IS n
physical impossibility to load many of
these cars up to their marked capacity,
more especially with the fnc sizes suc:l
as nut and egg. The result Is that the
guessing Is always high and the re-
taller is compelled to suffer enormous
losses How much. he does not know.
unless ne weighs out every car on ar
rival, which entails a large additional
expense The railroads, notably the
Illinois Central, have issued positive
instructions to their agents to weigh
no coal at its destination. Now, what
is the remedy for this evil? The con-
census of opinion at the Omaha meet
ing was that the most promising meth
cd was along the line OF state legisia-
ton. The COMMITTEES on resolutions
recommended the appointment of a
legislative committee OF three IN Iowa
and the same number IN Nebraska
whose duty 1t should be to prepare and
introduce bills in the state legislature
of Iowa and Nebraska to remedy the
evil which threatens the financial ruin
of SO many of our business men, or
puts an additional unnecessary tax on
to the consumer II the dealers try to
make up their shortage In added
PROFITS. The committee on resolutions
outlines the general provisions of the
bill to be introduced. 1t is proposed to
compel the railroads to locate ana
maintain track scales at all towns on
their lines of reasonable size; that
when requested to do so by the con-
signees, the agent of such road shall
weigh any car of coal received at these
stations. both the gross and tare with
the car uncoupled; that any coal con-
signed to stations where no scales are
located shall be weighed gross by the
railroad company at the nearest
weighing station to destination. anc
the weight. both gross and tare. shalt
be stamped on the way bill. together
with the name of the station where
weighed and date. 1t is believed that
this would help very much to solve this
vexed question and be no injustice 20
the railroads. The bill is in no sense
drastic In its provisions ana is only
intended to compel the railroads to do
their business In more systematic
manner and get their pay for only
services actually performed.
winnipeg--A lamp over the choir
platform exploded in the Stonewali
Presbyterian church, setting fire TO tho
church furnishings and the clothing of