The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-07-25
Must Help Load Trains.

unreasonable to ask them to remain wit
the cans and deliver to the door of tn
train, help load, In fact, and the con
tention was made that this was discrimina
ton, because other milk for differen
points did not have to be handled by tn
shipper.
The board took the position that tim
was the essence of both the desire Of tn
railroad company and of the milk shipper
that their interests were equal regarding
time, and that as the custom had been TO
the farmer to help load In the car the mill
he brought for rapid transportation ther,
should be no change In that method now
and therefore 1t was not discrimination
against anyone or any other class of freigh
to ask that this custom still be followed.
The opinion Is SO interesting that it II
given In full:
shipping milk from Cookstown, Horners
town, Davis and Cream Ridge over the
railroad of the Union Transportation Com
pany, lessee of the Pemberton and flights
town railroad. The milk is consigned
OAtACA w ONAn0Ch Va w POAADo VI oAO 1Cu
shore. The complainants are required tC
place their milk cans upon milk platforms,
and after waiting the arrival of the train,
are required to hand the cans In at the
door of the Car. This requirement, they
contend. is unreasonable. They aver that
the requirement is also discriminatory, In
asmuch as at Wrightstown, upon the
same road, the carrier takes from the plat
form milk consigned to shore points and,
without assistance from the milk shippers,
loads the milk upon the car.
milk traffic of the aforesaid character
Is peculiar and even unique. 1t partakes
of some characteristics of both freight and
passenger traffic. 1t is a commodity, but
one that is peculiarly perishable. 1t ID
carried therefore In this case and In many
other cases, not on the ordinary freight
trains, but upon passenger trains. Neither
the analogy Of ordinary freight traffic nor
of ordinary passenger traffic is wholly ap.
plicable to the carriage of milk. Pas
sengers load. and unload themselves.
Ordinary package freight is loaded and
unloaded by the carrier, unassisted. If
the analogy of passenger traffic controlled,
the dairy farmers might be expected to
load the cans upon the cars, without as
sistance from the train crews. II the
analogy of ordinary package freight con-
trolled, the carriers alone would be ex-
pected to load the milk from the platform
onto the car. In the absence of complete
of milk carriage to either SER
vice as ordinarily performed, we are
bound to inquire into the reasons for the
imposed by the carrier upon
the shipper In this case, and into the pre-
sumable effect of said requirement.
1--WE are not strongly impressed with
the allegation made by the carrier that the
additional expenses which would be In
CURED, If train hands were employed to
load the cans on the cars, would be
unduly buIdensome. The carriers gross
from milk are so nearly equal to
freight that upon the score of expense
alone we doubt If the carriers require
ment of aid, from the shipper, In loading
milk, could be upheld.
''Of greater force Is the carriers con-
tention that the movement of the train
would be delayed, If train hands unas-
sisted were to load the cans from the milk
platform into the cars. This is consider
alton which affects the shipper of milk
also. More than almost any other ship
per he is interested In the speedy dispatch
of trains carrying so perishable a COM
modify as milk. Moreover, the prevail
Ing custom upon other roads, such as the
Baltimore and Ohio, the Reading and the
Pennsylvania, as shown by the testimony
In this case, is to require the dairy farm
ers or their employees to deliver the cans
at the door of the car. Especially where
The number of cans Is large, the testimony
showed that the transfer of cans from the
milk platform to the Car door by the ship
pers resulted In much prompter loading
Of the cars than would ordinarily result If
The train hands performed the entire pro-
cess of putting the cans from the platforms
aboard the cars. The fact seems to US to
be the pivotal fact upon which the matter
hangs. The region traversed by the
road leased by the Union Transportation
company is an excellent dairy farm region,
and is destined, apparently. to become a
dairy farm region in an increasing degree.
The development of the industry de-
ponds largely upon maximizing, or at
least, not hindering the celebrity with
which the milk traffic can be handled.
at Is true that the development of the
Industry depends also upon the setting
of reasonable rates, such as will afford the
producer fair margin of profit. But the
matter of rates for milk carriage 10 not
before us In the present case.
"There remains to be considered
whether the waiting imposed upon the
dairy farmer, or the loss of time occasion
ed their employees, is hardship of such
as to modify the conclusions
reached above. We do not think this to
be the case. The practice of deputing to
one or more of their number the task of
handling all of the cans up to the car
door, each for few days at time, mini
mixes the total loss Of time involved. And
the practice of the station agent, In post
Ing the names of the shippers responsible
for the loading for particular period,
seems to be entirely without any attempt
to exercise undue authority on his part.
and In the real interest of all the milk
from particular station.
st is true that at Wrightstown where q
milk car for Camden Is hooked upon the
train the carrier was ordered by this
board, In December, nineteen hundred and
ten, not to disestablish what had there
been the local custom for the train crews
to load milk cans from the platform into
the cars, without help. where the milk
was consigned to short points. We dc
not find, however, that 1t is unjust or un-
reasonable that shippers, from points
where the magnitude of shipments affords
some special facilities, should enjoy
reasonable advantages either In rates Of
In equality of service, which cannot b.
demanded as of right by shippers from
points affording less traffic. Nor do We
find force In the contention that, where
wholesale consignments, as from cream
cry, afford the advantage of special Cal
upon a siding, into which any consignol
may load milk without waiting. such ad
vantage works unjustly to the disparage
ment of others less fortunately circum
stanced In this respect.
''In short, expeditions loading seems II
the case under review to be the one mos
essential desideratum, both to shippers
and to carrier. This is at present bes
served by the requirement now in fore,
and with an increase In dairy farming IL
the region will become more and more i'm
perative. 1t is in keeping with the pre-
vailing practice upon other roads, wher,
the circumstances and contentious arr
similar; and we do not, therefore, deem
the present requirement, that the shippe
or his employee shall deliver the cans q
the doors of milk cars upon passenge
trains, constitutes improper or inadequat
service, nor unjust discrimination, whel
all things pertinent are considered"