Under date of March 18, 1896, the following petition was filed in the office:

Honorable Board of Railroad Commissioners, State of Iowa:

LOHRVILLE, 1896.

We. the undersigned residents and citizens of Lohrvil'e, Iowa, do hereby respectfully pray and petition your honorable board to use its influence and prestige in our behalf for the purpose of having a wye, or connecting track, built to connect the two different lines of railway passing through this city.

It is a great inconvenience not to have this track connection, and your favorable action will be greatly appreciated.

Signed: M. T. Patten, McCallister & Co., Crawford Wise & Co., S. A. Forrest, Abram Cain, George Leavitt, Gilland Olin, C. M. Richmond. Campbell & Co., and thirty-four others.

Copies of the above were forwarded to Mr. F. C. Hubbell, superintendent of the Des Moines, Northern & Western Railway company, and to Mr. J. M. Whitman, general manager of the Chicago & North-Western Railway company, and their replies were duly received. Under date of April 3d Mr. Whitman says:

DEAR SIR-Referring to your letter of March 19th enclosing me copy of petition from Lobrville, Iowa, asking for the construction of a transfer track at that point, connecting our own railway with that of the Des Moines, Northern & Western railway:

I will advise that I have inquired carefully into this matter and find that there is no need whatever for the construction of such a track. If a connecting track at this point were a business necessity or convenience, it would be clearly indicated by the amount of freight that is now being transferred by team between the local stations of the two railway lines mentioned. The actual amount of freight so handled during the past two years is as follows: Received from the Des Moines, Northern & Western railway.. Delivered to the Des Moines, Northern & Western railway..

.38,957 pounds .40,605 pounds

You will notice that this amounts to about one carload of freight moved in each direction. The construction of a connecting track at this point would be an expensive item on account of a small steam, and would cost in the neighborhood of $3,500. I can see no increase in business that would be secured by the construction of this track, and I therefore have no hesitation in saying to the board that there is absolutely no need for it. Yours truly,

J. M. WHITMAN,
General Manager.

Under date of April 9th, Mr. William Towers and forty-six others, citizens of Lohrville, filed a remonstrance against such a connection as was prayed for, claiming it was not needed, and in fact would be of serious detriment to the best interests of the town, if built.

April 17th, Mr. F. C. Hubbell says: "Our company is willing to buy one-half of the additional right of way required, and to build our half of the track, at any time that the Chicago & North-Western will join us.

On April 18th, Mr. Patten called at the office and requested the commissioners to go to Lohrville and make personal examination of the location, and decide upon its merits. Agreeable to the request, and that the commissioners might meet all parties interested, May 1st at 1 o'clock P. M. was named as the time

when the board would visit Lohrville, hear testimony and make the necessary examination.

In accordance with the appointment, the board reached Lohrville and found Mr. Patten and Mr. Towers as the only interested citizens to meet them. Superintendent Aishton and Attorney Hubbard represented the Chicago & North-Western company, the Des Moines Northern & Western company was not represented. Mr. Patten is the manufacturer of brick and tile. His works are located about 80 rods west of the Chicago & North-Western station and about 160 rods west of the location of the proposed wye. His reason for asking the connection was that he might be enabled to open up trade north and south on the Des Moines Northern & Western railway, and load cars at or near his yard in place of hauling by wagon a half-mile. This was his only reason, and as none of the other petitioners appeared, no other reason was presented. He admitted the correctness of Mr. Whitman's statement, that about one carload of freight had been transferred per year for the last two years.

Superintendent Aishton for the company, represented that the improvement asked for would be very expensive by reason of a creek to be crossed, necessitating the building and maintenance of a costly bridge, and that this reason, coupled with the light demand for transfer business, should be sufficient to excuse the company he represented from complying with the request. Judge Hubbard, as attorney for the Chicago & North-Western Railway company, assured both the commissioners and Mr. Patten that whenever there was, by reason of freight to be transferred, a public demand for a wye connection, his road would gladly bear its proportion of such expense; but for the present asked to be excused from incurring so large an expense to satisfy the prospective demand of one citizen. Mr. Towers, the leading citizen on the remonstrance (which had several of the signers to the original petition) presented his side of the case, alleging that such a connection would be detrimental to the best interests of the town by creating divisions, etc., all of which, like Mr. Patten's reasons, were of a personal or private character.

