The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 12 (March 1, 1939.)
The “Square Deal” Campaign
The “Square Deal” Campaign.
The campaign of the Home railways for a “square deal” continues, and there is every reason to believe their claims will be met to a considerable extent. One feature of present-day practice which will probably shortly disappear is the very strict classification of goods for charging purposes, and the simplification of that awe-inspiring volume of 400 pages, the “general railway classification.” Every conceivable article is listed in this book, the commodities being embraced in no fewer than sixty-six classes. Actually, each article appears dozens of times in different classes, according to whether it is forwarded in large or small quantities, whether it is packed or unpacked, and so on. The classification has taken about a century to compile, and the whole thing is far too cumbersome and restrictive for present-day needs. Like so many other appurtenances of modern railway operation, this bible of the rate clerk soon will be relegated to the museum.