and unsatisfactory, the question is necessarily in the hands of the carriers. The objection to a bill of lading prepared by the carriers is not alone to the want of uniformity, which may make some pretensions in that respect, but that it is framed solely from the carriers' point of view and not always with regard to the rights of the producers, receivers and shippers. The Interstate Commerce Commission doubts its authority to prescribe a uniform bill of lading, and while congress fails to act itself, or to clothe its representative with the necessary power, the next best substitute is uniformity in state legislation.

A commission on uniform state laws, composed of a number of very able and eminent gentlemen, has held several sessions, and among the measures proposed for uniform adoption by the states is a bill to make uniform the laws on bills of lading. The work of this commission of the states has found its way into the statutes of many of the states affecting the law requiring uniformity between the states. For instance, thirty-two states and two territories have adopted its suggestions by legislating upon the subject of negotiable instruments covering bills, notes and checks. Ten states have enacted a uniform warehouse receipt law, while five states have enacted a uniform law of sales.

Numerous efforts have been made during the past several years to secure a more satisfactory and uniform bill of lading in the Official Classification Territory. As a result of these numerous efforts and conferences participated in by representatives of the shipping interests and the carrying interests, the Interstate Commerce Commission on June 27, 1908, recommended and gave its approval to bills of lading, both "order" and "straight," and recommended their adoption and use by all carriers subject to the Act to Regulate Commerce from and after the first day of September, 1908. Copies of these bills and the conditions (the same in both) are herewith given. The time for these bills to become of use was extended by mutual agreement to January I, 1909, when the same will be put into use in the official classification territory.

All bills of lading prepared by the carriers must conform literally to the wording of the new forms and must be identical as to appearance, size and character of type, arrangement of printed matter, the size (eight and one-half inches wide and eleven inches long) and color of paper (yellow for "order" and white for "straight").

.Railroad Company.

ORDER BILL OF LADING-ORIGINAL.

Received, subject to classifications and tariffs in effect on the date 190.., from

of issue of this original bill of lading, at

....

.the property described below, in apparent good or

der, except as noted (contents and condition of contents of packages unknown), marked, consigned and destined as indicated below, which said company agrees to carry to its usual place of delivery at said destination, if on its road, otherwise to deliver to another carrier on the route to said destination. It is mutually agreed, as to each carrier of

all or any of said property over all or any portion of said route to destination, and as to each party at any time interested in all or any of said property, that every service to be performed hereunder shall be subject to all the conditions, whether printed or written, herein contained (including conditions on back hereof) and which are agreed to by the shipper and accepted for himself and his assigns.

The surrender of this original order bill of lading properly indorsed shall be required before the delivery of the property. Inspection of property covered by this bill of lading will not be permitted unless provided by law or unless permission is indorsed on this original bill of lading or given in writing by the shipper.

NOTES-The foregoing will appear on the front of first page of the bill of lading.

In connection with the name of the party to whom the shipment is consigned the words "Order of" shall prominently appear in print, thus: "Consigned to order of....... ....'

The bill of lading is to be signed by the shipper and agent of the carrier issuing same, and space shall be provided for this purpose.

The detail arrangement respecting other matters that customarily appear on the face of the bill of lading, such as name of destination, car numbers, routing, description of articles, weights, etc., will be prescribed by the uniform bill of lading committee.

The size of the bill of lading shall be 81⁄2 inches wide by 11 inches long.

Order bills of lading shall be printed on yellow paper of convenient distinction from bills of lading covering other than "order" consignments.

...Railroad Company.

BILL OF LADING-ORIGINAL-NOT NEGOTIABLE. Received subject to classifications and tariffs in effect on the date of issue of this original bill of lading at ... 190.., from

....the property described below, in apparent good order, except as noted (contents and condition of contents of packages unknown), marked, consigned, and destined as indicated below, which said company agrees to carry to its usual place of delivery at said destination, if on its road, otherwise to deliver to another carrier on the route to said destination. It is mutually agreed, as to each carrier of all or any of said property over all or any portion of said route to destination, and as to each party at any time interested in all or any of said property, that every service to be performed hereunder shall be subject to all the conditions, whether printed or written, herein contained (including conditions on back hereof), and which are agreed to by the shipper and accepted for himself and his assigns.

