Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-07-19
PROBE FINDS FORGERY
Startling Strike Of "Pav Dirt in
an Interstate Board lnves-
tigaticn.
EXPENSE BILLS MANIPULATED
.--
Operation Gives q Louisville Firm q
Cinch on Grain Shipments-Of-
fender Name Withheld.

Louisville, July 1S.-Evidence of a
sensational nature was offered at the
hearing which is being conducted by
the interstate commerce commission to
investigate charges of irregularities in
the freight rates on grain originating
west of the Mississippi and north of
the Ohio rivers and shipped to south
eastern points. The evidence presented
consisted Of sixty seven expense bills
taken from the local Office of the
Southeastern Mississippi Valley asso-
citation, some of which had been al
tered and the rest duplicated, and even
Implicated, with the result that the
Louisville shipper was given an lille
gal advantage of 3 cents per 100
pounds over competitors selling grain
in southeastern territory.
Manipulation OF Expense Bills.
The hearing was Instituted on COM
plant of shippers of grain from st.
Louis and other Mississippi and Ohio
river points who charged that Louis
vile shippers by manipulating expense
bills either with or without knowledge
on the part Of the railroads, were Sc
curing lower rates to- southeastern ter
ritory than other points in this terri
tory" Under the present system the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers are billing
points for all grain originating west
Of those streams Grain shipped from
st. : Louis to the Atlanta .(Ga.) dis
trict by way Of Cairo, Hi, at the regu-
slar:lacais rate wouid. sin, consequence OF
the shorter distance. be carried 3
cents per 100 pounds cheaper than it
would via Louisville. ~ go Z
Rate Was ghrant Thssc Cents. .-,
BY the presentation of an expense
bill for each car Of grain handled from
st. Louis at any time within the pre-.
yions ninety days the louisville Ship
per may ship an equal amount Of grain
on to Atlanta, ard have . the rate
e"shrunk" 3 cents, thus placing them on
an equality with the St. Louis ship
per. The Louisville shippers, through
counsel before the commission, denied
that these expense bills had been
manipulated and duplicated SO as to
allow of the shipment of grain to the
oDutheast that they had bought in the
vRinity Of Louisville, and which thus
saved them the cents over st. Louis
0sain.
Forged from Begin ming to End.
The duplicated bills introduced, how
ever, were admitted by counsel for AL
parties interested to have been in
many cases forged from beginning to
end. The others had been obtained by
erasing such words for instance as
bricks" and writing in wheat Ev-1
cry one of the bills introduced was in
favor Of single Louisville grain firm
which does very large business In
the southeast. AS the bills thus far
shown cover only the months of Sep
TENDER and October 1904, those inter
ested expect the total number of such
bills used during the past two years to
number hundreds and to cover a saw
ing in freights to the guilty users of
many thousands of dollars, to say moth
ing of the advantage reaped in get
ting hold of the grain trade of the
southeast
Name Of the Firm withheld.
A thorough investigation will be
started, and criminal proceedings are
expected. The name Of the firm i'm
plicated in the exposure is withheld
until the documents become a matter
Of record.