After a careful examination of the location and a thorough consideration of the arguments offered, together with the public necessity or demand for such a connection as prayed for by the petitioners, it is the conclusion of the board that there is no immediate demand for a connecting wye between the tracks of the Chicago & North-Western Railway company and the Des Moines Northern & Western Railway company at Lohrville, and the prayer of the petitioners is dismissed.

The board of railroad commissioners of the state of Iowa do hereby certify that upon the application of the Des Moines & Kansas City railway company to this board, stating the desire of said company to condemn the property hereinafter more particularly described, for additional depot grounds, for the use of said company, the commissioners proceeded in conformity with law to examine into the matter of said application, and do hereby certify that, in the opinion of

the board of railroad commissioners, the additional lands described in the said application are necessary for the reasonable transaction of the business, present and prospective, of such railway company. The said lands are described as follows, to-wit:

A strip of land fifteen feet wide taken off the east ends of lots ten (10) and eleven (11) in block 13 in the town of Osceola, Clarke county, Iowa.

In witness whereof the said board of railroad commissioners have caused this certificate to be executed and duly signed and attested by its secretary, with instructions that the same be filed with the clerk of the district court of Clarke county, state of Iowa.

Attest:

W. W. AINSWORTH,

Secretary of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of Iowa.

The board of railroad commissioners of the state of Iowa do hereby certify that upon the application of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad company to this board, stating the desire of said company to condemn the property hereinafter more particularly described for additional depot grounds for the use of said company, the commissioners proceeded in conformity with law to examine into the matter of the said application, and do hereby certify that, in the opinion of the board of railroad commissioners, the additional lands described in the said application are necessary for the reasonable transaction of the business, present and prospective, of such railway company. The said lands are described as follows, to wit:

All that portion of lot three (3) in block three (3) in the original town of Osceola, Iowa, lying south of the south right of way line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad company through said lot, except a strip twenty feet in width off the east side of said lot belonging to the Des Moines & Kansas City Railway

company.

In witness whereof the said board of railroad commissioners have caused this certificate to be executed and duly signed and attested by its secretary, with instructions that the same be filed with the clerk of the district court of Clarke county, state of Iowa.

Attest:

W. W. AINSWORTH,

Secretary of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa, July 10, 1896.

During the month of July, 1896, several petitions were presented to the board of railroad commissioners, asking that the hay rate be restored to class E, hay having been placed by the commissioners in their classification No. 11, effective July 1, 1896, in class D.

The board of railroad commissioners fixed August 11, 1896, at its office in Des Moines, as the time and place for the hearing, due and timely notice of the place and time of said hearing having been given.

On the 11th day of August, 1896, at the hearing, F. B. Rogers, of Britt, and F. W. Pease, of Pease Brothers, Des Moines, and Hon. Frank T. Campbell appeared for and in behalf of the petitioners, and the railway companies appearing and objecting to the change were:

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad company, by J. M. Bechtel, division freight agent; Chicago & North-Western Railway company, by S. W. Hazard, general agent; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway company, by C. J. Phillips, division freight agent; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway company and Des Moines Northern & Western Railway company, by J. N. Tittemore, general freight agent of the latter company; Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway company, by Mr. Bryant, chief clerk traffic department.

The commissioners upon the hearing gave all parties an extended opportunity to present all matters which they might deem pertinent and material to the question under consideration.

The complainants earnestly contended that the present rate, by reason of placing hay in class D, was unreasonably high, notwithstanding the sliding or graduating scale of minimum weights of hay in carloads, fixed by the board of railroad commissioners when hay was placed in class D.

Many reasons were urged by the complainants in support of their position; but three grounds, however, were made prominent, and, as we understand, were the principal ones relied upon by complainants:

First That the Iowa rate on hay was higher for a like haul, under similar conditions, than the interstate haul.

