state that we have either sold or shipped grain over said railroad for the past two years or more. Dated at Rock Rapids, Iowa, this 20th day of July, 1896. Signed: H G. McMillan, Samuel Murdock, J. D. Wilson & Co., Elias Dunkel, G. T. Herris and 105 others. COPY OF LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. DOON, Iowa, September 8, 1896. Iowa Board of Railroad Commissioners, Des Moines, Iowa: GENTLEMEN-Enclosed find petition of some of the people residing near and tributary to a point known as Lunt's siding, and asking the establishment of a station at said place. This place (Lunt's siding) is situated on the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railway, and midway between Rock Rapids and Doon. It is six and one-half miles to either place. Ground at this point is almost level. This is a farming community and quite thickly settled. There were 312 cars of grain shipped from this point this year. There would have been stock shipments made also, but there are no yards here. There are no accommodations whatever for passengers, and passengers getting on the train at this place have to pay fare from Rock Rapids to Doon, or vice versa, as the case may be, making the fare a trifle over 6 cents per mile. If a station were established here think business would be increased 25 per cent at least. S. MURDOCK. DES MOINES, Iowa, September 12, 1896. Mr. H. G. Burt, General Manager Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company, St. Paul, Minn.: DEAR SIR-Enclosed please find copy of petition of S. Murdock and others, asking that a depot be erected at a point between Doon and Rock Rapids, together with copy of letter of transmittal signed by Mr. Murdock. Kindly give this matter your early attention and answer. By order of the board. W. W. AINSWORTH, Secretary. ST. PAUL, Minn., September 15, 1896. Honorable Board of Railroad Commissioners of Iowa, Mr. W. W. Ainsworth, Secretary: I will look into the matter without delay, and advise you later concerning it. Mr. S. Murdock, Rock Rapids, Iowa: H. G. BURT, General Manager. DES MOINES, Iowa, September 18, 1896. DEAR SIR-In a letter dated September 15th, Mr. H. G. Burt, general manager of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway company, in acknowledging receipt of your petition for depot at Lunt's siding, says: "I will look into the matter without delay, and advise you later concerning it." Copy of Mr. Burt's further answer will be sent you upon receipt. Very respectfully yours, By order of the board. W. W. AINSWORTH, Secretary. ST. PAUL, Minn., October 11, 1896. Mr. W. W. Ainsworth, Secretary Board of Railroad Commissioners, Des Moines, Iowa: DEAR SIR-Referring to yours of the 12th ult., with reference to petition from S. Murdock and others, asking that a platform be erected between Doon and Rock Rapids. My predecessor, Mr. H. G. Burt, acknowledged receipt of yours of the 15th ult., and will say that we have now given it due consideration, concluding that we can not, with business in sight, afford to put up any depot structure there during current year, but have arranged for construction of a platform without delay for use of passengers, and our general passenger agent will arrange to have tickets sold to that point. It is now too late in the season to consider any further construction work for 1898, but shall place this correspondence in our file for proper consideration as to depot facilities next year, though I doubt very much whether business from that section will warrant us in being at the expense of maintaining and operating, with considerable attendant cost, a depot at Lunt's. You may rest certain however, that the subject will have fair consideration next year, and in the meantime these people will be much better accommodated than heretofore. Yours truly, W. A. SCOTT, General Manager. Mr. S. Murdock and Others, Rock Rapids, Iowa: DES MOINES, Iowa, October 13, 1896. GENTLEMEN-Again referring to the matter of your petition for the erection of a depot on the line of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railway between Doon and Rock Rapids, I beg to submit to you a copy of letter from the new general manager of the company, Mr. W. A. Scott, just received. If you have anything further you desire to file in the case, kindly forward at an early convenience. Very respectfully yours, S. Murdock and Others, Rock Rapids, Iowa: W. W. AINSWORTH, Secretary. DES MOINES, Iowa, October 30, 1896. GENTLEMEN-Have you anything further to submit in reply to the position taken by General Manager W. A. Scott of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway company, in relation to your petition? If so, kindly forward at an early convenience, in order that the case may be closed upon the commissioners' records. Very respectfully yours, W. W. AINSWORTH, Secretary. The board, in view of the statements made by the railway company and contained in the foregoing letter, under date of October 11, 1896, have concluded that the case will be closed for the present, giving to the residents interested in such station the right in the future to have the same reopened in case the circumstances and wants of the public demand it, and in case the additional facilities promised by the railway company are not provided; or in case such additional facilities do not meet the reasonable demands and wants of the public, then this board will proceed to make such additional orders as it deems proper and just in the premises. By a letter under date of August 25, 1896, Mr. C. O. Carpenter, of Conesville, Iowa, made complaint against the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway company, setting forth therein that the railway company, upon