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28 IN T E R S T A T E COM M EBCE C O M M IS S IO N EEPOBTS. which the weight certified by the shipper to be correct is so accepted by the carrier. The agreement is in w riting, and provides that the . shipper shall furnish a correct weight, that he w ill pay any addi­tional charges which may be due ow ing to the underweight i f the w eight furnished by him is subsequently corrected, and agreeing to allow the carrier at all times access to all records, invoice books, and papers o f the shipper pertaining to the weights o f the cars shipped. These agreements cover package freigh t put up in standard pack­ages where the weight is determined by counting the number o f pack­ages shipped in a particular car. Th ey also cover freigh t which must be weighed ordinarily in the car by some one. Th is w eighing is done upon the scales o f the industry, which in such cases are under the inspection o f the w eighing bureau, and m ay at any time be tested by the representative o f that bureau. I t sometimes happens that the bureau itself appoints the weighmaster, who is paid bv the industry. Th e ..checks possessed by railroads against underweighing by this practice appear to be twofold. In the first place the w eighing bureau frequently reweighs such cars, comparing the result o f such rew eighing w ith the w eight as fu r­nished by the shipper. W h ile this is not an accurate test, since the weight as given by the shipper in the absence o f intentional fraud would generally be more accurate than that obtainable by the ra il­road from ordinary w eighing upon track scales, still it serves in a rough way to check the correctness o f the shipper’s weight. Secondly, and in the main, the representative o f the w eighing bureau may at any time examine the books and records o f the shipper, and by this means can usually determine whether the amount charged against the customer corresponds w ith the amount rendered to the carrier. The present investigation has not been o f a character to develop any fraudulent practices which may exist under this system. W e have endeavored to ascertain whether complaint o f discrimination exists, either on the ground that the privilege is accorded to some and denied to others or in the administration o f the agreement itself. M ° such instance has been found. A pparen tly the special agreement is extended to all shippers who desire to execute it in certain lines o f business and under certain circumstances without distinction. On the whole, so fa r as we have been able to obtain information, this system is satisfactory to shippers and, i f honestly conducted, tends to secure more accurate weights than could be secured by the ordinary methods o f track-scale' we'ghinn. These special agreements are not, apparently, referred to in the tariff, but all the inspection bureaus publish lists o f the individuals, 28 i. c. C. I I N BE W E IG H IN G OF F \ REIGHT BY CABRIEB. 29 firms, or industries w ith whom such agreements are in force, so that the public is reasonably inform ed o f what is taking place. W here such an agreement is in force in one w eighing district, the weights as furnished by the shipper are ordinarily but not uniform ly accepted in other inspection districts. O f course, the bureau in the district where the traffic originates or any carrier in any other district is free at all times to examine into the correctness o f the w eight o f a par­ticular shipment, and i f found incorrect to advance the shipment to its true weight, and this seems sometimes to be done. T w o or three general rules incorporated in the tariffs o f the car­riers refer to w eighing and have been made the subject o f complaint. The first o f these is what is known as “ tolerance.” I t w ill be readily appreciated that the exact weight o f the contents o f a car can not be ascertained by the use o f track scales. W e have already seen that the scale itself should.be regarded as accurate until an error o f at least 100 pounds is shown. W e have further seen that the tare w eight o f the car is Stated in multiples o f 100 pounds, and is treated as correct unt 1 an error exceeding that amount appears. I t has also been noted that some' o f the coarser commodities which are most frequently the subject o f transportation shrink several hundred pounds in transit. From these and other causes it is admitted on all sides that there must be a lim it o f error within which the ascertained track-scale w eight o f a carload o f freight shall be deemed to be correct. This lim it is known as tolerance, and is in most jurisdictions 500 pounds, but in the jurisdiction o f the Western W eigh in g Associa­tion and Inspection Bureau, which covers most territory on the' west o f the Mississippi R iv er and east o f the Pacific coast states, is 1,000 pounds. In our opinion 1,000 pounds is too great.- In case o f a commodity which only loads 20,000 pounds to the car, and there are many such, it means a twentieth o f the entire loading. Th is is a very significant item in the assessment o f the freigh t charges, and is even more signifi­cant when the question is whether the carrier has delivered the fu ll carload to the consignee. Even in case o f coarser commodities like lumber and coal, weight should be more accurately ascertained than is contemplated b^ this measure o f error. I f one tolerance is to be fixed fo r the w eighing o f all commodities, 500 pounds would seem to be large enough. I t has been suggested that the measure o f tolerance should vary w ith the character o f the commodity transported. E viden tly accu­racy in the matter o f w eight becomes important in proportion to the value o f the article, when the question is as to whether the entire carload has been delivered, and in proportion to the amount o f the rate, when the question concerns merely the assessment o f freigh t 28 I C. O.