NOTES.-The foregoing will appear on the front or first page of the bill of lading.

The bill of lading is to be signed by the shipper and agent of the carrier issuing same, and space shall be provided for this purpose.

The detail arrangement respecting other matters that customarily

appear on the face of the bill of lading, such as name of destination, car numbers, routing, description of articles, weight, etc., will be prescribed by the uniform bill of lading committee.

The size of the bill of lading shall be 81⁄2 inches wide by 11 inches long.

Bills of lading covering what may be termed "straight consignments," being those other than "order consignments," shall be printed on white paper.

Bills of lading other than those covering "order consignments" shall be stamped "not negotiable."

The following conditions will appear on the back of bills of lading: CONDITIONS.

Section 1. The carrier or party in possession of any of the property herein described shall be liable for any loss thereof or damage thereto, except as hereinafter provided.

No carrier or party in possession of any of the property herein described shall be liable for any loss thereof or damage thereto or delay caused by the act of God, the public enemy, quarantine, the authority of law, or the act or default of the shipper or owner, or for differences in weights of grain, seed, or other commodities caused by natural shrinkage or discrepancies in elevator weights. For loss, damage, or delay caused by fire occurring after forty-eight hours (exclusive of legal holidays) after notice of the arrival of the property at destination or at port of export (if intended for export) has been duly sent or given, the carrier's liability shall be that of warehouseman only. Except in case of negligence of the carrier or party in possession (and the burden to prove freedom from such negligence shall be on the carrier or party in possession), the carrier or party in possession shall not be liable for loss, damage, or delay occurring while the property is stopped and held in transit upon request of the shipper, owner, or party entitled to make such request; or resulting from a defect or vice in the property or from riots or strikes. When in accordance with general custom, on account of the nature of the property, or when at the request of the shipper the property is transported in open cars, the carrier or party in possession (except in case of loss or damage by fire, in which case the liability shall be the same as though the property had been carried in closed cars) shall be liable only for negligence, and the burden to prove freedom from such negligence shall be on the carrier or party in possession.

Sec. 2. In issuing this bill of lading this company agrees to transport only over its own line, and except as otherwise provided by law acts only as agent with respect to the portion of the route beyond its own line.

No carrier shall be liable for loss, damage, or injury not occurring on its own road or its portion of the through route, nor after said property has been delivered to the next carrier, except as such liability is or may be imposed by law, but nothing contained in this bill of lading shall be deemed to exempt the initial carrier from any such liability so imposed.

Sec. 3. No carrier is bound to transport said property by any particular train or vessel, or in time for any particular market or otherwise than with reasonable dispatch, unless by specific agreement indorsed hereon. Every carrier shall have the right in case of physical necessity to forward said property by any railroad or route between the point of

shipment and the point of destination; but if such diversion shall be from a rail to a water route the liability of the carrier shall be the same as though the entire carriage were by rail.

The amount of any loss or damage for which any carrier is liable shall be computed on the basis of the value of the property (being the bona fide invoice price, if any, to the consignee, including the freight charges, if prepaid) at the place and time of shipment under this bill of lading, unless a lower value has been represented in writing by the shipper or has been agreed upon or is determined by the classification or tariffs upon which the rate is based, in any of which events such lower value shall be the maximum amount to govern such computation, whether or not such loss or damage occurs from negligence.

Claims for loss, damage, or delay must be made in writing to the carrier at the point of delivery or at the point of origin within four months after delivery of the property, or, in case of failure to make delivery, then within four months after a reasonable time for delivery has elapsed. Unless claims are so made the carrier shall not be liable. Any carrier or party liable on account of loss of or damage to any of said property shall have the full benefit of any insurance that may have been effected upon or on account of said property, so far as this shall not avoid the policies or contracts of insurance.

