The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-18
Figuring Freight Rates
Ism t an Easy Job-H;s
Task For Expert Only
Recent Rate Changes Percentage Basis Complicate
WOrk-Average Man Can't Work Out Transporta-
ton Costs-Carriers' System Blamed

Seems as if it ought to be simple
enough to find out what it will cost to
ship a case of eggs, or a tub of but
ter. or kitchen stove. from Topeka,
to Oldvflle, New Hampshire. or Coal
town, Penn, or anywhere back there
Just call up the "deepo" and ask
the nice man who answers, and he
ought to be able to tell you right off
the bat, so to speak.
But tits not thus.
Never in the history of transporta-
ton by rail in the United States, mas
it been so difficult to find out how
much the raflroads can charge-not
, ought to charge, mind you-for
shipment of freight.
With the changes of rate which
have been made effective in the past
two years, freight tariff publications
are assuming a condition of chaos
Into their esoteric manifestations. only
a trained man, a rate clerk, may ven
ture. and come out with his sanity
remaining to him, to say nothing or
any information.
In the office of the Topeka Traffic
association half of one side of the
wall is covered with a filing case.
There are seventy-two compartments
lin the case. In each compartment
| there are from one to twenty-five
different schedules, published by the
railroads, and purporting to give
freight rates for various commodities,
to various points.
In front of the filing case sits
Charles F. Real, secretary of the as
ISOLATION, and there is a 'pigeon-h hole"
| in Reals brain which corresponds to
each of the schedules in the case.
Need Another Filing Case.
1--WE have just ordered another case,
the same size as this one" Real says:
| HIS telephone rings every minute OF
| the day, with the requests of mem-
bers of the association for rates on
outIandish shipments to out1andish
places And he always finds them.
| That is part of his job. There are
other little details such as the adjust
ment of errors in rates, which he
| takes UP with the shipper or the rail-
road, as the case may be.
| 1t isn't so simple matter as simply
| knowing in which of the compart-
ments to look, and what page of
which schedule therein to peruse. Not
at all.
when you look on the right page
of the right schedule from the right
compartment, about all you will find
! is a note telling you where to look
next for the rate in which you may
| be interested.
| In figuring nearly half of the
| freight rates at the present time,
| there are several factors which must
| be taken into account. In some cases
! these different operations number as
many as five, for a single rate.
Cause of All Confusion.
+ All due to the fact that changes
| in rates, during the past couple of
years, have been based on percentage
relationships with old rates.
On August rs, 1920, there was
granted to the carriers an increase
in their rates, covering every COM
modify, and every haul. The increases
were almost altogether based on per-
centage of the old rates, in effect be-
! fore August 26. The increases were
| 35 per cent on some commodities, 40
per cent on others, Is per cent on
| others, and 33 1s per cent on still
others. There were other modifica-
tions and limitations, but that was
! the main idea.
Then, on January 1, 1922, the car
riers voluntarily published a reduction