d. An order bill of lading is one that may be transferred upon
indorsement. The following concise description of an order bill of
lading is taken from the "Book of General Instructions to Freight
Agents," issued by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company:

When freight is consigned to "Order" it is, as a rule, for the
purpose of securing the payment at destination of a draft for
the value of the property. The draft is usually attached to the
bill of lading and sent through a bank for collection from the
party at destination, who is to be notified of the arrival of
the freight. The payment of the draft secures to the payer the
possession of the bill of lading, which must be indorsed by the
party to whose order the property is consigned.

XII. RAILROAD RATES

Transportation charges have such a general and vital relation to
industrial and social welfare that the problem of the just and
equitable distribution of their assessment is one of paramount
economic and political consequence. A consideration of the main
factors which influence the railway companies in fixing charges should
precede a discussion of the regulation of transportation by the
government.

GENERAL FACTORS WHICH DETERMINE RAILROAD RATES AND FARES

The factors which have most weight in fixing schedules of rates and
fares are what it will cost to perform the several services, what the
services are worth to those for whom they are to be rendered, and the
extent to which there is competition among rival carriers to secure
the traffic concerned. Though on the face of things it would seem that
the railways should fix the charges for their various services in
accordance with the costs of performing those services, it is neither
practicable for them to do so nor is it desirable from the standpoint
of public welfare that such a criterion should be adopted. It is
impracticable for the railroads to base their charges upon cost of
service, because it is impossible to determine accurately the elements
which enter into the cost of performing the particular transportation
service. The modern railroad is a very complex mechanism, employed in
the performance of a multitude of different services. No railroad
official is able to say just how much of the company's total expenses
are to be charged against any one particular freight or passenger
service.

The cost of service would be an undesirable basis of rates, because
the railroads would de