The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-01
RAILROAD NEWS.
President Ripley's Statement
About Heavy Fine
In California Court, Growing
Out of Lime Shipments.
$4,000 GIVEN FOR 500
Action of Clerk Was Merely to
Correct Error.
Does the Punishment Fit the
Crime

The Railway Age Of Chicago prints
a letter from President Ripley and
this editorial concerning the recent
heavy fine levied on the Santa Fee
Railway company:
I'VE have secured from E. P. RIP
ley, president Of Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe, a statement, which appears
an another page, regarding the recent
conviction and sentence of this rail-
way company at Los Angeles. Cal. for
alleged rebating. Mr.. Ripley's COM
shows that every element that usually
enters into a crime was lacking in the
alleged offense. 1t seems beyond
serious question that the railway clerk
who made the deductions from the
freight bills Of the Grand Canyon
Lime & Cement company believed that
he was acting properly. The officials
Of the road did not authorize and
knew nothing about the transaction:
and even if they had they could have
had no motive in giving a secret re-
bate, since the Santa Fe is the only
road over which the Grand Canyon
Lime & Cement company can ship.
The railway did not gain anything by
the action of its employee, since the
shipper could have secured through
the claim department or by a lawsuit
after the charges were paid all or
more than the portions of the charges
paid. Finally. nobody was harmed.
It may be said that the Santa Fee
should have avoided the appearance
Of evil; but it is not usually consid-
cred Just to punish for acts that ap-
pear evil after it has been shown that
they were not SO. 1t may be said that
the road, by the unauth orized act of
its employe, was at least guilty Of a
technical violation of the law; but is
1t not amazing that there should be
innOSad a. cOrnOr9t1nn fines
Of $330,000 for merely technical and
nominal offenses? The fact that
there could be found a United States
district attorney to prosecute, a jury
to convict, and a federal judge to i'm
pose SO enormous a penalty in this
case illustrates the extent to which the
minds Of all classes have been poison
ed against the railways by the agita-
ton for drastic public regulation"
Here is Mr.. Ripley'S statement:
To the editor Of the Railway Age:
In reply to your inquiry as to the
recent heavy fine imposed upon the
Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe by
United States court at Los Angeles.
beg to make the following statement;
From April, 1905. and for some
time before that. the Grand Canyon
Lime & Cement company was making
and shipping lime at Nelson, then only
a siding on the Santa Fe line in Ari-
IONA.
Up to about April, 1905. the mini
mum carload of lime from Nelson was
1000 pounds. To conserve equip
ment, especially in view of the fact
that cars had to be furnished at Mel
son from long distances, the minimum
was raised to 100000 pounds. But 1t
remained at 10000 from all points
competing with Nelson in the south
ern California markets.
Soon after this change Mr.. Schirm,
manager of the lime and Gem ent com
pany at Nelson, found that one of his
carloads of lime weighed on arrival in
Los Angeles less than 900 pounds.
He was selling by railroad weight and
his customer refused to pay for more
than that weight. He complained to
the chief clerk in the freight depart
ment at Los Angeles that he could not
afford to lose his lime and the freight,
too; that he was charged freight on
10000 pounds, the minimum, at $3.50
per ton; that he was selling according
to railroad weight at about $500 per
ton delivered at Los Angeles; that he
was positive that more than 10000
pounds was loaded into every car. He
explained the method of 1oa ding,
which was by means of a small ore
car filled at the kilns and run on
track to the Atchison car. This ore
car had been repeatedly tested and
found to hold 500 pounds and more of
lime; and tally was kept SO that Mr..
Schirm was certain that 1t unioaded
more than SO times into every Atchi-
son car sent out. He stated that the
lime cost him at Nelson about $3.50
pert ton, but that he would waive the
loss of the lime if the railway COM
pany would waive the freight above
the actual weight as shown at destina-
ton. The clerk to whom this COM
plant was made concluded that the
| lime and cement company was suffer-
ing a loss. He suspected that the
weights as shown by the track scales
We're not accurate. He may also have
felt that the increase of the minimum
carload at Nelson to 10000 pounds
put Mr.. Schirm's company at some
disadvantage, competing points hav-
| ing not only a lower minimum but a
lower rate. Therefore, without con-
sulting his superiors, he agreed with
| Mr.. Schirm that if the latter would
| waive any claim for loss of lime the
| freight would be reckoned at the ac-
| tual weight as shown by the track
| scales at destination. Similar COM
| plants were made from time to time
as cars showed short weight and the
same arrangement was made. The re-