sumes all risk of loss or damage to property or persons "whether the same may occur through the gross negligence of the railroad company or its employees, or otherwise." (5) It agrees to carry free of charge for the railway all money and other packages pertaining to the business of the railway, the latter assuming risk of loss or injury in such cases not due to the theft, dishonesty, carelessness, or inefficiency of the express employees. (6) Wherever the express company transacts business over the lines of a road, it agrees to transport a full share of the competitive business over the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and (7) all employees of the express company are subject to the rules of the railway while on its trains or premises.

The sums paid by the express companies according to their contracts vary from forty to sixty per cent of the gross receipts. The contract between the United States Express Company and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, for example, provides for the payment of fifty-five per cent and a minimum payment of not less than $170 per mile per annum for each mile comprised in the lines of the railway except certain lines for which less sums are specified. The United States Express Company 2 pays to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company forty per cent of the gross revenue; the Southern Express Company 3 pays forty-five per cent to the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company; and to the Atlantic Coast Line it pays fifty per cent in the case of perishable goods, and forty per cent in the case of other freight and money packages. The American Express Company pays fifty-five per cent to

4

1 Agreement of July 1, 1904. 2 Agreement of August 17, 1887. Reynolds vs. Southern Express Co., XIII I. C. C. Reps., 536-538

(1908).

Agreement of June 12, 1910.

the Union Pacific with a minimum of $1,478,400 annually. There is a small number of express1 contracts which require the payment of a limited sum per year; and a few which require payment on a tonnage basis.

2

The contracts differ also as regards the relation between freight and express rates. Instead of requiring the approval of the railway for all express rates made, the most common requirement is that they shall be at least one and one half times the freight rates. Others require a minimum of, say, twice the freight rates for noncompetitive traffic, while for competitive traffic the express rates shall not be less than the rates fixed by other express carriers between the same points, except when necessary to retain a proper proportion of the business. The minimum. express rates stipulated vary from 50 to 150 per cent more than the freight rates.

The contract of the Adams Express Company with the Pennsylvania Railroad differs from the usual contract, also, as regards the carrier's right to transact express business with other companies. There usually is an exclusive clause which during the life of the agreement grants to the express company a monopoly of the railway's entire express business. These "exclusive contracts "'3 have been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.

The express business on water lines may be transacted either under contract or under trip agreements. Under the contract between the Old Dominion Steamship Company and the Adams Express Company, for instance, the

4

1 H. S. Julier, Gen. Manager of American Express Co., in "Railway Mail Pay," by The Postal Service Commission (1900), Part I, p. 529. 2 Kindel vs. Adams Express Co. et al., XIII I. C. C. Reps., 485 (1908). 3117 U. S. 1 (1886).

4 Agreement of October, 1906.

steamship company furnishes the facilities on board, and the express company pays all other expenses. The payment to the steamship company varies with the kind of commodity carried. General merchandise yields fifteen cents per cwt. to the steamship company on through, and twentytwo cents on local traffic; horses $1.50 each, and money forty per cent of the gross revenue. The contract also contains the exclusive clause.

Express companies engaged in the foreign express business usually make trip agreements with the ocean carrier at current rates as other shippers do, dispatching their packages by the line having the first sailing. Sometimes, however, yearly contracts are made with the steamship company, so as to obtain space at agreed rates instead of depending upon the current market.

1

REFERENCES

Consult references at close of Chapter XLIII, pp. 322-323.

1 Ullman vs. Adams Express Co. et al., XIV I. C. C. Reps., 345 (1908).

CHAPTER XL

EXPRESS SERVICE AND SHIPPING PAPERS

Services performed by express companies-Order and commission department—Shipping papers, description and forms-Receipt— Waybill-Prepaid shipment-C. O. D. sticker and envelopeLivestock contract-Special contract-Export and import bills of lading-Shipper's manifest-Invoices-Foreign waybill-Statistics of traffic.

EXPRESS traffic is no longer confined to the high-class parcel business. Perishable commodities of all kinds, requiring rapid delivery, are now being regularly handled. Whole car loads of live stock are shipped by express, and occasionally shipments of heavy machinery are handled at special rates.

In addition, the express companies make special provision for the shipment of currency, bullion, gold and silver coin, and precious stones. In conjunction with this they do a large banking business. "Express money orders" to the extent of $147,346,000 were issued by thirteen different companies in 1907. They are transferable documents payable to the person mentioned therein, and the maximum. value of a single order is fifty dollars. Four companies also issued travelers' checks" to the amount of $19,270,000. These checks are issued in denominations of $10, $20, $50, $100, and $200. They are cashed at any agency of the company and are accepted by all foreign hotels; but payable only to the purchaser whose signature is re

quired as a means of identification. Two companies issued $1,558,000 in "letters of credit," the purchaser of which, when identified, can draw upon the company for any amount stated in the letter.

The express companies act as collecting agencies, as well as carriers of commodities. C. O. D. shipments are held for collection by the Receiving Agent, and a charge is made for the service. When carried by one company or by two companies in case a single graduate is authorized, the charges are fifteen cents for $2 or less, twenty cents for sums over $2 but less than $6, and twenty-five cents or more for larger sums according to the merchandise rate from the point of shipment. When carried by more than one company where a single graduate is not authorized the charges for sums of $6 or less are fifteen cents for the collecting company and ten cents for each additional company. For sums ranging from $6 to $25 they are twenty-five cents for the collecting company and fifteen cents for each additional one. For sums over $6 in silver coin or $25 in gold or currency, the charges are graded according to the merchandise rates of each company involved.

Express companies, also, conduct an extensive "order and commission department." "Commodities of all kinds are bought and transported on orders and are likewise transported and sold on orders. To care for and extend this branch of the business properly, the various companies maintain order and commission departments. In early days this business was solicited by special and route agents, who visited shippers personally. In later years, as distances

1 "Alleged Purchase and Sale of Commodities by Express Companies." Interstate Commerce Commission, Sen. Doc., 60 Cong., 1st Sess., No. 468, p. 5.