“Unless some change is made, the small shippers of the country will be extinguished, and a few men of large capital will control the entire merchandise business. And railways ... will be seized upon by large capitalists and combined into one monstrous company.” CHAPTER XXXI. DIFFICULTIES OF ABOLISHING DISCRIMINATION. It is difficult to enforce the law against discrimination, because of the strong interests that call for it, the secrecy of many of its forms, the reluctance of shippers to make complaints for fear of persecution, and the resistance offered by railway officers to efforts to get at the facts, leaving the country during an investigation, refusing to answer truthfully on the witness stand, burning books and papers that might reveal the facts to courts or other investigating bodies or enable the officers to refresh their memories so as to be able to answer questions. Often there are no records of the concessions granted favored shippers except the memoranda in the personal note-books of the traffic managers. Rebates or commissions are frequently paid by messenger boys sent from the general freight office, or treasurer’s office, with the currency and a slip of paper with some pencil marks on it, instead of sending a check and obtaining a voucher.[354] The officers forget about the transaction as soon as possible,—sooner than possible it seems sometimes,—or in some other way try to prevent the Commission from getting the facts with sufficient detail to bring suits. For example, in the “Dressed-meat” Hearing at Kansas City, March 21, 1901, fifteen transportation men were subpœnaed and examined without securing any important facts. The witnesses, who occupied positions which would naturally lead one to suppose they would know all about the matters in hand, manifested the most persistent and remarkable ignorance, and the Commission had to go to Chicago and try again before it got any light on the packing-house transportation question.