DEMURRAGE INFORMATION FOR FARMERS. 
3 
thing as "free time." Every hour be}^ond that actually needed for 
loading and unloading cars is costly and usually the cost is borne 
ultimately by the man who clamors most loudly for more "free time." 
REGULATION BY THE STATES. 
As in the case of other practices of the railroads, the collection of 
demurrage came to be attended with so many discriminations in 
favor of the big shippers that one State after another took up the 
question. Forty-five of the 48 States — all except. Delaware, Utah, 
and Wyoming — have a railroad commission or similar body exercising 
regulatory powers over the railroads. 
In 12 of the States — Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, 
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, 
South Dakota, and Vermont — demurrage is regulated by statute. 
The Connecticut statute merely provides four days free time for 
loading and unloading, but in actual practice the uniform demurrage 
code 1 is applied on State traffic. The Vermont statute makes the 
same provision as to free time, but in other particulars the uniform 
code applies. In some States — California, Texas, and Wisconsin, 
for example — demurrage regulation is partly by statute and partly 
by orders of the commission, or the statute empowers the commission 
at its discretion to modify the details of the statute. States of that 
kind are listed in the appendix as regulating demurrage by orders of 
the commission. 
In 23 of the States — Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Mon- 
tana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wis- 
consin — demurrage is regulated by positive orders of the commission. 
In the following 10 of these States the commission has adopted the 
uniform code for intrastate traffic: Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisi- 
ana, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, 
and Wisconsin. 
In Nevada the roads apply the uniform code on State traffic, which 
the State commission has approved and recommended, but has not 
made compulsory. The commissions of Maine, Massachusetts, and 
Rhode Island, in so far as the regulation of intrastate demurrage is 
committed to them, have accepted the application of the uniform 
code by the roads. The commissions of Illinois and Pennsylvania 
are authorized by statute to prescribe demurrage rules and regula- 
tions within their respective States, but up to the present time they 
have taken no action. The essential features of the uniform code, 
1 The code adopted by the National Association of Railway Commissioners, indorsed by the American 
Railway Association, and approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission. See section entitled ''Inter- 
state Regulation " cn page 4. 