Second. That hay could not be moved or handled at a profit at the present rate, and

Third.—That the minimum weight for hay in carload lots was higher than the interstate rate fixed and established by the railway companies.

In considering this case we have deemed it advisable to treat of and consider the first and second grounds together, and in disposing of this question that method will be pursued by the board.

There was considerable evidence and many statements were offered by the respective parties upon the first and second grounds of the complaint. Several tariff rates, many freight bills and other documents were received by the commissioners, together with the evidence of Mr. Pease and Mr. Rogers.

Mr. Pease testified that from inquiries made and from his personal knowledge of the hay business and the shipments of hay at the present time and subsequent to the first day of July, 1896, that the present tariff rate fixed by the board was diverting the hay business from the city of Des Moines, as well as other points in Iowa; that the same was now being shipped to Chicago because and on account of the interstate rate fixed by the railway companies being much lower than the Iowa rate, and also that the minimum weight of carloads of hay, fixed by the railways, was much less than the minimum weight of carloads fixed by this board.

Mr. Pease was examined at some length with regard to the character of the hay crop in and around the city of Des Moines and at other points within the state of Iowa.

He testified that the hay crop was about the same this year as that of 1895 and for some years prior thereto; that his firm had received since the present

classification had been in force, only about forty-four carloads of hay, and only shipped in and out of Des Moines during the month of July from six to eight carloads, and about one-half of the amount received in July was reshipped out of Des Moines to other points within and without the state; that the demand for hay at present in the city of Des Moines is as good as it has been in the past, and the rains this season have not affected the local hay market in and about the city of Des Moines; that the present market price of hay per ton at Des Moines is about $5.50 to $6.00; that the firm of Pease Brothers received annually about 2,100 carloads of hay; that there has been a great falling off of hay receipts since the 1st of July by the firm, and that the hay crop throughout the state had not affected the hay market in Iowa or the demand therefor; that the firm of Pease Brothers have for some considerable time enjoyed the privilege of reloading and reshipping hay to other points outside of Des Moines and outside of the state, and the railway companies, or some of them at least, have granted them such right and advantage and have given them a rate based upon the original shipping point to whatever point Pease Brothers may have desired to reship to, thereby avoiding what might be termed a short haul rate, and obtaining all the advantages and benefits of a long haul rate, but for a short time past such privileges have been discontinued by the railway companies, as we understand it.

Mr. Rogers' testimony was directed more particulary to the condition of the hay crop in the northwest part of the state and all points within the state where hay was in demand, and the general hay market and the effect that the present rate was having upon the movement of the hay crop. Mr. Rogers also gave the commissioners his views as to what he deemed a reasonable minimum weight for hay in carloads, and urged upon the commissioners the importance thereof to those interested in the hay product.

Mr. J. N. Tittemore, general freight agent Des Moines Northern & Western Railway company, was also called by the complainants, and testified upon the question of minimum weights extended to interstate shippers.

We have given this matter the careful attention we believe its importance demands, and have, in every legitimate manner, endeavored to ascertain as nearly as possible the correct solution of this somewhat intricate question. We are called upon as commissioners in our official capacity under oaths to make reasonable maximum rates and charges for the transportation of freight over and by the different railways within the state of Iowa.

When this change in classification was made by the board we believed it was with due regard to the rights of all parties interested, the producer, the consumer, the shipper, the commission merchant and the railways. The rights of all had to be considered, and we were called upon to faithfully and impartially exercise our best judgment.

Many complaints had reached the commission prior to the adoption of the present classification that the minimum weights were unjust to the shipper; that a fixed minimum of 20,000 pounds was in force then for all cars regardless of their capacity, and that few cars were furnished by some of the roads where the minimum weight could be loaded or nearly so, thereby making a rate in many cases unreasonably high; that for some time it had been contended on the part of the railways that the rate was too low. The correspondence of the commissioners' office running back about a year and a half furnished evidence of fear on the part of shippers (especially of hay) that the railways would establish a minimum of 24,00 pounds and this minimum had been actually in use on some lines for a short period on interstate business.