the delivery of perishable freight and before shipment thereof, exacted and required of him a written guaranty, signed by one or more responsible persons, providing among other things for the payment of all freight and other charges upon such perishable freight at its destination, and also containing a stipulation relieving the railway company from all liability for loss or damage occasioned by the delay of such freight. Thereupon the matter was taken up with the railway company by correspondence, and all correspondence relating thereto, together with what purports to be a copy of the written instrument referred to therein, is herein set out in the order in which the same was had, and is as follows: CONESVILLE, Muscatine county, Iowa, August 25, 1896. State Railway Commission, Des Moines, Iowa: GENTLEMEN-I wish to complain of the unreasonable guarantee for the payment of freight charges which is required of shippers at this point by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern railway. I handle a great many cars of fruit during the season and ship from many points, and nowhere else have I been obliged to put up a guarantee. Not only is the shipper compelled to sign a guarantee for all freight charges (in which is a clause exempting the company from all loss or damage resulting from delay, etc.) but he must secure some responsible person as surety. The agent here is very arbitrary as to who is and who is not a sufficient surety He refuses to accept the names of men living four or five miles from town, and from men who even own large farms, if such are incumbered, etc. He apparently must have some one rated at a million, and who lives in sight of his office. I, as well as other shippers here, am greatly inconvenienced by such an arrangement and would like relief in some way. Just now we are shipping melons in large quantities and it is often a very serious matter to step in to the station to bill out a car or two of melons, shortly before train time only to have your surety refused. Serious delays and consequently losses result from this, and we trust you can investigate this matter at once and, if possible, afford us some relief. We hazard our crop of melons, etc., and the railway company ought to risk freight charges, as of course they are paid first. Yours respectfully, Mr. C. O. Carpenter, Conesville, Iowa: C. O. CARPENTER. DES MOINES, Iowa, August 27, 1896. DEAR SIR-Your communication of the 25th inst., making complaint of the "unreasonable guarantee for the payment of freight charges which is required of shippers at this point by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern railway," has been received, and the matter taken up with President Ives of the respondent company. You will be duly advised of the position taken by the company in the case. W. W. AINSWORTH, Secretary. DES MOINES, Iowa, August 27, 1896. Mr. C. J. Ives, President Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: DEAR SIR-Enclosed you will please find copy of complaint made by Mr. C. O. Carpenter, of Conesville, Iowa, which is self-explanatory. Kindly give the matter your very early attention, and answer. By order of the board. W. W. AINSWORTH, Secretary. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, August 31, 1896. Mr. W. W. Ainsworth, Secretary Railroad Commission, Des Moines, Iowa: DEAR SIR-Yours of August 27th, enclosing copy of complaint of Mr. C. O. Carpenter, of Conesville Iowa, in regard to guarantee on perishable property, such as melons, is at hand and has been investigated. I enclose copy of blank used for this guarantee, and while our agent at Cone might have been perhaps too particular in exacting a responsible guarantor, he may be considered to have had some excuse for the case, because last year Mr. Carpenter, while guaranteeing the freight on some carloads of melons, when asked to pay utterly refused, and the amount was uncollected, the melons having decayed and being unsalable for a sufficient amount to pay the charges. The guarantee seems to be essential for another reason, which is, that the dealer will receive from the farmer a carload of melons, saying to the farmer, "If these melons find a market and are sold, I will pay you for them; if, on the contrary, they are lost, I will pay you nothing." Under such circumstances the dealer takes no risk whatever, and the railway company takes all the risk. Instructions, however, have been given our agent at Cone to accept a reasonable surety of the guarantee of charges on these melons. Trusting this may be satisfactory, I am, Yours truly, (COPY OF GUARANTY.) C. J. IVES, President. BURLINGTON, CEDAR RAPIDS & NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY. .Station..... .189.... In consideration of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway company receiving the following perishable property, without freight being prepaid, viz:. in case consignee refuses to pay freight, I hereby agree to pay all freight and charges which may accrue on same to destination; and also agree to release said company from all liability for loss or damage arising from delay of same. This company is not to be held liable for any loss or damage to this shipment occurring while in the possession of other carriers. Attest: .Agent. .Shipper. ..Surety. Agents shipping perishable property must in all cases require one of these blanks to be signed by the shipper, with some responsible party as surety, and forward to auditor's office It is claimed by the shipper that the demand of the railway company of a written guaranty to pay all freight and charges before the shipment, or at any time, is unreasonable and a great inconvenience and hardship to the