The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-08-06
RAILROAD NEWS
Shippers Defraud Rail Lines OF
S4O,OOO,OOO a Year.
This Is Claim Made by Expert
Rate Men.
INSPECTORS ARE NEEDED
Roads Able to Save Five and a
Half Millions.
Other Items of Interest in the
Traffic World.

The tendency on the part of ship
pers to complain of railroad require
ments and rates is well known ano
their uphoIding by the interstate com
merce commission is being accepted
| with more or less philosophy by the
roads, says the ST. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat.
| That there are complaints which
the railroads might justifiably make
has to some extent been lost Slght
| Of Attention is drawn to this state
of affairs by Edward Sherwood Meade
! in the Railway World, in an article on
misd description of freight, resulting in
variation of classification and there
| by reducing the rate from the leg1t1-
mate charge.
Mr.. Meade says, in his article; ut
! is conservatively estimated that the
railroads of this country are defraud-
| ed by shippers to the extent of not
less than $4O,O0O,000 a year, and the
railroads complain, with a fair meas
ure of justice, that the interstate
commerce commission should ENFORCE
the interstate commerce law upon the
shippers with the same energy and
zeal that it enforces the manifold
provisions of that law which bears
upon the carriers"
Entering into considerable detail
upon the matter of classification, Mr..
Meade describes the grounds upon
placed in certain classes, saying. in
summarizing, that the general basis of
distinguishing between classes OF
| freight is the cost or the risk wh1ch
the railroad assumes in handling the
freight He also points out that in
assigning a classification to a COM
modify it must be borne in mind that
| the same commodity handled under
different circumstances or packed IN
different ways may take different
classification.
After emphasizing this feature he
points out that a shipping clerk, II
he knows his business, knows these
and correlated facts and that he also
knows if a shipment which should go
first class can be sent third class,
there is a saving of some moment
BIames Some Shippers.
He refers to the almost universal
ractice in the United States to ship
freight f. o. b., that is, the cons1gnee
pays the freight, and then adds: Ihe
routing of the freight and all the pre-
lininary arrangements are, however,
in the hands of the shippers. 1t is
to his interest, because it strengthens
his position with his customers, to Sc
cure the lowest possible rate for
them
Results of Inspection.
These practices having been the
cause of the creation of inspection
these bureaus become interesting and
he says:
THE approximate additional reve-
nue. procured by the railroads by the
several inspection bureaus from cor
rection or misdescription of freight,
and from weighing of less than car
load freight in 1910 was over $780,
900, and the increased revenue ac-
count of weighing Of carload
freight as reported by two of the
bureaus was 100000. The number
of corrections made in 1910 by one
Der of inspectors and employees of
the four principal bureaus is 2,40O,
and the expense of maintaining same
for the year 1910 was $1,590,123.
1.-The chief inspector of one of these
bureaus estimated that no more than
one-tenth of the violations in his ter
ritory were detected. In the Trunk
line territory the number of correc-
lions last year was 863, 682,. and the
increase in weight was 129, 900 tons,
and the increase in revenue was $780,
900. From the records of one of the
bureaus referred to, and comparing
the volume of traffic in that territory
with the total volume of traffic in
the United States, the chief inspector
estimated that the total loss to the
railroads of the United States an
nually by shippers misdescriptions
and false weights, was probably not
less than $4,000, 0OO."
In contrast Mr.. Meade points out
that in the operations of one of the
inspection bureaus, $4,000 corrections
on account of misdescription of prop
erty and false weighing of shipments
were made in 1910, and that the same
year, the interstate commerce COM
missions records show only six prose-
cutions for violations for misdescrib-
ing shipments in the United States.
1t is on this evidence and more like it
that he urged greater activity by the
commission along this line. Admit
ting, however, that it is only a small
percentage of the country's shippers
that are at fault and also stating that
the railroads, with evidence in their
hands, are to blame for not pressing