In the first place railway tariffs have in the past undoubtedly been too voluminous and complex. The number of these filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission is extremely large. Eleven railways alone during the year to November 30, 1904, filed 30,125. The total schedules of all American railways filed during the year to November 30, 1907, was 220,982. One single carrier had 15,700 tariffs in force at the same time. The New York Central & Hudson River in December, 1899, had no less than 1,370 special commodity rates in force. There were endless contradictions and conflicts. Secret rates were hidden in devious ways in this mass of publications. Special tariffs "expiring with this shipment"; rates quoted not numerically but by numbered reference to tariffs of other carriers and applicable by different routes; agreements to meet rates of any competing carriers, were among the irregular methods of concealment adopted. Although literally complying with the law by publicly filing all tariffs, conditions were often such that not even an expert in rates could discover in this maze of conflicting evidence what the rate at any time actually was. The door was opened wide to personal discrimination and abuses of all kinds.[130] Those conditions are not necessary. They do not obtain on the best roads in other parts of the world. Nor is such instability found in respect of some important lines of trade. No agricultural product fluctuates in price more abruptly or widely than raw cotton,--from five to seventeen cents a pound. Yet the rates on that commodity have remained quite undisturbed throughout the southern states for many years. But the best proof of all that rates have been unduly numerous, is the great reduction in volume which has taken place since 1910 under compulsion of law. This feature will be especially considered in another connection.[131]