Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-11-17
RAILROADS JOIN FEDERAL Of
FlclALs IN IMPORTANT MOVE
TO STOP EVILS.
REBATlNe NOT FOLLOWED
UNDER GulsE OF DAMAGE CLAIM
Cover Up Real Intent :
Some Of the Railroads Sincere in
Their Desires to Stop All Rebate
Practices - Authorities Not Agreed
As to Extent Of Practices Now.
Especial Correspondence


most important moves ever undertaken
by the government authorities, looking
to the final suppression of railroad re-
batting, will toke form at meeting IN
! Washington this week. A committee
of twenty. representing the freight
! loss and damage claim agents of the
railroads, will meet with Prof. Henry
C. Adams, in charge of statistics and
accounts for the interstate commerce
commission, in the effort to agree upon
a complete system for handling these
claims, now recognized as a medium
thru which most of the rebating is ac-
! complished.
I 1t is the belief of the railroad regu-
! lating authorities of the department of
justice. and of most shippers, that rail-
road rebating by the old and direct
methods has largely, tho not entirely,
disappeared. But the allowance of eX-
cessive claims for loss, damages, de-
} lays in transmission. etc, has developed
into an extensivSA used system for
indirectly giving~eoates in many cases
amounting to large proportion of the
tariff rate of freight. This meth I'd
Z has been under the scrutiny of the
; authorities for long time and it is
= now believed that thru its control OF
= the accounting processes of the rail-
roads, the interstate commission is in
5 the way of perfecting system that
j will about stop these abuses.
Methods Are Simple.
I. The method OF rebating thru allow
ance of claims is simple and effective;
i and the worst feature is that, the tram
: saction once completed, it is practically
Y impossible to prove that the allowance
3 was excessive. A shipper pays the
e tariff rate Of freight say on seven car
l loads of sugar 1t is duly delivered tc
Z, him, taken into his warehouse. ant
sold TO his trade. Meanwhile he has
rendered a claim to the carrier, alleg-
ing that the sugar in number o.
: barrels had been damaged by water
. that certain barrels had been broken
0 etc The claim is audited and allowed
and by the time the government comes
0 if it ever does. to inquire whether TIL
) claim was legitimate. the SCAR ha
5 been sold and eaten, and there isn.
:, a shred of evidence whether the CLAIM
was really a rebate.
) Some of the roads have been appar
% entity sincere in their wish that all re
IS batting practices be stopped. The the
V, ory on which the federal authoriti
have been working is that the busir
% of auditing verifying allowing al
% paying claims should be completely di
vorced from the traffic department
that that department should have n
ID voice IN it, but that it should be ex
~ clusively an affair of the accountin
force of the road. BY this method, tn
w traffic officials, with whom all reba'
20 ing agreements must originate, woul
- be excluded from participation in II
% proceedings. and it would be practical
y impossible to carry out such agret
M ments.
~ The ultimate purpose Is to carry tn
a. complete independe of the accoun
- ing department, to the extent of NAL
ing the responsible accounting officia
o5 sworn agents of the government
20 that their acquiescence or collision
allowing an illegitimate claim wou
amount TO malfeasance and perjur
ed Such a project however, can not
10 made effective at this time; probab
ii can never be, until law is secur'
80 to secure corporation of the accoun
25 ing and claims officials in every 20
ay, sible way, to esta blish the best che
on claims. to safeguard against tht
.95 being dominated by the traffic officia
.0o ard to make sure that those which g
Is allowed represent only actual damas
ay, Railroads Co. operating.
In the effort TO develop such a sy
90 TEN. the commission has had the c
80 operation of the loss and damage
ficials of the roads. A committee
twenty, selected by geographical
Is visions and made thoroughly represe
us tative of the interests and conditio
turnout the entire country, has be
named on behalf of these officials. a
it is this committee which is to mi
''0' here for the purpose of perfecting
90 scheme <of control over claims OF
=. kinds.
40 There is wide divergence of opin
among authorities as to the extent
rebating now carried on 1t is not
40. ficult to get very circumstantial st
les of great rebating operations VIII
o. are still carried on; but the auth
tiles have commonly found on inves
Da- cation that the facts could not be
tablished, and probably didn't ex
ed About all the old-time processes h.
been eliminated; but the loss and da
ok age claims only become the more
portant and serious, as it is reali
that they represent the one remain
compare lively safe method of Civ
favors, and that they constitute