Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-10-28
NEW REGULATIONS
TO GOVERN SHIPPING
Local Agent Proskey Preparing
To Meet Requirements Of
Packing
EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 10

Steps were taken today Dy agent
| Proskey, in charge of the city express
Office, to prepare for the new express
| packing requirements, which goainto
effect on December TO- He has been
Eadyising express shippers TO study the
new rules, which have been approved
ny the United States Railroad Admin
istration, so that they may be able to
adjust their packing methods to the
! forthcoming new standards.
Under the new regulations. which
are embodied in what is known tech
nically as Supplement No. 10 Ex-
press Classification No &c, all ship
/ ments sent by express weighing over
YES pounds, must lie packed in wooden
| containers. or cartons of fibre-board
lpulp- board, or corrugated straw-board
Ematerial, of specified test strengths.
| This means, according 10 agent Pros
key, that after December 10. packages
hover the 25-pound limit will not be ac-
cepted for forwarding by the Ameri-
! can Railway Express Company, hand
ling the express business of the entire
country as agent of the Railroad Ad
ministration, If only paper wrapped,
/ Nor will ordinary paper boxes, wrap
ped or unwrapped, be accepted as suit
able protection for these heavier ship
ments. The regulations. however. do
not affect shipments under 25 pounds.
Regular shippers, agent Proskey
stated. viii not be mystified by the new
regulations. as they follow very close
ly the packing requirements long in
vogue in the freight service. The eX-
press regulations, however, allow a
little more latitude in the size of the
carton used. The enforcement OF the
new rules was postponed until Deem
Der 10, so that shippers would have
plenty of time to prepare themselves
70 rthis change in express packing
Standards
Agent Proskey expressed the opin
ion that these new rules will not work
any hardship on shippers, but should
operate distinctly in their interest, as
the rules will provide additional safe
guards for merchandise in transit.
Moreover, they will establish uni
formity of express packing rules
which heretofore has been lacking
The now order does not affect the
movement of food products by express
which are ordinarily shipped in crates
or barrels.
I'VE believe" stated agent Proskey,
in explaining the new regulations
1.-THE the shipping public will welcome
the new standards when they under
stand them. and the reasons for put
ting them into effect.
Never before in the history of the
country has the express traffic reached
such proportions as it has assumed to-
day. At the same time, there has been
comparatively little increase in the
amount of car space available for this
b1siness We have been asked to
carry heavier shipments and commo
dities of every conceivable kind.
Before the war; it was impossible
for car messengers to spread their
freight out on the floors Of the ex-
press cars without much congestion.
Today they are running dozens OF
through cars between the big cities
any everyone of those cars is packed
to capacity. There has been similar
congestion in the local runs.
"'rhis has made it necessary for ex-
press shipments to be stacked As a
result, individual shipments have had
TO be strongly enough packed to be
able to stand up for themselves, and
owing to the lack of uniformity in this
regard the new regulations were for
mulated and finally approved by the
Railroad Administration. The strong
er containers required. we believe,
will very perceptibly help to improve
the express service and to protect the
miscellaneous articles of merchandise
travelling through this channel from
damage or interference enroute."
An extensive educational campaign
is planned to explain to express ship
pers how the new requirements will
operate in the yarius trades which de-
pend upon the express service for the
mOVment of the bulk of their output
and Also to instruct express employees
regarding acceptance of matter for
shipment under the new standards.
Agent Proskey Is able to supply
shippers with copies of the Supple
ment No. 5 to Express Classification
No. &c. in which the new rules are out
lined in detaih