The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-26
THE EXPRESS BUSINESS
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKIN.

The merry war that has been raging
for some time between the express com
panies and the banks bids fair to con-
tlnue. The banks declare that the ex-
press companies are acting as bankers
Nhen they deal in express money orders,
Wnde the express companies assert that
tney are simply transferring money from
place to place for their patrons They
have gone TO the interstate commerce
commission with their differences. and the
matter VII De fought TO a finish. This
question may well agitate the banks since
more than 100000 money orders were
issued by the express companies last year.
The money transferred through them
amounted to about SI50.fsa.10o In add
ton thereto. 10000 travellers cheques and
letters Of credit were issued. having a
face value of 100000 All Of this bust
ness is regarded BY the banks as being
properly theirs.
Another effort was made recently TO
curtail the business Of the express COM
panies There is a law which prohibits
private enterprise from competing with
Uncle Sam in the carrying Of the mall
Acting on that law an Arkansas citizen
instituted suit in the United States courts
to prevent the express companies from
handling packages Of four pounds OF less,
cOntending that such packages were en-
titled to be carried in the mails. and that
to carry them otherwise was a violation
OF the law. The express companies filed
a demurrer and the federal judge threw
the case out Of court on this demurrer
The express companies are the most bit
ter opponents Of the parcels post. not
even excepting the small local merchant.
For a long time Thomas g. Platt. pTesi-
dent of the United States Express COM
panys was a member of the United States
senate and he was largely influential in
preventing any action looking to the es-
tablishment of the parcels post. The eN-
press companies declare that II will not
pay the government. They assert that
the rates il paws for the transportation
be a losing venture TO carry parcels at
the rates proposed. Furthermore, they
add conditions here cannot be judged by
European standards. since the average
haul there is less than fifty miles. while
they assert the average haul here is more
than 500 miles.
In this connection one fact stands out
i'm plain relief-the express companies do
get better rates from the railroads than
the government can obtain. Although
the railroads assert that they are losing
money in carrying the mails, they are get
ting much higher compensation therefor
than they get for carrying express. To
begin with. the railroads furnish the eX-
press companies with cars free of mile
age charges. while the government has
to pay enough in two or three years to
buy outright every car II uses The eX-
press companies give the railroads about
each consignment. On this basis the rate
OF pay per pound for almost identical
service is very much lower in the case
Of the express companies than for car
rying the mails. yet determined effort
is to be made. to increase. by some $40
0O00OG. the cost of transporting the mail.
The courts have handed down some IN
teresting decisions lately with regard to
the express companies. One related TO
the issuance Of express franks The
American Express company held that
when the railroad rate law prohibited the
issuance Of passes il did not have any
idea of making that word apply to eX-
press franks. and. with that view, went
ahead issuing them The courts took the
matter uD and Judge Kohlsaat of Chi
cage rendered an opinion in which he de-
clared that pass and a frank are one
and the same thing. so far as the rate
law is concerned.
A bank at Aberdeen, South Dakota.
sought to compel the express company to
receive cOnsignments of money in the
evening so it could be forwarded on the
early train next morning. The express
company refused to accept the cOnsign-
ments The state courts all upheld the
contention of the bank. Then the express
company carried the matter to the fed
eral courts where il was held that the
bank having a safety vault of its own
would have to keep its money there
The result is that the Aberdeen bankers
now have to be up by sunrise to get their
money shipments away on the first train.
The express business is now seventy
years old. In 1899. William F. Harnden.
valise in hand. made four trips a week
between New York and Boston. carrying
valuables and small packages. His old
carpetbag was the fOrerunner of that
great American institution, the express
car Before that time valuables were
entrusted to friends. or even to strangers
who were introduced by a mutual friend,
and the man who was going to New
York or Boston could depend on being
well laden with the valuables OF his &C
ouafntances. The man who would not
accommodate a fellow being in this way
was regarded as a surly person and there