§ 68 — Unclaimed freight and baggage

§ 68. Unclaimed freight and baggage. Every railroad or other\ntransportation corporation, doing business in this state, which shall\nhave unclaimed freight or baggage, not live stock or perishable, in its\npossession for the period of sixty days, may deliver the same to any\nwarehouse company, or person or persons engaged in the warehouse\nbusiness, within this state, and take a warehouse receipt for the\nstorage thereof. Upon such delivery and upon taking such warehouse\nreceipt, every such railroad or other transportation corporation shall\nbe discharged of all liability in respect to any such unclaimed freight\nor baggage from and after such delivery. At any time within two years\nafter such delivery, such railroad or other transportation corporation\nshall surrender and transfer such warehouse receipt to the owner of any\nsuch unclaimed freight or baggage upon demand, and upon payment of all\ncharges and expenses for transportation and storage then due, if any, to\nany such railroad or other transportation corporation. In case any such\nrailroad or other transportation company shall have had unclaimed\nfreight or baggage, not live stock or perishable, in its possession for\na period of one year and shall not have delivered the same to a\nwarehouse company or person or persons engaged in the warehouse business\nas above provided, then such railroad or other transportation company\nmay proceed to sell the same at public auction, and out of the proceeds\nmay retain the charges of transportation, handling and storage of such\nunclaimed freight or baggage, and the expenses of advertising and sale\nthereof; but no such sale shall be made until the expiration of four\nweeks from the first publication of notice of such sale, to be published\nweekly in a newspaper published in or nearest the town or city to which\nsuch unclaimed freight or baggage was consigned, or at which it was\ndirected to be left, and also at the town or city where such sale is to\ntake place; and said notice shall contain a general description of such\nunclaimed freight or baggage, the name of the shipper thereof, if known,\nand a statement of the consignment thereof, whether to a designated\nconsignee or to order, if known, or the place at which the same was to\nbe left, as near as may be; and the expenses incurred for advertising\nshall be a lien upon such unclaimed freight or baggage in a ratable\nproportion, according to the value of each article, package or parcel,\nif more than one. Such railroad or other transportation company shall\nmake an entry of the balance of the proceeds of the sale, if any, of the\nunclaimed freight or baggage consigned to the same consignee or covered\nby each consignment, as near as can be ascertained, and at any time\nwithin five years thereafter, shall refund any surplus so retained to\nthe owner of such unclaimed freight or baggage, his personal\nrepresentatives or assigns, on satisfactory proof of such ownership. In\ncase such balance shall not be claimed by the rightful owner within five\nyears after the sale as above specified, then it shall be paid to the\ncounty treasurer, for the use of the county poor of the county where the\nsale is made.\n Unclaimed live stock and perishable freight or baggage may be sold by\nany such railroad or other transportation corporation without notice, as\nsoon as it can be, upon the best terms that can be obtained. All moneys\narising from the sale of any such unclaimed live stock, perishable\nfreight or baggage, after deducting therefrom all charges and expenses\nfor transportation, storage, keeping, commissions for selling the\nproperty, and any amount previously paid for its loss or non-delivery,\nshall be deposited by the corporation making such sale with a report\nthereof, and proof that the property was live stock or perishable\nfreight, with the comptroller for the benefit of the general fund of the\nstate, and shall be held by him in trust for reclamation by the person\nor persons entitled to receive the same.\n