Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 537 



tonnage system. Trains are held at junction points until they 

 are able to make up a certain, amount of tonnage. The engines 

 are loaded down to their utmost capacity regardless of weather 

 conditions or any other elements which may retard their speed. 

 These exceedingly long trains are very difficult to handle. When 

 they have to pull in on a sidetrack, perhaps to let a passenger train 

 pass them, it is difficult for them to get in motion again. When 

 they arrive at the Chicago terminals or at any of the other market 

 terminals there is always a great deal of delay on account of the 

 difficulty in handling these long trains. A 60-car train of live 

 stock, when it is stopped, requires fifteen to twenty-five minutes 

 before the engineer can exhaust the air of the air brakes in order 

 to get started again. All of these little things tend to delay the 

 traffic and get stockmen late for the market. Live stock is not only 

 perishable property, but is shrinkable property. From the time 

 that it leaves its home feed yards it begins to shrink and never 

 ceases shrinking until it is in the slaughterer's pens. It is not 

 only shrinking in weight, but is also shrinking in flesh, making it 

 less desirable to the buyer and causing it to sell at a lower price. 

 It is always very essential for live stock to arrive at the different 

 markets for the early morning market; when it arrives late in the 

 day it always means a loss to the owner, for the reason that the 

 late market is nearly always lower than the early market. 



Some time ago the railroads made a plea that they were en- 

 titled to a little increase in their freight rates on the ground that 

 everything else, including labor and all kinds of supplies which the 

 railroads are obliged to buy, had advanced in price very materially, 

 while rates had not been advanced. I am not a railroad rate man 

 and do not feel competent to pass on this question. The Interstate 

 Commerce Commission took the matter up, investigated it very 

 carefully and asked the railroad companies to produce their books 

 for examination. After a thorough investigation by that very 

 fair and capable body of government officials, they refused to allow 

 the railroads to raise their rates and I presume they felt justified 

 in their action, but the live stock shipper and producer had better 

 grant the railroads a little higher rate, provided they could be 

 guaranteed more prompt and better service. 



I have had an idea that perhaps live stock rates should be 

 based on a sliding schedule, one rate for first-class service and 

 prompt delivery of live stock at the markets and a lower rate for 

 delayed service. This may be only a dream of mine and possibly 



