The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-04-15
Nearly One Hundred Thousand
Claimed From Railroads.
This LIS for Rebates on Freight
Shipments.
BASED ONLATE RULING
Allows Recovery of Overcharges
to Merchants.
Topeka Dealers Now Ask Fifteen
Thousand Dollars.

Claims for over $4,000 for rebates
in account of excessive freight charges
are being presented to tho Interstate
Commerce Commission by Kansas
Jobbers and retailers. The claims are
based on the decision of the United
States supreme court in the Burnham,
Hanna, Munger Dry Goods Co.. case
and include the excess rates charged
by the railroads during the time the
case was tried in the courts.
The Wichita jobbers have claims
asgregating fifty thousand dollars, To-
peka merchants have claims amount
ing to fifteen thousand dollars or more
and Salina, Hutchinson and other Job
blng points have claims totalling more
than ten thousand dollars. Both Job
bers and retailers are interested in the
claims for reparation and in addition
to the claims presented by the Kansas
merchants many of the big manufact-
urlng comSanies of the eastern states,
which prepay the freight on all ship
ments are filing claims for even much
larger amounts than the Kansas men
are attempting to collect.
| The Munger decision, as it is gener-
| ally known, was one of the most i'm
| terstate commerce commission. The
| rates on goods from New York and
| other seaboard territory to Kansas
City and to Kansas were made up by
4
| York to the Mississippi river from the
| Mississippi to the Missouri and then
the local rate from the Missouri river
TO kansas was added. The Munger
| case was brought on the ground that
1 the rate as made contemplated a ter
minal service at the Mississippi river
as through shipments were charged
the same rate between the rivers as
| shipments which originated on the
! Mississippi and which a terminal
charge could be legitimately made.
| The interstate commerce commission
held that the railroads had no right to
make a terminal charge on through
shipments at the Mississippi when no
actual terminal work was done and
ordered the rate between the rivers
| cut Is per cent.
The railroads went into the courts
4 to prevent the reduction in the rate.
The case dragged through the courts
for two years and finally the supreme
| court of the United States sustained
the commission. The merchants are
trying to collect the excessive freight
| charged during the time the case was
in litigation.
4 The interstate commerce commits
sion has often allowed the railroads
/ to give rebates on account cf excess
freight charges and it has made orders
requiring the railroads to pay the ship
pers large sums on account of excess
sive rates charged after the commits
sion had ordered a reduction and dur
ing the time the railroads were fight
ing the case in the courts. The COM
mission has given the Kansas shippers
until May l to get their claims pre-
sented to the commission and a date
for a hearing of all the Kansas claims
will be fixed before the summer ad-
journment of the commission.
| Applies to Topeka Merchants.
Nearly all the Topeka merchants
are entitled to reparation if the claims
are sustained. There are few which
have not shipped large quantities of
goods from New York and New Eng
land in the last two years and it is be-
lieved that the money will be ordered
returned. The railroads are making a.
hard fight to prevent the filing of the
claims. 1t is said that one Kansas
road which reaches the Mississippi has
threatened to boycott some of the re-
tai merchants if they presented the
claims and in this way some large
amounts will not be collected, as the
retailers are afraid of the railroads
The iobbers are in a different posi-
ton as the railroads solicit them for
| business and the jobbers can fight ~
good deal and the railroads have to be
| pretty good to them. 1t is known that
| one railroad complained to a company
for pernicious activity on the part ot
the traffic manager of the company
helping to work up some of the claims
against the railroads. 1t seems that
some of the railers in different Kansas
towns were bluffed into not presenting
| their claims after the claims had been
completed and were ready for presenta-
ton to the commission. The retailers
were afraid of the threatened boycott
of the roads, which would delay ship
| ments of seasonable goods or cause
other worries and perhaps serious losses
in business if the railroads retaliated
because the merchants put in claims
for the excess rates charged.