Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1907-05-09
WHOLESALERS HIT ey RArELAw
Firms Outside state Must Transfer
Shipments Themselves.


into North Dakota have resulted from
the passage of the interstate com
merce act. Wholesalers from the Twin
Cities and elsewhere, who do a large
business in the state and ship goods IN
car load lots are accustomed to send
their goods to Fargo as a central point
over ono road, and from there they are
transferred to the various roads which
will carry them to their destination.
Before the passage of the interstate
commerce act 1t was possible to make
up a car load and ship it as far rs
Fargo, where the railroad employees
would frequently open it and see that
that part Of the freight bound for
points on either of the other two rail.
roads running into Fargo was trans
ferred to the line which would carry IT
to its proper destination.
But the interstate commerce act, un-
der penalty of a fine of 81 1000 for every
onense, forbids an employee OF rail.
read to touch goods in car loads as the
distribution Of goods for the merchant
by the railroad employees is regarded
In the light of rebate. In conse-
quence it is necessary for the repre-
sentative of the firm shipping the
goods to be present in person when
the car arrives and employ men to as.
sist him in transferring the goods to
the stations of the other railroads.
In speaking Of this matter ]. F.
Woolf, the North Dakota representa-.
tive of Mcdonald Bros. Minneapolis,
dealers in crockery and glassware,
stated that he had a car containing
1000 dozen fruit jars arrive in Fargo
the other day bound for various North
Dakota points and that he was obliged
personally to mark each one of 1000
boxes and superintend the transfer of
a portion of them. AS Mcdonald
Bros. ship large quantities of goods
into North Dakota Mr.. Woolf expects
to be obliged to do this frequently.
with the larger goods like stone.
ware it is not necessary to do this"
said Mr.. Woolf, "for the car containing
the goods can be placed on the side
track at each station and the mer.
chant to whom the goods are billed
can come and pick out his share of
them, but with small goods this is i'm
possible, for 1t would require too much
time and would result in holding the
car so long that the demurrage incur
red would be such as to make it cheap.
er for the representative of the CON-
pany to attend to the matter himself,
hiring such assistance as he needs"
Trade is generally very good
throughout the state. In fact 1t is far
ahead of last year in all lines, accord.
ing to Mr.. Woolf's experience.
"The merchants" he said, ARE pay.
ing little attention to the talk about
the late spring being dangerous to the
crops. They have heard that before,
and knowing that North Dakota al
ways gets a good crop, they are
stocking up well in the expectation of
doing bigger business than ever this
year."
AS an illustration of the sales which
one line of goods and by one firm Mr..
Woolf stated that he recently shipped
an entire car load of stoneware to Nc
Vile, Pekin, Tolna and Warkick. An
other carload was divided between the
towns of Aneta and Cotton, while the
contents Of third carload of the same
goods was distributed among the
towns of Page, Ayr, Colgate, Hope.
Finley and Blabon.
Another good point about the North
Dakota trade said Mr.. Woolf, who
has Travelled tharough the state for
many years and is an enthusiastic
North Dakotan, us that you simply
cannot sell cheap goods. would
rather travel through North Dakota
than anywhere else, and want to
keep this territory as long as am on
the road
Mr.. Woolf is not the only travelling
representative of Twin City house
who has been put to some fnconven.
fence through the operation of the in
,erstate commerce law. Not long ago
a house which carries oil stoves
shipre. u car load lot OF them to Far
60 over the Great Northern. Some OF
the Stoves were hound for points on
the Milwaukee and Northern Pacific.
It was necessary that these should be
transferred at Fargo. and as the rail-
road people could not do it IL represen.
tative of the company had to he sent
to Fargo for that purpose.
These conditions point to the advan-
tace which wholesale. houses dom:
business in Fargo and shipping goods
throughout the state have over their
competitors from other states. Being
located here they can make direct
shipments to almost all points III TIN.
state. and it is not necessary for them
10 transfer their goods from ono road
to the other. Consequently the field
for tho establishment here OF whole
sale houses handling goods OF all!
kinds is an excellent one, while those
carrying line OF goods not supplied
by any of the houses already establish
ed here would have particularly good
chance.
Ira E. Fleming, for whom warrant