THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 129 



Co., in sending broadcast through the West public 

 notice that no property consigned us would be received 

 by them at Albany for transportation to us, unless 

 freight and charges on such were prepaid, we are forced 

 to take this course to set us right with our friends and 

 shippers throughout the West. During the past two 

 years we have received considerable grain over the 

 Red, White, and Blue Transit Lines, such coming to 

 this city over the B. & A. R. R., one of the co-partners 

 to such lines. This grain has been largely short in 

 weight, the losses in transit on cars being many times 

 large and often excessive. We have repeatedly called 

 attention of the R. R. Co. to such shortages, but they 

 have invariably, and usually in an arrogant arid arbi- 

 trary way (a way peculiar to this corporation, as our 

 merchants all can testify to), refused to pay any atten- 

 tion to our demands. We have submitted to this 

 species of robbery as long as we feel inclined to, and 

 now, having been thus forced to it, take the stand, that, 

 as common carriers, the railroads are liable, and should 

 be held responsible, for failure to deliver property in- 

 trusted to them, in like good order and quantity as 

 received by them; that, when we can prove a certain 

 quantity shipped in a car at the West, we are entitled 

 to a like quantity delivered us here, or payment for 

 the shortage. We therefore declined paying the B. & 

 A. R. R. Co. a lot of their freight bills unless they 

 would allow our shortages, which we were desirous of 

 having them look into, to satisfy themselves as to the 

 justice of. They, however, most positively refused to 

 notice our claims against them, but said we must pay 

 their bills as presented, right or wrong, and, if wrong, 

 trust to their refunding them when they see fit; and as 

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