Sec. 4. All property shall be subject to necessary cooperage and baling at owner's cost. Each carrier over whose route cotton is to be transported hereunder shall have the privilege, at its own cost and risk, of compressing the same for greater convenience in handling or forwarding, and shall not be held responsible for deviation or unavoidable delays in procuring such compression. Grain in bulk consigned to a point where there is a railroad, public, or licensed elevator, may (unless otherwise expressly noted herein, and then if it is not promptly unloaded) be there delivered and placed with other grain of the same kind and grade without respect to ownership, and if so delivered shall be subject to a lien for elevator charges in addition to all other charges hereunder. Sec. 5. Property not removed by the party entitled to receive it within forty-eight hours (exclusive of legal holidays) after notice of its arrival has been duly sent or given may be kept in car, depot, or place of delivery of the carrier, or warehouse, subject to a reasonable charge for storage and to carrier's responsibility as warehouseman only, or may be, at the option of the carrier, removed to and stored in a public or licensed warehouse at the cost of the owner and there held at the owner's risk and without liability on the part of the carrier, and subject to a lien for all freight and other lawful charges, including a reasonable charge for storage.

The carrier may make a reasonable charge for the detention of any vessel or car, or for the use of tracks after the car has been held fortyeight hours (exclusive of legal holidays), for loading or unloading, and may add such charge to all other charges hereunder and hold such property subject to a lien therefor. Nothing in this section shall be construed as lessening the time allowed by law or as setting aside any local rule affecting car service or storage.

Property destined to or taken from a station, wharf, or landing at which there is no regularly appointed agent shall be entirely at risk of owner after unloaded from cars or vessels or until loaded into cars or vessels, and when received from or delivered on private or other sidings, wharves, or landings shall be at owner's risk until the cars are attached to and after they are detached from trains.

2-R. C.

Sec. 6. No carrier will carry or be liable in any way for any documents, specie, or for any articles of extraordinary value not specifically rated in the published classification or tariffs, unless a special agreement to do so and a stipulated value of the articles are indorsed hereon. Sec. 7. Every party, whether principal or agent, shipping explosive or dangerous goods, without previous full written disclosure to the carrier of their nature, shall be liable for all loss or damage caused thereby, and such goods may be warehoused at owner's risk and expense or destroyed without compensation.

Sec. 8. The owner or consignee shall pay the freight and all other lawful charges accruing on said property, and, if required, shall pay the same before delivery. If upon inspection it is ascertained that the articles shipped are not those described in this bill of lading, the freight charges must be paid upon the articles actually shipped.

Sec. 9. Except in case of diversion from rail to water route, which is provided for in Section 3 hereof, if all or any part of said property is carried by water over any part of said route, such water carriage shall be performed subject to the liabilities, limitations, and exemptions provided by statute and to the conditions contained in this bill of lading not inconsistent with such statutes or this section, and subject also to the condition that no carrier or party in possession shall be liable for any loss or damage resulting from the perils of the lakes, sea, or other waters; or from explosion, bursting of boilers, breakage of shafts, or any latent defect in hull, machinery, or appurtenances; or from collision, stranding, or other accidents of navigation, or from prolongation of the voyage. And any vessel carrying any or all of the property herein described shall have the liberty to call at intermediate ports, to tow and be towed, and assist vessels in distress, and to deviate for the purpose of saving life or property.

The term "water carriage" in this section shall not be construed as including lighterage across rivers or in lake or other harbors, and the liability for such lighterage shall be governed by the other sections of this instrument.

Sec. 10. Any alteration, addition, or erasure in this bill of lading which shall be made without an indorsement thereof hereon, signed by the agent of the carrier issuing this bill of lading, shall be without effect, and this bill of lading shall be enforceable according to its original tenor.

Discrimination in Switching Rates.-One of the beneficial effects. of regulation in Ohio has been the satisfactory arrangements, or regulations, relating to switching services and charges. The Commission's work in this respect has been of a varied character. In the case of The Campbell's Creek Coal Company et al., versus The Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company, one of the early complaints filed with the Commission, after the disposal of many preliminary motions, and when the case was about ready to be submitted upon its merits, there was an agreement reached between the shipping interests of the city of Cincinnati and the defendant railroad company by which new switching rates and services were established in that city to the satisfaction of complainants.