shipper. It will be observed that this written instrument, treated as a guaranty by both parties, only refers to perishable freight, and in this instance it refers to the shipment of melons only. We are not, at this time, prepared to say that to require a written guaranty, signed by persons financially good, is an unreasonable demand or requirement by the railway company, when the merchandise to be shipped is recognized as perishable property. We know of no rule or decision going so far as to hold that railway companies have not the right to make and adopt reasonable rules and methods to insure the payment of freight charges on perishable freight shipped or to be shipped over their lines, when the freight in the first instance is delivered by the shipper to the railway company exacting and requiring such guaranty, but in this case the further criticism and objection is made that the instrument in question goes further, and that there is an attempt on the part of the railway company to compel the shipper to release the company from all liability for loss or damage arising from the delay of such perishable merchandise, and that such demand is unreasonable and unjust. We have examined this instrument with care, and while we do not pass upon that question directly, yet we are of the opinion that there may be some force and reason in the objection made. Perishable merchandise must be handled by the railway company, and they should with all reasonable dispatch and care handle and transport such merchandise, so that the least possible loss or damage may occur to the shipper or consignee, as the case may be. That is, they should be reasonably diligent in that regard, and any contract or release which they may exact from a shipper before receiving such merchandise, relieving such common carrier from such reasonable diligence in the handling and shipping thereof, would be against public policy and injurious to the public generally, and we would suggest that in all future contracts and guaranties, or instruments in writing, whereby the railway companies shall require that the freight charges upon all perishable property be guaranteed before shipment, that it shall contain no stipulation or agreement relieving such railway company from reasonable diligence in the handling and transporting of such merchandise. If these suggestions are carried out and complied with, then we are of the opinion that the shipper will have no reasonable ground of complaint, and with these suggestions this case will be considered closed. Des Moines, Iowa, November 19, 1896. A communication was received by the commission under date of September 30, 1896, from Mr. H. C. Morley, recorder of town council of Whiting, Iowa, asking, in behalf of such council, that the through passenger trains, known as the "fast trains " upon the line of the Sioux City & Pacific Railroad company, be compelled to stop at Whiting, and also at stations east of Onawa, and stating that the railway company will not sell at Chicago tickets good to Whiting or east thereof. The attention of the railway company was called to this complaint, and through its general manager, Mr. George F. Bidwell, under date of October 26, 1896, the company answered that both of the trains which complainant asked to have stopped at Whiting were through trains running on fast time, and it was impossible for them to make local stops therewith. It was further stated by the railway company in its communication, that there is a local train passing Whiting at 10:40 A. M., going in both directions, which makes all the stops between Sioux City and Missouri Valley, and that there was also a local train going north at 12:36 A. M. and at 2:43 P. M., which furnish all the accommodations which would seem to be necessary, but if they do not, then the company will be willing to consider the matter further. The substance of the foregoing reply was forwarded to Mr. Morley, requesting him to furnish such additional facts as he wished to, but no communication has been received in answer thereto. Whiting is a town of something over 500 inhabitants, and has no railway facilities other than the Sioux City & Pacific railroad is able to furnish. We have repeatedly held that we could not consistently compel fast through trains to stop at all local stations along the lines of the different railways throughout this state. To do so would deprive the public of that reasonable service that the public is entitled to. The railway companies operating through lines or connecting with through lines, have incurred great expense in equipping their trains for fast through service, and have expended large sums of money to prepare and make good and safe tracks and roadbeds, in order to furnish this service to the public, and we feel that we would be doing great injury to the traveling public who have occasion to use these trains, and a great injury, as well to the railway companies, if we should by such orders as are requested in this case, make local trains of all through trains, and this would be the result if we should grant this request in cases of this kind. What would apply to the town of Whiting would apply to all towns along this line of railway, and in fact, other railways in this state, where the conditions were the same or similar, and we are, therefore, obliged to deny this request at this time. We do not wish to be understood, however, as holding that in case it can be made to appear that the people of Whiting are not receiving adequate railway service, considering all the circumstances and conditions applicable thereto, that we will not make such additional orders as may be necessary in the premises, upon a proper showing. |