The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-04
Law Requiring Valuation of All Luggage Checked
 Causes Inconvenience
RAILROADS ALSO
 OBJECT TO LAW
Means Immense Amount of Additional Work and Serves No Apparent Pur- pose-Interstate Commerce Com
 mission Unable to Give Relief

Great trouble, inconvenience and an- noyance, 1t Is said is being caused to
 both the travelling public and to rail- way officials by the new cummins bag gage law which has been in effect now
 but week or two Local railroad men stated yesterday that the vacation husi- ness which is growing heavier every day Is bringing forth many objections to the new law from all sources. and it's increasing unpopularity is generally taken to mean that strenuous efforts will be made to have it repealed.
 The new law Is in the shape of an amendment. by the Cummlns act, to interstate commerce regulations, and all the trouble Is caused by the appar- entity innocent provision that every traveller who has baggage checked on a
 ticket calling for interstate passage
 must declare how much his baggage Is worth.
 This applies to every kind of bag gage which heretofore has been checked by the railroads free of charge on pas senger tickets providing the weight was not over 150 pounds. Now. however. if the passenger valued his baggage at over S100 he must pay 10 cents for every. hundred over the first. If his baggage is worth more than S100 and he fails so to state, he lays himself liable to prosecution. fine and imprisonment. If his baggage isn't worth as much as he states 1t is, he Is subject to the samo thing.
 On the other hand, without the right of examination or inspection in any way the railway baggage agent Is re- quired to accept the passanger's valua- ton of his baggage and should that baggage be lost. the railway company has to pay the passenger the full valua- tion. Therefore the railroads are prone to object on account of the enormous amount of extra work caused by the new law and on account of the danger of having to pay large sum for the loss of perhaps worthless piece of baggage. while the public is prone to
 object because every piece of bag gage must be valued correctly or the passenger becomes liable to a fine of s5000 and two years in the penitentiary, or both, and if he seeks to avoid this
 by making correct valuation, for every hundred dollars of the valuation over the first an insurance or what ever 1t may be called of 10 cents per hundred must be paid
 iht ouiiiiiiHs act was passed Dy the last United States Congress and wens Into effect June 3. It had not operated but few days until 1t caused so much annoyance and confusion that an appeal was made to the interstate commerce. commission at Washington by the Mer chants association of New York ask ing that some relief be given. The com mission has rendered a decision. a copy or which has just been received in Birmingham, stating that under the act which IS federal statute there Is no other interpretation to be placed on the matter and that the practice must be kept up or the act repealed.
 The old practice was for the rai1- roads to carry free baggage of t5O pounds and assume S100 liability. Tn der the new law passengers in many cases, it Is said. under fear of prose- cution are placing valuations on their baggage which forces them to pay the 10 cents per hundred amounting in some cases to several dollars. In other cases, 1t Is reported in order to escape the cost of the 10 cents per hundred valuation, passengers make no con cealment in fraudulently valuing their baggage.
 The baggage masters offices at the different railway stations are hoping for the best but the extra work caused by the taking of the declarations from every passenger and the consequent bookkeeping has not so far been hailed , "itu ueishl <A.Fs
 The law applies to interstate bag gage only intrastate not being af- fected.