The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-06-14
RAILROAD NEWS.
Lumbermen StrenuOusly object
to a Minimum Weight Plan.
Regard It as a Scheme to Obtain
Higher Rates.
MAY GO TO THE COURTS
A Matter of Vital Interest to
all Sections of Country.
Gossip ami Matters Of Interest
in Railroad Circles.
NAY GO TO THE COURTS

Chicago, June 14.@Are the railroads
of the country, headed by James J.
Hill, seeking to establish a system of
minimum weights for lumber ship
ments, which is in effect a scheme to
get more revenue without raising the
rate on this commodity?
Individual lumbermen who are IA
miIiar with the deliberations of the re-
cent conference in St. Paul between
representatives of the Pacific Coast
Lumbermen's association and traffic
officials of western lines declare that
the railroads are banded together in a
colossal scheme for increasing the cost
of lumber shipments.
They also declare, under their
breath. that the lumbermen will never
submit to the proposed plan of esti-
mating car loads of lumber and that
II the roads put through their tariffs
on the "cubical capacity of cars the
whole matter win be fought out in
the courts.
In nutshell. Mr.. Hills idea. as
thoroughly explained to the Pacific
coast lumbermen at the conference, is
that cars set out for lumber shipments
should be loaded to their full capacity.
In other words, he does not want any
empty spaces in the cars. II a car, for
example, is loaded with lumber six
tCOi ACEI iOii8 OI Twelve IeGl long. the
lumbermen can only fill a part of the
car With lumber of these dimen-
sions it is impossible to load car
chock full-that is, so there will be no
air spaces. The sixteen foot pieces end
to end would occupy thirty-two feet of
the car lengthwise. but in forty foot
car there would remain six feet of
space.
Now. as Mr.. Hill realizes. as. we'll as
the lumbermen that lumber cannot be
packed or folded up in a way to fill in
the chInks. he has devised a plan for
determining the minimum weight of
each and every car. He takes the
cubicaI capacity of the car and then
establishes its shipment weight in
pounds For example, a car having a
cubical capacity Of 1850 feet or under
is estimated to have a minimum
weight OF 81, 600 pounds.
This plan is a variation of Mr. HiIl's
pet theory of handling all freight on a
tonnage basis, but the lumbermen are
unalterably opposed to it. They say
they cannot help the lengths of lum-
Der any more than Mr.. Hill can the
lengths of his cars. Cars were not
made for the express purpose of haul
ing lumber. and even if this were the
case, in order to fill every particle of
space in car with boards or big tim
bers the cars and timbers would have
to be exactly the same length.
The lum bermen will never consent
to Mr.. HIPS plans said a prominent
lum herman, nor do we apprehend
that the courts viii deem him within
his rights when he attempts to collect
money for freight which we cannot get
into a car. He cannot take a forty
foot car and compel US to fill it as so
many pounds when it doesn't contain
that many pounds. He has no right to
figure in the air spaces, which we are
no more responsible for than he is Mr.
Hill has always been conspicuously
fair in his dealings, but we think he is
wrong in this instance
The lumbermen and railroad officials
have not yet settled this matter, which
is of interest to the entire country. as
the conference was postponed until
July Is. In the meantime the lumber
men viii do little missionary work