BEFORE THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. IN THE MATTER OF THE TRANSPORTATION OF DRESSED MEATS AND PACKING-HOUSE PRODUCTS. At a general session of the Interstate Commerce Commission, held at its office in Washington, D. C., on the 12th day of March, A. D. 1901. Present: Hon. Martin A. Knapp, chairman, Hon. Judson C. Clements, Hon. James D. Yeomans, Hon. Charles A. Prouty, Hon. Joseph W. Fifer, Commissioners. IN THE MATTER OF THE TRANSPORTATION OF DRESSED MEATS AND PACKINGHOUSE PRODUCTS. Ordered, That a proceeding of investigation and inquiry into the manner and method in which carriers subject to the act to regulate commerce conduct and manage their business with respect to rates, facilities, and practices applied in the transportation of dressed meats and packing-house products from Kansas City in the State of Missouri and Omaha in the State of Nebraska and other points, called and known as Missouri River points, to eastern destinations be and is hereby instituted, and that the matters involved in such proceeding be, and the same are hereby, set down for hearing before the Commission on the 21st day of March, 1901, 10 o'clock a. m., at United States court rooms, Kansas City, Mo., the said hearing to be continued at such other times and places as may appear to be required. BEFORE THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. IN THE MATTER OF THE TRANSPORTATION OF DRESSED MEATS AND PACKINGHOUSE PRODUCTS. Hearing at Kansas City, Mo., March 21, 1901, 10 o'clock a. m. Present: Commissioners Clements, Yeomans, Prouty, and Fifer. W. A. Day and J. T. Marchand for the Commission. Commissioner CLEMENTS. Gentlemen, we are here to proceed with an inquiry, under an order recently made by the Commission, into the manner and method by which carriers subject to the act to regulate commerce conduct and manage their business with respect to rates, facilities, and practices applied in the transportation of dressed meats and packing-house products from Kansas City, in the State of Missouri, and Omaha, in the State of Nebraska, and other points called and known as Missouri River points, to Eastern destination. Mr. Day will conduct the examination of witnesses. Who will you call, Mr. Day? Mr. DAY. I think we will present Mr. E. S. Hitchins. E. S. HITCHINS, being duly sworn, testified as follows: Mr. DAY. Mr. Hitchins, you are the local agent at Kansas City for the Chicago Great Western Railway? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. What is your relation? Mr. HITCHINS. I am the agent. Mr. DAY. There is a local agent independent of you? Mr. HITCHINS. Yes, sir. Mr. DAY. What is the scope of your work? Mr. HITCHINS. I represent the freight, passenger, and transportation departments in Kansas City. Mr. DAY. For the Chicago Great Western? Mr. HITCHINS. For the Chicago Great Western Railway. Mr. DAY. How long have you sustained that relation? Mr. HITCHINS. About three years-it will be three years the 1st of une. Mr. DAY. Has it been part of your work to secure shipments of dressed beef and packing-house products by your line? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir; not directly. It is part of my duty to see that we get our share of all business out of Kansas City. Mr. DAY. Have you done any contracting for the transportation of packing house products? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. At any time during the past year! Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. Have you made any arrangements with any shipper of packing house products during the past year? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. Have you had any conversation respecting the rates on packing-house products out of Kansas City during the past year? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not understand that question. Mr. DAY. Have you made any contract or arrangement? Mr. HITCHINS. I have answered that. If you ask if I have had any conversation in regard to rates Mr. Day. Yes. Mr. HITCHINS. Yes; it is a matter of common gossip. Mr. DAY. With the freight men of the packers. Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir; with the general public, newspaper men, other railroad men, and fast freight line men. Mr. DAY. You have made no arrangements or propositions for the transportation of packing-house products with Mr. Ellis! Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. Mr. Davis? Mr. DAY. Mr. McKone! Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. None of the traffic men of the packers? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. Or their agents? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. Or Mr. Machett? