The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-27
RAILROAD NEWS.
False Weights May Result in
Another Railroad War.
Santa Fe Heads Movement for
Careful Checking of Cars.
NEW REBATE SCHEME.
Roads Undercharge for
Freight Given Western Lines.
and Matters OF Interest
in Railroad Circles.

False weights on freight in car loads
originating east of Chicago have be-
come SO common of late that the west
ern railroads have taken steps to COM
pei their eastern connections to fur
nish Authorization of the gross weight,
tare and net weight of all cars of
freight destined to points west of Chi
cago and Mississippi
A committee composed of operating
officials of the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe. the Illinois Central. the
Northwestern. Great Western, Erie
and Pennsylvania railroads have taken
the matter in hand.
The Central Freight association lines
maintain weighing and inspection bu-
reaus at Buffalo. Pittsburg, st. Louis
and Chicago, but they fail to weigh
thousands of cars going to western
lines The railroads in what is known
as trunk line territory have no weigh
ing or inspection bureau. The western
roads, through their bureau. inspect
and weigh every car of freight destined
to points on eastern lines, and the ex-
act gross weight, tare, and net weight
is stamped by the bureau on the way
bills delivered to the eastern roads.
Now the western lines demand that
they be furnished the same evidence as
by the eastern roads.
so many cases of undertaking of
freight originating in eastern roads
have been discovered in the past few
months that their laxity is reprehensi-
ble, said a traffic official of one of the
big western systems. when ship
per pays freight on 10000 pounds and
ships a greater amount he profits by
the difference between what he did
pay and what he should have paid. If
a railroad company knows that the
shipper underbilled his freight and
ignored the fact it was, in plain Ian
guage, guilty Of giving him a secret
rebate. Several eastern lines have
been suspected of paying rebates in
this way since the passage Of the
Elkins amendment to the interstate
commerce law. So widespread is this
suspicion that it is strange the inter-
state commerce commission has not
become cognizant of it and commenced
an investigation.
1.-THE western lines have been con-.
fronted by a knotty problem in this
matter. For example, recently one
road discovered that car load of mer-
chandise received by it from an east
ern line was billed at a net weight of
10000 pounds, on which the amount
to be paid the eastern line was $3o.
The western road weighed the car be-
fore and after unloading and found the
net weight of the freight was $4,000
pounds. On the true weight the
freight charges due the eastern line
was SIS, instead of $40. AS the east
ern line had marked its share of the
charges on the way bill as $50. the
question was whether the western line
should collect and forward $56 to the
eastern line or the $50 which the road
fixed as its due. By collecting only $50
for the eastern line, the western road
practically became a party to the pay
ment of rebate of S26 to the shipper,
and therefore liable to punishment I'M
der the interstate commerce law An
other question presenting itself to the
western road was whether it would
continue to receive competitive traffic
from the eastern line if its patron was
forced to pay the extra $26."