30 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



ALEX. LENDRUM. DIKECTOK, KANSAS 

 CITV. MO. 



J. M. 



L'AKD. UIIiECTOR, CHATTANOOGA, 

 'JENX. 



T. M. BROWN. DIRECTOR, LOUISVILLE, KY. 



strolled either timber or brush or, whut is per- 

 Juips more important, the spont/y forest soil 

 Khicli is (lepviHled upon to hold back the icater 

 for longer period of use. 



The forest rangers who have charge of the 

 national forest reserves in the United States each 

 have about 070 square miles to watch : in Ger- 

 many each forester has I)ut two square miles to 

 patrol. These ranijers are valuable in many 

 directions, because flicy not only patrol the for- 

 ests and direct the lighting of lires, but also col- 

 lect evidence of. and institute prosecutions for, 

 violations of the flre and timber laws. 



This Is only another evidence of the trend of 

 the times in recognizing the value and needs of 

 the great timber industry, and of intelligently 

 applying regulations which can not only mean 

 the prolongation of the natural supply, but also 

 prevent our becoming dependent in a few years 

 on our Canadian neighbor, for a timber supply 

 that she may be loath to accord us. In view of 

 the expanding growth of northwestern Canada, 

 which has of late attracted so many Americans, 

 that progressive country, with a watchful e.ye 

 for the future, will profit by the economy of the 

 old world and the extravagance of the United 

 States, and undoubtedly reserve for her own use 

 the virgin timlier with which she has been so 

 richly endowed by nature. 



In conclusion, we urge your honorable body 

 to reaflirm your past declarations and extend 

 etfective ett'ort on tue following important points : 

 (1) Tax exemptions, which will result in an 

 equitable annual cut: (2) A system of ranger 

 patrol, preventing and curtailing ttres and wan- 

 ton waste: (3) A practical reforestation plan, 

 which will instill into the minds of every citi- 

 zen the necessity of providing a timber growth 

 for future generations. Respectfully submitted, 

 M. M. WalLj Chairman. 



President Agler : The next report will be 

 from the Committee on Transportation. Emil 

 Guenther. chairman. 



Report of Transportation Committee 



Gentlemen — Your Committee on Transporta- 

 tion submit their annual report as follow's : 



The committee, in their report of last vear, 

 referred to a public meeting which was held in 

 Washington on .Tune 4 and y, in reference to a 

 proposed code of uniform demurrage rules. 



As a result of this meeting, there was formu- 

 lated a new code of uniform demurrage rules 

 which have since been indorsed bv the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission, and which became effec- 

 tive April 1 of this year. 



The new rules should prove to l)e a great 

 advantage as they do not recognize any rules 

 or set of rules whii-h favor discrimination, 

 and also because they limit the free time allow- 

 ance to the lowest possible minimum consistent 

 to the actual requirements of both shipper and 

 receiver. 



^heir adoption has been most general, only a 

 Utfie opposition has developed and this coming 

 principally from the state of California. 



In the matter of reciprocal demurrage : since 

 our last report, the Supreme Court of Georgia 

 has sustained the railroad commission's ruling 

 that railroads must furnish cars to shippers on 

 four days' notice or be subject to a demurrage of 

 one dollar a day on each car. 



Communications were received from one of 



the associations requesting our cooperation and 

 support in recommending a lower minimum 

 weight to apply on 34 and 3G-foot box cars, as 

 it was difficult to load sufB(;ient to make the 

 minimum weight. 



This matter was taken up by the committee 

 and our correspondence developed the fact that 

 this matter had received atteutiou from several 

 other associations,, and it was the opinion that 

 as the railroads are replacing their older equip- 

 ment with new and larger cars, it would not be 

 advisable to advocate a lower minimum under 

 these circumstances : however, we believe that 

 some of the carriers have incorporated in their 

 tariffs a rule to the effect that when a car is 

 loaded to its full visible capacity they will pro- 

 tect a lower minimum : also, rule 5A' of Official 

 Classification No. 35, effective Jan. 1, 1010, pro- 

 vides that when the marked capacity of the car 

 is less than the established minimum, the mini- 

 mum capacity to be charged for will be the 

 capacity of the car. 



The committee also received a letter from one 

 of the members protesting against the recent 

 ruling of the Interstate Commerce Commission 

 in reference to the "Milling in Transit Privilege." 



This ruling, which is Number 203, will be 

 found among those which will be distributed. 



The committee desires to call the attention of 

 the members to the importance of keeping a 

 recoril of the condition of car seals at the ship- 

 ping point and destinatitn. 