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir. Mr. DAY. You have had no conversation with any of those gentle. men in regard to the transportation of packing house products? Mr. HITCHINS. I may have had conversations with regard to it, but I have not talked to them about making arrangements, either directly or indirectly, in regard to the rates. Of course, I had conversations with them. I have charge of the transportation department, and I have had considerable talk with them in regard to getting out on time, icing, etc. Mr. DAY. You say you have charge of the transportation department. Who, now, is the individual who quotes the rates over your line, or has done it during the last six months or a year? Mr. HITCHINS. On packing-house products? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not know who does it. Mr. DAY. Who has the authority to do it? You know your own force or the force of the Chicago Great Western. Mr. HITCHINS. There is no one in Kansas City representing the Great Western road that has authority to quote anything but the published rate. Mr. DAY. Who makes contracts for the transportation to North Atlantic ports, say New York, in which the Chicago Great Western participates in the haul? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not know. Mr. DAY. Who has done that in the past six months? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not know. Mr. DAY. When traffic is transported by your line in part, destined for New York, crossing the Mississippi River at the north crossings, or any of them, how is that traffic billed? Mr. HITCHINS. Destined to New York? Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. Mr. HITCHINS. It may be billed to the final destination on our line or it may be billed to a station on an Eastern line. I understand as "billed" you mean, how is it waybilled. Mr. DAY. How is the bill of lading issued? Mr. DAY. When the traffic is destined for local consumption at New York, say, is the bill of lading ever taken up and a through bill beyond issued in its place? Mr. HITCHINS. We do not issue any through bills. Do you mean export bills? Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. Mr. HITCHINS. We do not issue any. Mr. DAY. You issue bills up to the Atlantic port, New York? Mr. HITCHINS. Yes, sir. Mr. DAY. When that traffic is destined for foreign shipment who executes the through bill to Liverpool, or wherever it may be destined. abroad? BY-VOL 5-05-50 Mr. HITCHINS. We have nothing to do with that. I understand in a general way that they make a through bill from Kansas City to Liverpool, it may be, issued here in Kansas City by a fast freight line. It may be issued by a steamship man, but we have nothing to do with it, and I do not know really who does issue the bill. Mr. DAY. Who pays the freight charges on traffic destined for New York via your line? Mr. HITCHINS. That would depend on circumstances. If billed prepaid, the shippers pay; if collect, the charges are collected at destination. Mr. DAY. What is the general practice respecting packing-house products? What has been the practice during the last six months in that particular? Mr. HITCHINS. A great deal is billed prepaid. Mr. DAY. When billed prepaid, who pays? Mr. HITCHINS. The shipper to the initial carrier. Mr. DAY. In the case of your line who is it paid to-to you personally? Mr. HITCHINS. No, not to me personally. Mr. DAY. To whom? Mr. HITCHINS. We have collectors. Mr. DAY. Who are your collectors? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not know who is the collector now. Mr. DAY. Who was your collector in the month of January? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not know his name. He works in the local office. I can not think of his name. Mr. DAY. Who is your collector to-day? Mr. HITCHINS. I do not know. Mr. DAY. Who was your collector last week? Mr. HITCHINS. The last collector that I remember the name of is Kaiser. We have a young man now who is a member of the Third Regiment. I can get you his name. Mr. DAY. I want you to bring after recess the names of the men who have done the collecting for you during the past six months. Mr. HITCHINS. Yes, sir. Mr. DAY. Now, you say that when the traffic is prepaid by the packers or their representatives it is paid into your office? Mr. HITCHINS. Yes, sir. Mr. DAY. Have you had any information that any traffic has been carried to New York or Boston or Philadelphia or Baltimore originating on your road at Kansas City and that less than the published tariff has been paid on it? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir; I do not think so. Mr. DAY. Either domestic or export shipments? Mr. HITCHINS. No, sir; as I understand it, there is no tariff on export. Mr. DAY. Well, how about domestic? Mr. HITCHINS. I know of none. Mr. DAY. What do you mean by that-that you have collected the full tariff rate, the published tariff rate, in all instances? Mr. HITCHINS. Yes, sir. Mr. DAY. And finally retained it? Mr. HITCHINS. I have remitted it to headquarters. Mr. DAY. To where? Mr. HITCHINS. Our treasurer. Mr. DAY. Where? Mr. HITCHINS. At St. Paul. |