The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-10-08
ROADS WANT UNIFORM RATE
Name a Committee of Experts to
C1assify-Great Railway Systems
of the Country to Tackle Vexed
Promlem of Freight Tariffs.
Charlotte Chroncle.)


Of interest to the railroad men in
Of North C~arolinaen-d xyzb zbzbzzb
every quarter as we'll as TO the ship
pers of North Carolina and every state
in the union is a plan which Is set
forth in The Atlanta Journal, which
is said to be now in the state of for
nation for the purpose OF simplifying
the vexatious tariff problems: The
following is the detailed account of the
idea, which is said to e working
itself out in the minds of the railroads
of the United States:
One of the most daring and difficult
ventures ever made TO untangle the
vexed problems of American freight
rates and classification is about to be
undertaken by the railroads of the Uni
ted States. The success of this effort
II successful it be, will can not only
that shippers and railway agents will
find the riddles of tariff greatly simpli-
fed but also that the railroads and
the government, state and national,
will come into a more intelligent IN
d~erstanding, each Of the other.
The particular scheme through which
a working out of the freight rate prob
lens has been proposed is briefly stated
thus:
The officials of III railroads in the
eastern, southern and western sections
of the country are to meet, each III
their individual section, and appoint a
committee, of 10 perhaps, which shall
spend a year maybe several Eears, ~
studying railway tariffs and in attempt
ing to bring something like harmony
into the now conflicting rate classif-
cations of these different sections.
The necessity Of some such plan will
be realized when it is considered that
at present the freight movements Of the
United States come within three Ill
verse cl~assiications. These are called
the official classification, which OBJ
tains in the eastern and middle western
states; the western states classified
ton which obtains in the strictly
western states; and lastly, the south
ern states classification, under Which
fall Georgia and all other southern
states.
EXCEPTIONS TO RULES.
Each of these classiicatiOHs is a law
unto itself. When it comes to CLASH
flying commodities the roads in differest
sections Of the country employ different
methods, make use of different terms
of speech and, under the influence Of
local conditions, often charge different
rates for the same distances. For eX-
ample, if the southern roads ship &
car Of merchandise from Atlanta to a
point beyond the Mississippi river it
is at present necessary for the shipper
to refer to two different freight rate
classifcations in determining the cost
Of transporeation-the southern and
the western c~lassifcations. And IN
each of these classifcations, as has
been pointed out, differene standards,
sometimes different rates obtain.
WANT UNIFORM RATE.
What the committee of ten proposes
then, o accomplish is to fl a common
Or standard classification OF f.
that will be applicable alike in Georgia
and Michigan, in Pennsylvania and in
Idaho.
And if this can be done, through
rates will be obtainable between all
points ia the United States. The ben.
efts Of such a plan will, as has been
suggested, be twofold. First, it will
simplify the work of railway freight
agents as well as that of shippers; sec
ond, it will give the Interstate comerce
commission and the various state rail-
way commissions a clear and definite
basis upon which to deal with the
roads.
AS matter now stand. the average
shipper particularly in small towns,
finds it almost impossible to under
stand the schedules of tariff that are
furnished him. All big manufacturers.
in fact, find it to their interest to
employ rate experts to calculate the
freight on their shipments. For the
schedules of tariff speaks always in
the varying terms Of the three major
classffcations, and frequently in those
numerous other c~laSificatiOns. Even
the railway agents at small stations
often make mistakes in computing the
rates as the matter is so complicated.
A standard classification would fur /
thermOre prevent many disputes and
Misunderstanding that now arise with
reference to specific rates. Under the
proposed revision OF things the shipper
wouid for the most part understand
at once tho terms and conditions OF a
rate, G ff q dispute between him and|
the roa1 did come. n state railway
would end it much easier /
To adjust the difereRces.
The mParitve aeed Of harmonizing /
the divergent classification has long
9 recognized. More that once CHAR
A O. Knapp, Of the interstate
commission, has urged it's !