The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-08-02
TO ESTABLISH
UNIFORM RATES
Railways Endeavor to Reach
Agreement.
MANY DIFFICULTIES ARISE
Three Systems Are Now In
Vogue.
Committees Labor Faithfully But n
Number of Seemingly IDsurmount-
able Obstacles Are In the Way 10 a
settlement of the Differences.

Substantial progress Is being made
by the railroads toward agreement
upon q uniform classifcatIon-uni-
formity of rules. minimum weights
and description of articles-upon
which to base rates upon freight NOV
ing in all parts of the country.
At present the same articles are
at times differently classified, and
therefore, pay different rates of
freight, according to which of the
three classification territories in
which they move. When articles
are differently classified considerable
confusion is likely to arise when
they move from one classification ter
ritory to the other. Railroad men,
however, recognize the evils of the
situation and effective efforts are be-
ing made to meet them.
Just how important this problem is
to the trade of the country may be
partially realized by considering the
fact that practically all the commod-
ties which move as freight over the
railroads are Included within one of
less than a dozen Glasses" and that
the freight rate which IS charged de-
pends upon the class under which
an article IL described. To change
the classification of an article, there
| fore, Is to change it's freight rate be-
tween all points. As there are mil
| lions OF rates depending upon the
| classification, the subject involves
the fundamental freight rate struc-
ture of the country.
Some commodities are now classi-
| fed differently I'm each of the three
territories. II must be obvious, how
ever that uniform classification can
not be produced by reducing all ar
ticles TO the lowest class under which
they now come i'm either of the three
standard classifications.
At present there are three exist l.
ing systems Of classifying freight traf-
fic in this country. I'm these three
territories, manufacturing indusu les
and trade centers have developed and
become interviewer with the existing
4 basis of classification and rate sched-
ules; but the marked dissimilarity of
conditions, physical and commercial
under which transportation companies
are operated In these different sec
tions, has created differences in the
fundamental principles Of freight
classification and territorial rate ad.
justments.
For many years efforts have beer
made to harmonize the differences IN
classification, but such attempts did
not amount to much until after a
meeting, In 1907, of executive repre-.
sentatives of the important railroads
In all the territories. A committed
was appointed, consisting of represen.
tatives from each of the three classi.
fication territories, to undertake the
preliminary work looking toward one
uniform classification.
Some idea of the complication.
with which the committee was con,
fronted may be found in the variation
In ratings for carload and lcss-than.
carload shipments, as presented by
the three classifications, as shown il
these figures:
In the Southern Classification ther,
were 3,503 lessthan-carolad and n;
caroad ratings, the carload ratings
being 22.1 per cent. of the less than
carload ratings.
In the Official Classification 5,S5.
less-than-carload and 1926 carload
ratings were made, the carload rat.