ABOUT RAILROADS
Not everything about railroads, that would be a tremendous
undertaking, but just enough to show what everyone should know
about them as carriers of goods.
The express companies have practically a monopoly of the
transportation of the smaller packages of goods requiring quick
transit and immediate delivery, but the longer, heavier, and
slower freight are in the hands of the railroads, and where it can
be done, and time is not a first factor, the steamboat takes the
place of the train.
BILLS OF LADING
As most of the goods in changing hands are carried by steamboat or
railroad, the method of shipment should be understood by everyone
who may be called on to use one or the other means of
transportation.
The person shipping goods in this way is the "consignor."
The person to whom the goods are shipped is the "consignee".
The goods shipped are described in a paper called a "bill of
lading."
A bill of lading is a written contract, or statement of the goods
shipped, their condition, and the time of shipment.
Bills of lading and receipt blanks are furnished at the offices of
the transportation companies.
Two copies of the bill of lading should be made out. One of these
is signed by the consignor and the other by the transportation
agent.
The copy signed by the consignor is kept by the agent, and the
copy signed by the agent is retained by the consignor, as a
voucher for the goods shipped.
This receipt should be mailed to the consignee.
When the consignee gets this bill of lading, it is a voucher to
the freight agent, where the goods are to be delivered, as to the
ownership.
It is usual for the agent at the point of shipment to send a copy
of the bill of lading to the agent where the goods are received.
In this way he can compare the consignment with the consignee's
bill.
EXPENSE BILLS
It is not usual to pay freight bills at the point of shipment,
that being left till the goods reach their destination.
The agent at the place of delivery makes out an "expense bill,"
which is an itemized statement of the freight charges, and must be
paid by the consignee before delivery.
This done, the consignee must sign a receipt for the goods
delivered, and the affair is closed.
A BILL AND A DRAFT
Before wholesale houses or manufacturers ship goods, they are
either paid for or they have a business understanding with the
consignee as to when and how the payment is to be made.
There are occasions, however, when no such arrangement has been
made, and a man not well known to the merchant orders goods
shipped by freight.
In a case like this, the merchant may ascertain through a
commercial agency--the agencies make it their business to keep
posted in such matters--the standing of the man giving the order.
Trade has its risks and the merchant, even where the information
is not quite assuring, may decide to fill the order and ship it.
As with express companies, goods may be sent as freight, C. O. D.
This is done by means of a bill of lading, to which is attached a
draft. The shipper bills the goods to himself at the point to
which they were ordered.
To the bill of lading he attaches a draft for the sum involved,
but this, instead of being forwarded to the consignee by mail, is
sent to him through a bank for collection.
Now before the consignee can get the bill of lading, which
authorizes him to receive the goods, he must pay the draft.
The bill, which is in the shipper's name, is then endorsed over to
the payer of the draft.
Country merchants and sometimes farmers send produce by freight to
be sold on commission in the city.
AN INVOICE
Delhi, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1910.
Invoice of Merchandise shipped by
Harry T. Jackson
and consigned to Brown, Smith & Co.,
Newburg, N. Y.
to be sold on commission.
120 bbls. Potatoes
70 " green apples
40 Crates tomatoes.
Mark plainly all goods shipped.