The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-08-30
OFFICIAL PAPER BINGHAM COUNT
PREVENTING THE CAR SHORT.
AGE

Last Saturday there was a meet
ing of agents at Pocatello to dis
cuss means of handling freight BUSH
ness in such way that cars may be
made to do the greatest amount of
service, and thus reduce the expected
car famine to minimum.
w. L. Young of Blackfoct was O.
mong the number, and took an active
part in the meeting. He was one of
the men who was under heavy
strain last fall in the matter of APP
portioning cars among the various
shippers when there were not enough
to go round, and he looks forward
with keen interest TO anything that
can be done to prevent a recurrence
of the troubles this year.
1t matters little how abundant the
crop Is, or how good the price, if the
cars cannot be had to move them to
markets promptly, and provision is
not made to store the product and
protect it until it can be moved. The
greatest loss comes to the producers
and the shippers, and the next great
est 'oss comes to the common car
rier that fails to get the carrying
business.
7... There are number of things that
stand in the way of getting the most
service from each car. Failure of the
shipper to make application early for
the number needed, failure to load
promptly when cars arrive. failure to
have them unloaded promptly when
cars reach the destination, and al
lowing produce to be loaded in bad
condition, so that there is a protest
from the firm receiving it, necessit-
ating a delay while communicating
with those who loaded the cars to
see what is to be done about it.. Po-
tatoes are often loaded in cars
slightly frozen, and in few
days they are in some distant
market and kilograms are being ex-
changed about their condition, and
perhaps the man who looked after
the loading gets on train to go and
see for himself whether the potatoes
are in the condition claimed by the
commission man. This ties up the car
long enough for it to have made
part of another trip. 1t makes a loss
for the shippers, and the railroad
company received only few dollars
in demurrage for the time the car is
standing on the siding. This diff
Guilty applies especially to fruit and
potatoes, and the Oregon Short Line,
finding that many people have failed
utterly in taking action to protect
themselves against losses occasioned
by loading produce in bad condition,
has taken the responsibility of doing
it themselves, because there is al
ways danger of the shippers making
a case against them for part or all
of the damage, on the theory that
the produce was frozen in transit or
was delayed to the detriment of the
fruit
In the year 1910 the Short Line
paid 100000 in claims of this kind
on fruit shipped from Southern Ida
no, and in 1911 they put on inspec-
tors to see that the fruit shipped was
in proper condition or to note the
condition in which it was loaded,
and there was such an improve
ment that no claims had to be paid.
In 1911 they paid $4,000 for po-
tatoes claimed to have been damaged
in transit, and in 1912 the inspec-
ton will be extended to the loading
of potatoes wherever possible. and
where ears are loaded on switches
where inspectors cannot reach them,
they will be examined and their con-
dition noted before they get far on
their way i
The purpose of the inspection Is
two-fold; to educate the shippers
and establish proper standard for
shipment, and to protect the road by
having a record of the. condition of
each car when 1t leaves its loading
track.
Another matter determined by the
management of the road is that ship
pers of perishable goods must pre-
pay the freight or sign up written
guarantee. The company no longer
takes the risk OF hauling Q car a
thousand miles and then losing the
pay for the service just because tho
men who loaded 1t did not know how,