These records should show the car number and 

 initial and also the number of the seal. 



In cases where it is claimed that the contents 

 of the oai' have been lost or tampered with, 

 such record will be of invaluable assistance in 

 juoving the contention. 



Should the seal show evidence of being broken 

 or tampered with, this itself is sufficient to place 

 the responsibility of the loss on the carrier. 



In reference to the matter of car stakes, this 

 association was represented by Mr. F. S. Under- 

 bill, who appeared before the Congressional Com- 

 mittee on Interstate Commerce, testifving in 

 favor of the Graham bill, which provides that 

 the carriers shall provide car stakes for all flat 

 and gondola cars. This bill is still pending. 



There is also another matter which has re- 

 ceived some attention which refers to the duty 

 of the carrier to furnish cars of the size ordered 

 by the shipper. 



In instances where shippers have ordered small 

 cars, on account of the lower minimum for a 

 light shipment, but for its own convenience the 

 carrier furnishes a larger car, assessing charges 

 on the basis of the car furnished, this question 

 has been decided bv the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission, which holds that the carrier must 

 furnish a car of the size ordered and if other- 

 wise, must assess charges on the basis of the 

 car ordered and not on the basis of the car fur- 

 nished. 



There has been considerable agitation in favor 

 of legislation compelling the railroads to make ' 

 prompt settlement of claims. 



The recent decision of the Supreme Court of 

 the United States holding that the law of the 

 state of South Carolina is constitutional, which 

 provides for the collection of the attorney's fee 

 in connection with a claim, will no doubt estab- 

 lish a precedent. 



Upon this same theory there is no apparent 

 reason why Congress might not provide that 



with respect to interstate shipments, an attor- 

 ney's fee of any reasonable amount should be 

 collectible as part of the damages in case of an 

 unreasonable delay in the settlement of the 

 claim. 



South Carolina has also passed another law 

 requiring railroads to pay a penalty or fine for 

 failure to adjust claims for freight lost in trans- 

 portation, which has been declared constitutional 

 by .the Supreme Court of the United States. 



The state of Georgia has also adopted similar 

 laws and regulations dealing with this question, 

 and under these new regulations claims are now 

 being paid more promptly. 



There has also been introduced into Congress 

 by Senator Taylor from Tennessee, a bill requir- 

 ing the railroads to acknowledge receipt of claim 

 within 10 days, and to make settlement within 

 00 days. 



It provides a penalty of 1 per cent of the claim 

 for failure to acknowledge, and 10 per cent for 

 failure to adjust within 90 days, and also pro- 

 vides for the collection of an attorney's fee and 

 the necessary cost and expcnsi-s in connection 

 with the claim : however, up to the present time 

 no action has been taken on the bill. 



The committee in its report last year recom- 

 mended that its members present their claims to 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission, as it would 

 save considerable time and trouble. 



Before the committee made this recommenda- 

 tion, it received numerous letters from the mem- 

 bers in reference to claims for overcharges in 

 weight and rates, which were returned with the 

 suggestion to take the matter up with the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission. 



We believe that the members are now taking 

 advantage of the services rendered by the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, as there has been a 

 notieeal)le decrease in the number of communica- 

 tions received in regard to claims. How'ever. 

 your committee submitted a claim sheet, copies 

 of which will be distributed, and when properly 

 and correctly made out, should greatly facilitate 

 the adjustment of claims. 



During the .year just passed we have record 

 of 310 cases in which the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission has delivered opinions, against 249, 

 as stated in our report of last year. 



There were 44 among this number submitted 

 to the commission by tile lumber interests and 

 of tliese only eight were dismissed as not being 

 reasonable, against 40 submitted as stated last 

 year, out of which ten were not passed upon 

 favorably. 



These figures show a little increase over the 

 figures of last year ; however, the committee is 

 I>leased to note although there was an increase 

 in the number r.f cases submitted by the lumber 

 interests, there is a decrease in the number of 

 opinions against them. 



The Interstate Commerce Commission has 

 proven itself to be invaluable not only to the 

 shipper but to the railroads as well. 



It was organized solely for the purpose of pre- 

 venting and eliminating discrimination, and any 

 ease involving the question of discrimination 

 should be submitted to the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission where it will receive the best and 

 impartial attention. 



'riicre have been numerous rulings published 

 b.v the Interstate Commerce Commission relative 

 to questions of importance to the shippers which 

 the committee is unable to pj'csent on account 



