Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19
BILL Of LAD|NG FIGHT WAR TO Be Ab0L|SHEO|
Congress to Be Urged to I'M Dgbe Balloon an Agency Tor
pose Plan on Railroads. Worlds Peace.
COMMISSION TO MEET AMONG THE POSSIBILITIES
Commercial Bodies to Present Plans Coming Ahp Under Gov
for Action eminent Supervision
CREDIT SYSTEM MENACED ARMY OFFICERS INTERESTED
Interstate Commerce Commission
Congress to Be Urged to I'M
pose Plan on Railroads.
COMMISSION TO MEET
Commercial Bodies to Present Plans
for Action.
CREDIT SYSTEM MENACED
Interstate Commerce Commission
Endorses Proposed Change, But
Is Powerless to Impose It.

NEW YORK July 1S.-When the COM
missioners on uniform laws meet at Seat
tie Wash, August 20, they will be waited
upon by committees representing the
great commercial bodies of this and other
cities and urged to draft bill of lading
to put an end to what shippers term
gross frauds which, they declare. have
made bills of Iading an unsafe instrument
of credit.
The decision to have committees appear
before the commissioners. it was an
nounced today, was reached as a result of
the announcement of the interstate COM
merce commission that it had not suf-
ficient authority to order the railroads to
revise their methods OF issuing bills of
lading to meet the objections which the
/ commercial bodies have raised against
the instruments In their present form
( 1t is the present plan to have the new
bill. which is expected to be drafted by
the commissioners on uniform laws. intro
duced at the next session of Congress.
Railroads Are Opposed.
A decision of the interstate commerce
commission. announced early this week,
contained recommendations embodied In
the demands of the shippers, but the COM
IHlSSlOl dtClutu lIIdt II ldChcu Tie pOWcl
to enforce these recommendations 1t
was in view of this and the belief that
the railroads would not accept the rec
concentrations of the commission that the
plan announced today was formulated.
The tremendous volume of business
transacted on bills of lading is apparent
from figures of the year 1907, which show
that goods valued at $1,000 100000 were
shipped on the bills in that year alone.
The commercial interests have been
trying for the past three years to compel
the carriers to issue two separate bill of
lading FORMS in order to differentiate be-
tween the ordinary receipt and the more
important order bill, which is used as
a basis of credit in the transportation of
the countrys crops. particularly the cot
ton and grain crops of the south and
west. and manufactured products.
The shippers have demanded also that
the railroads compel the surrender of the
instrument upon delivery of the property
swindles having been perpetrated against
lenders by means of bills of lading that
were not so rendered.
Up to Congress.
AS the railroads have fought the pro-
posed changes from che first, represent
atives of the commercial bodies of this
city say they do rpt expect the recon-
mendations of the 'Isterstate Commerce
COMMISSION 10 cnanSe tne SITUATION at
all. They believe. however, that what
ever action is taken by the commission
ers on uniform state laws will be ap-
proved by Congress. as the commission
erS consist of representatives from the
several states appointed by their respec-
tive governors.
L. Mandelbaum of the bill of lading
committee of the cotton exchange. Theo-
dore I. Whitmarsh, president of the
Wholesale Grocery Company. and Charles
F. Droeste of the bill of lading committee
of the mercantile exchange, in interviews
given out today, all express the fear
that if the present alleged abuses are not
corrected by Congress early in it's next
session credits will be seriously curtail-
ed and in consequence all commercial
interests severely handicapped.
Lewis E. Peirson, chairman of the bill
of lading committee of the American
Bankers Association, said it was true
that certain banks had curtailed their
loans on this class of collateral, but that
the movement had not yet become gen.
eral.
I'VE all hope" he said. that before
it does Congress will pass a uniform bill
of lading act that will safeguard the
rights of all concerned