TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 563 



You also have a claim, as Mr. Sykes pointed out this morning, for 

 all losses that arise thru excess shrink, and decline in market, as the 

 result of delay. 



If you want us to be of service to you on these claims, there is 

 simply one thing that you want to do, and that is to get a copy of your 

 live stock contract, join with it a copy of the account sales, and send 

 it to the Corn Belt Meat Producers' Association, Transportation Building, 

 Chicago. We will acknowledge receipt of the same and try in every 

 possible way that we can to properly represent your interests. 



The President: Now, we will spend just a few minutes on this 

 matter if you men have some specific information that you wo.uld 

 like to get into the record here concerning the collection of claims 

 or the liability of the carriers, or anything of that kind. We will 

 just spend a few minutes and give you an opportunity to ask Mr. 

 Coon questions. 



Mr. Ames : What point in the shipment of live stock does the 

 railroad become liable? For instance, a person drives a load of 

 live stock into the yards for loading and are counted in, and for 

 some reason before they go into the car, owing to defects in the 

 yards the cattle or hogs break away and at loading time they are 

 gone. How far, or where does the railroad's liability come in? 



Mr. Coon: The railroad's liability comes in when they issue 

 a live stock contract accepting the shipment for transportation. 

 There is, however, in addition, one other liability or duty which 

 the carrier has — he is to furnish reasonably safe stock yards. In 

 other words, if they furnish stock yards that are diseased, and as 

 a result of their failure to provide reasonably adequate stock 

 yards the cattle that you put in there contract some disease, and 

 you can show the disease resulted from that dilapidated condi- 

 tion of the stock yards, you can also present claim for that. 



Mr. Ames: But the railroad's liability extends beyond that, 

 doesn't it, when they issue a live stock contract, and the cattle 

 and hogs are not loaded into the car? 



Mr. Coon : My idea is that they are not liable for animals that 

 go into the yards and then break away. 



Member: Isn't it true that there are one or two cases that 

 have been decided in favor of that proposition? 



Mr. Coon : There might be, but there is none that has come 

 to my attention. 



Member: It seems to me that when you drive cattle, for in- 

 stance, into the company's yard, and because of the poor condi- 

 tion of the yards they are able to get away, that the owner would 

 have some chance of collecting his damage. 



