The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-12-01
Shippers Need Not Accept Bad
Order Cars From Roads.
Have Found 1t Necessary to
Make Expensive Repairs.
SHOULD STOP LEAKS
Make Cars UsabIe for Immediate
Shipment.
Other Items of General Interest
III Traffic World.
SHOULD STOP LEAKS

The interstate commerce commission
under date of November 6, rendered
the following -ecision in the case of
Balfour Guthrie & Co, ct al VS.. Oregon
Washington Railroad & Navigation Co,
which is of interest in connection with
the subject Of bad order grain cars:
Inc great bulk OF the grain produced
in the states Of Washington al ore
gon is sacked in the field and SO ship
ped There are occasional movements,
however. especially Of grain intended
1Or eastern markets. where the grain
is transported in bulk The complain
ants have had occasion to ship Dy the
line OF The defendant considerable
volume of such bulked grain, and they
bring this complaint to remedy an
evil which they have found to exist in
the condition OF the equipment furnish
ed for such shipments; the boXcars pro
Vided by defendant are said to be IN
ut for the purpose for which they are
to be used in that it is necessary for
the shipper before loading them with
loose grain not only to provide grain
doors but to clean and OOper them.
Instances are cited where IL has been
necessary for the complainanLs to ex-
penG S. or S. in so patching up a car
as to render it safe for the transporta-
ton of grain. The carrier provides in
the tariffs for an allowance of not to
exceed s. per ear for grain doors. out It
makes no provision for the covering of
cracks and other repairs 1t is the
mission should make IN order requiring
the defendant railroad to provide by
published rule that shippers may, when
Occasion makes il necessary. cooper the
car nd recover therefor an allOWal
not to exceed s.. including the allow
a,nce for gram doors.
No one can deny that It IS the pri-
mary duty of railroad to furnish
equipment that is disable A shipper is
not to be ut to the alternative of
either not shipping at all or Of recover
ing from the railroad for loss OF the
comm Oflty In transit. 1t is not a com
pliance with the requirements Of the
law that a car be put at the shippers
disposal, the car provided must be one
that viii convey the commodity safely
to its destination under ordinary cir
cums1ances-
In the event that the car furnished Is
unfit the shipper should reject it and call
for another This. IL is said. is
pensive procedure for the shipper to fol
low fnasnucfp as he is prepared at the
time when the cars are placed to load
them, and such rejection occasions a de-
lay Of possibly one or two days. There is =
no evidence that such procedure was
followed by the shippers here; on the
contrary. they admit that in order to
make their shipments in time and to
save DELAY they co-operated the cars
Allowances of the kind here requested
are Of a dangerous character. The car
Tier cannot tell what the actual amount
oS material and labor used by the ship
per was The car IS loaded Immediately
uron being repaired and is sent to some
far distant point There is no means of
adequately checking the expenditure OF
the shipper. SO that IT becomes extremely
easy TO ttIrs such allowances into real
rebates. We are asked TO make an order
compelling The carrier to reimburse tie
shipper upon the ground that such
order would be reasonable. The showing
here made does not seem to US TO justify
requiring such tariff pr ovision. A rec
ord has been kept of the cars repaired by
the coraplainants The number SO re
paired in the last two years has been
very small We believe that It is a safer
and more reasonable practice to curtail
sllcls allowances than to extend them
since the commission cannot in any way
police such repairs. and it is a far wiser
policy for the carriers TO repair their
own equipment than to farm 1t out tO ship
pers. A rule Of this character could not
be limited to the repair of cars for
shipment in bulk Of grain without estab-
fishing 2 precedent as to allowances for
other commodities. For thess reasons
the petition Of the complainants viii be
denied and the case dismissed