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24 IN T E R S T A T E COM M ERCE C O M M ISS IO N REPORTS. COAL. T h e tonnage o f coal exceeds that o f any other commodity, and the proportion which the freigh t charge bears to the value at destination is greater in case o f coal than w ith any other article o f general con­sumption. Th e w eight ascertained by the carrier upon which freigh t charges are computed is usually the w eight used by the mine owner in b illin g to his customer. I t is therefore especially important that the weight o f this commodity should be correctly ascertained. There is a great variety o f method in the ly d gh in g o f coal. A representative o f the Lou isville & Nashville stated that upon his line the mines as a rule owned no scales, the coal being weighed upon scales owned and operated by the railroad. These scales are not at the mine but are usually in close proxim ity, and it was said that coal is seldom hauled 50 miles before being weighed. Th e w eight is com­municated to the mine owner, who accepts it as correct and invoices his coal upon that basis. Th is witness testified that upon the Louis­ville & Nashville coal was weighed in motion, w ith the cars coupled at both ends, and that both the railroad and the mine owner declined to vary from the w eight so ascertained. This witness stated that the method pursued upon the Lou isville & N ashville was that ordinarily in use in territory south o f the Potomac and Ohio and east o f the Mississippi. H e did not say definitely, however, whether the ordinary rule was to weigh cars in motion and coupled, as upon his line. I t frequently happens that coal is not weighed until it has m oved a considerable distance from the mine. T h e N o rfo lk & W estern weighs its coal fo r central freigh t association territory fo r the first time at Portsmouth. Tidew ater coal at N orfolk , Baltim ore, etc., is weighed at the port, and the w eight so ascertained governs. Perhaps in the m ajority o f cases the coal is weighed at the mine, either upon scales owned and operated by the railroad or upon those installed by the mine owner, but operated under the supervision o f the railroad. In the anthracite regions the scales are located near the collieries, but seem to be uniform ly owned and operated by the railroad. O rdin arily the car is not light-weighed before being loaded, but sometimes it is, and this seems to be the rule in the anthracite regions. In all cases the w eight o f the coal, when ascertained, is communicated at once to the mine owner, i f not already known, and is the w eight upon which the coal is sold and the freigh t charges are assessed. Both the mine owner and the railw ay insist upon these weights as ascer­tained at the point o f origin. M o re complaint exists as to the w eigh in g o f coal than w ith any other commodity except lumber. Th e oft-repeated allegation was 2 8 1. C. C. that the coal did not weigh out up to the billed weight, the shortage being from a few hundred to several thousand pounds. Th ere was an earnest demand fo r some change in the system o f w eighing coal, which usually resolved itself into a demand fo r destination weights. I t is manifest that this Commission can have no control over the contract between the coal producer and his purchaser. I f the mine producer insists that his contract o f sale shall provide fo r mine weights, we can not control that action. W e can, however, see to it that freigh t charges are assessed upon actual weights, and that the rules under which those weights are ascertained are correct. Th e w eight o f coal at destination does not necessarily correspond w ith its w eight at the mine. I f coal is not properly trimmed when loaded it is liable to fa ll from the car during transportation. Coal is also subject to extensive p ilferin g en route, being ordinarily shipped in open cars, frequently through sections which are densely populated, and being an article o f universal necessity. W e have nothing before us from which any reliable estimate can be made as to the amount o f loss due to the fa llin g o f coal from cars en route or to pilferin g. There may also be a substantial change in w eight between the time the coal leaves the mine and its arrival at destination, due to evapora­tion. Th e coal is frequently wet- at the mine in the process o f mining or preparing fo r shipment, and the dryin g out o f the water lightens the w eight o f the car. In case o f washed coal an allowance on this account is frequently made. Th e coal itself as it comes from the mine sometimes contains considerable quantities o f moisture, so that a car­load o f coal, like a carload o f lumber, would lose in w eight by drying out i f it stood in the hot sun or was kept fo r any length o f time in a dry climate. A n account was given o f some experiments which tended to show that w ith certain western coals standing in open cars in the hot sunshine fo r 25 days the loss in weight ow ing to evapora­tion o f moisture was from 4 to 22 per cent. Other coals lost 2 per cent in 10 days and 4 per cent in 25 days. I t can hardly be expected, therefore, that the w eight at destination would exactly correspond w ith the w eight at the mine, but there ought to be some fa irly uniform percentage o f shrinkage according as the coal is produced in various sections and moved under various conditions. I t seems proper fo r a 'railro a d company to provide in its tariff that the weight as ascertained at point o f origin shall govern, unless shown to be incorrect w ithin such measure o f tolerance as may be properly fixed. W here the commodity varies in w eight during the transportation it may provide that the weight so ascertained shall govern irrespective o f the destination weight. I t can not, however, provide that an incorrect weight, no matter when ascertained nor where ascertained, shall control. I f that weight is shown to be in- 28 I. c. C. • l A RE W E IG H IN G OP F R E IG H T B Y CARRIER. 25