Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-11-20
Apparent Lack of knowledge OF
Express Charges BY Company
Officials Surprising
COMMISSION WILL TRY AGAIN
Hearing Bring. Out Fact That Railway
Companies Get 20 to 5s Per Cont Of
Total Receipts = Claim Made That
Expense. Have Materially In
creased.
pecia, to r,mcs-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
/ Des Moines, Nov. 2O.--Not one or u
score or more of representatives OF ex-,
press companies who appeared before
the railroad commission at the open
ing of the hearings on express rates
yesterday were able to give the COM
mission any information. All Of them
thought and said in a vague sort OF
way that the present rates are about
right and ought not to be changed.
In the notices sent to the express
companies notifying them Of the hear
ing the commission took precaution
to inform the companies that In con-
formance with an act OF the legislature
the commission would promulgate
maximum express rates. One man had
prepared table showing comparison
of the rates Of that company in Iowa
with the rates OF other states, but
no showing on what the rates were
based as to the earnings Of the lines.
The representative. Of the United
States Express Company Informed the
commission that 1t paid the Rock Is
land railroad So per cent OF It's gross
earnings and that IS per cent Of its
business in Iowa was done at cost
of not less than Is per cent. The
company pays 20 per cent Of Its re-
ceipts to it's agents as commission. the
sending and receiving agent each get
ting 10 per cent. In cities where there
is wagon delivery this amounts to
80 per cent. His company did not
make more than per cent on Its gross
business and one year only made IN
per cent.
The representative Of the "A American
,eaid they paid the, Northwestern rail-
road 50 per cent Of the gross receipts.
The Great Northern Express company
pays the Great Northern railroad 40
per cent.
All Of the express men were sure
that the cost of everything entering
into the express business has gone up
enormously. Oats for their horses
and wrapping paper for the bundles
all costs much more. In some In
stances it costs twice as much to care
for their horses as formerly. At Sc
attic they now pay, $50 month for
horse keep, where two years ago it
was but SIS. The wages of all en-
ployes has gone up 25 to 30 per cent
Commissioner Eaton informed the
gentlemen that the legislature had
placed upon the: commission the work
Of preparing reasonable maximum ex-
press rates and that their opinions
while no doubt valuable, were of no
service to the commission and that it
was facts that were wanted He In
dicated that the commission wanted
to know about their earnings and re-
ceipts and their earnings and receipts
in Iowa alone. He told them they
might have all the time reasonable to
expect to get the information.
The agent of the United States Ex-
press company informed the commits
sion that this, would be quite impos-
sible He said the Waybills for one
month for his company amounted to
three and a half million and filled a
space forty feet long by eight feet
high and a foot and a half thick He
said that no army of clerks could fig
ure out the business done in any one
state short of years time. .