geographical location, the railways or transportation companies serving it, the express company maintaining an agency there, together with other information of vital import.

SHIPPING GUIDE

Sometimes, in addition to determining the geographical location of a town, it is necessary to know upon what division of a particular railroad it is located. Bullinger's Postal and Shippers Guide, published by Bullinger & Company, New York, indicates the location of towns by road and division, also inland points served by navigation companies, and gives the addresses of various forwarding companies and navigation companies thruout the country. Another very effective publication of this kind is the Shipper's Guide, published by the Shipper's Guide Company, Chicago, Ill.

FREIGHT RATE GUIDES

Realizing the advantages that accrue from having a convenient or ready reference book from which to obtain approximate rates of freight, various concerns of different locations in the country have inaugurated the Freight Rate Guides. This gives the rates of freight from selected points of origin, such as Chicago, St. Louis, or other representative base point, to various destinations thruout the country.

While these books are not official in the sense that they are recognized by the Interstate Commerce Commission or the various state commissions in rate cases

or by the railroads themselves as the proper authority to substantiate claims for overcharge, they well serve their purpose a convenient and ready reference. An example of this class of guide is found in Hartman's Western Freight Rates, published by the W. J. Hartman Company, Chicago, Ill.

PACKAGE CAR GUIDES

It is the custom for chambers of commerce, or similar organizations, to publish frequently package car guides, showing package car service maintained by the carriers serving their respective cities, the destination of the package cars, the days in transit, the number of times transferred, and other information of similar import. Such volumes are exceptionally handy in routing less-than-carload shipments.

LIST OF PREPAY STATIONS

There is not a sufficient amount of business at all stations on the common carriers to warrant the maintenance of an agent to take care of the freight at such points. These stations are commonly referred to as nonagency stations, and the carrier requires that shipments to them be prepaid.

Instead of referring to the railroads for information on nonagency stations, shippers will save time, and in some cases trouble and delay, by using List of Prepay Stations, published by F. A. Leland, St. Louis, Mo. It indicates all railroad stations and their facilities for handling freight in carloads or less than carloads, whether they be agency or nonagency stations.

"THE OFFICIAL RAILWAY GUIDE"

The Official Railway Guide is issued by the National Railway Publication Company, 75 Church St., New York, N. Y., and aims primarily to serve the traveling public. But because it gives mileages and indicates the distance between more important stations, it is of particular value to the traffic man. Many of the so-called "distance tariffs" call for the determination of the distance between points in applying the scale of rates that may be established for such traffic. In a great majority of cases this volume suffices and obviates the necessity of maintaining a complete file of all the distance and mileage tables available.

"THE OFFICIAL RAILWAY EQUIPMENT REGISTER” While this publication was originally prepared at the instigation of the American Railway Association as a ready reference for the use of railroad officials, it is almost indispensable to all large users of carload equipment. It is issued monthly by G. P. Conard, Agent, 75 Church Street, N. Y., and shows by car numbers the marked capacity, length, dimensions, and cubical capacity of freight cars which constitute the equipment of lines which are party to the issue.

TARIFFS

In a later section of this work, the various methods of filing tariffs, and the devices used will be discussed.

The most efficiently administered industrial traffic organizations maintain rather complete files of these publications, and are not compelled to rely on railroad quotations exclusively for information on current rates of transportation.

CLASSIFICATIONS

These publications must be secured from the respective classification organizations as indicated below!

Official Classification Committee

143 Liberty St., New York, N. Y.

Western Classification Committee

Transportation Building, Chicago, Ill.

Southern Classification Committee

Grant Building, Atlanta, Ga.

These issues are not distributed gratis as are many of the rate tariffs and other transportation schedules, but are sold to the shipping public on the basis of per annum subscriptions, such subscriptions entitling the subscriber to the classification proper, and such supplements as may be issued from time to time during the life of the subscription.

"EXPORTER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA"

The manufacturer who has any amount of foreign business or expects to go into the foreign field should obtain a copy of the Exporter's Encyclopedia, published by the Exporter's Encyclopedia Company, 80 Broad Street, New York City, N. Y. This volume gives all the particulars and regulations applying on shipments going to foreign countries.

"LASALLE TRAFFIC LIBRARY”’

The LaSalle Traffic Library covers the field of traffic very thoroly. The material contained in these volumes is used primarily in connection with the course in Interstate Commerce and Railway Traffic work given under the auspices of the LaSalle Extension University of Chicago, Ill. It covers the entire field of industrial traffic management, describing at some length various plans employed in making rates in different sections of the country. Then follows a thoro exemplification of the many legal requirements obtaining in the adjustment of rate cases and loss and damage issues.

The principles of correct traffic procedure are treated in detail. Their application as applied to actual ship

ments, with the savings effected, is illustrated thruout the work. Such examples may be employed to advantage in the development of the efficiency of the industrial traffic department.

To the sixteen volumes comprising this work may be added others by authorities of some standing in the traffic world.

"BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY"

The phraseology employed in connection with the transportation interests and regulations are of such a peculiar nature as to bewilder the layman and to convey little or no intimation of their meaning and effect.

Touching upon this point, Mr. Balthasar Meyer, now Interstate Commerce Commissioner, says in his work on Railway Legislation in the United States:

In the code of per diem rules adopted by the American Railway Association the first page is devoted to definitions. Terms like "home car," "private car," "home route" are carefully defined. We may look in vain for similar definitions of terms used in railway laws in the United States. Neither the Interstate Commerce Laws nor the laws of the state contain adequate definition of terms like "railway," "thru traffic," and "proportional rates."

It may be a difficult matter to formulate a definition of technical terms applied in matters relating to railway traffic, yet for the sake of clearness and uniformity, definitions should be incorporated in our laws. At present such definitions are found only incidentally in the decisions of courts and of our commissions.