Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-02-07

percentage Of the other commodities named.
The Burlington serves 56l elevators, OF
which sixty-two are controlled by farmers
and the remainder by individuals and cor
porations
Elevators on the Burlington have a ca
racity Of over 100000 bushels of grain. or
over 1900 carloads. BY the provisions of
the reciprocal demurrage bill the line ele-
vators. It is contended, have a great chance
to monopolize cars. These elevators have
a loading capacity of Ass cars per day.
Grain is often held for a reduction in rates
or for a raise In price, and in either of
these events. under the proposed law, or
ders may be placed in a single day for
sufficient equipment to empty these ele
vators Immediately or for 5000 cars,
which, II is asserted. would be out Of the
question for any road to I'LL. II so per
cent of these orders could be filled within
the specified time, 1t would cost the rail-
roads over $4,000 day. or in five days
over $4,000. the theorists explain.
Cars I'm order Asked.
1.-THE bill provides II shall be the duty of
the railroad to supply such cars in the
order in which applications are made with
out giving preference to any shipper" says
a railroad man opposing the measure. "In-
dividual elevator owners or corporations
regularly engaged in the grain business
have better facilities for obtaining in ad-
vance OF the farmers any fiuctuation In
! rates or prices, and with this advance in
| formation orders may Immediately be
placed in good faith for enough equipment
entirely to exhaust the supply until the
markets have declined. keeping the individ-
ual shipper from securing his quota of
equipment and also imposing penalty on
the railroad for something which is a
physical impossibility to avoid,
THE same advantages may be seized by
the packers and heavy shippers of live
stock and produce, even to the extent that
the smaller shipper may be stified, II not
entirely crushed Large concerns could
combine systematically to order cars at a
given period. thereby making chance for
system of so-called rebates in enormous
sums. The bill also opens the way to the
railroads for gigantic system of rebating
which would be hard to detect.
1.-The law would increase the burdens OF
the shippers and would not be fair to the
railroads. which are trying, by free inter-
! change OF equipment within the state, TO
avoid COMPOSITIONS. and delays and to OBJ
tain the greatest possible efficiency of the
rolling stock.
want No stock Idle.
1.-THE railroads maintain 1t should be APP
! parent to all that there would be no In
clination on their part to permit any OF
their rolling stock to remain idle and lose
| business which might be secured. They
claim the great prosperity OF the country
alone is responsible for the shortage, as all
rolling stock is taxed to the limit.
''The claim is made that reciprocal de-
murrage would be worse in Nebraska than
In the manufacturing states, because of the
nature of the trafic and because of the
number OF cars II is possible 10 load on
short notice. while in manufacturing cen
| tiers the actual needs OF the shippers may
be more readily determined. Because OF the
nature Of the business in this state It Is q
common practice for large shippers TO order
| cars far in excess of what they need In
order to crowd out the small dealers and
they could then charge the railroads with
the failure to deliver the cars.
''rhe bill also provides that cars should
average seventy miles per day, and i was
shown to the legislative committee that
cars other than those used for live stock
| and perishable average but twenty-five pei
! day for the United States. although that
has been increased somewhat in Nebraska