The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-11
RAILROAD WINS IN
 OZARK DEPOT CASE
Orders to Submit Plans in Bes-
 semer Case
RATES NOT INCREASED
Petition of Southern Express Company to Increase Express Rates Denied By Commission on Grounds
 of Being Unreasonable

| victory mas perched on the standards of the Atlantic Coast Line railroad as result of an order handed down by the Alabama railroad commission in which the corporation Is granted it's request to erect It's passenger station on point midway between it's old station at Ozark and the site which was first proposed by the railroad. Set clement of the question decides a moot point and one which has been in doubt for several months.
 Several weeks ago the citizens of ozark petitioned the commission to for bid the railroad to erect its new sta tion at the site advocated by the rail- road after a conflagfation which had destroyed the old station. The chosen site was on the main line of the rail- road and was alleged to be inconve- nient to the city. The petition was granted
 Upon the submission of another pc. tition to the commission on the part of the railroad in which the commits soin was urged to favor an interme- diary point. also on the main line. the railroad succeeded in winning out the l |. 1 Bessemer Case In the Bessemer case the commits sion decided to order all of the rail- roads entering Bessemer to submit plans within 90 days for the erection of new stations on the old sites. Pe- tition to the commission prayed that a union station be erected. but this was not considered feasible at the present time.
 Southern Express Rates Petition of the Southern Express company that it be allowed to pro- mitigate a new tariff, in which should be contained more reasonable and more just rates On its interstate rates with in the state of Alabama, has been de- nied by the railroad commission on the ground that the petitioner has failed to show what its expenses are in conduct Ing its intrastate business and on the further ground that the petitioner has been unable to show that its rates are unreasonable, as alleged. Specific pe- tition had requested of the commission that the company be allowed to advance it's fish rates from Mobile Ala, to var ious Alabama points. An average ad-
 
 The opinion in this case is involved, | and is as follows
 Railroad Commission of Alabama
 Montgomery. December 5, 1910. Southern Express Company-Petition
 for Revision of Rates.
 In the above cause complaint is made that under tariff promulgated by this commission as affecting the complain ants traffic, which became effective September 10. 1907 that the petition CTS gross revenue, derived from it's interstate business, within the state of Alabama is not sufficient to pay the petitioners expenses for doing said business and that therefore, the rates, as above described, are unreasonable, unjust and unremunerative The peti- tfoner prays that 1t be permitted to es- tablish in lieu of these rates a just and reasonable scale of rates, that to the said petitioner will be remunera- tive.
 On November IA, 1910, the petitioner filed with this commission a supplemental De- tition, asking for a specific advance in It's fish rates from Mobile, Ala hmtaim ous Alabama points. This supplemental petition asked for an advance on an avep- age of about 50 per cent. No evidence whatever was presented to show that the present fish rates were not remunerative.
 The documentary evidence filed in this case shows that for the year ending June %, 19O9 the receipts from the intra-state business of the petitioner were $279 4SS O6; that the total expenses chargeable to the conducting of this said business including taxes, which were all charged to the ex- penses of It's intrastate business. were s311, ,7s72o, thereby showing that the intra- state business of petitioner was done at loss of S33,311.14 for the year ending June 30, 1909.
 Reasons Illogical
 This commission assumes that the gross receipts of the petitioner, derived from It's intrastate traffic, are correct, but the expenses for conducting said business, as Is shown by the record, are merely arbitrary, and in the judgment of the commission the method used by the pc titioner in arriving at these expenses is wholly illogical and unreasonable, and in no wise approximately shows to the commission the expenses actually in cured in conducting petitioners intra- | state business. To illustrate:> The peti- | tioner assumes to prorate the expenses of doing it's intrastate business upon what | is known as package basis That Is, l charging to intrastate business it's pro- portionate share of all expenses, and to interstate business its proportionate share of all expense1Pn this basis The record shows each |kage of intrastate busi- ness is counted twice, or as two pack ages, while what is termed It's interstate package being handled, both at points of within itself would appear to the commis- | sion as an unreasonable method, and even l though this commission should admit that l this method had some merit when applied | to terminal expenses leach intrastate package being handled, buth at points of origin and point of destination), certainly | it could have no merit when applied to 1 the expenses of the messenger, route | agent, but to go further, 1t is shown by | the record that only such packages as | move from points within the state to points without the state and packages ] moving from points without the state to | points within the state are counted as in terstate packages, thereby assessing noth ing as expenses against the large inter- state movement of express matter pass ing through this state. This being true, it is very clear to the commission that the proper expenses for doing intrastate busi- ness have never been even approximately l shown.
 | Therefore, inasmuch as the petitioner | has failed to show what it's expenses are | in conducting it's intrassAte business, it | fails to show to the commission that the | rates in question are unreasonable, unjust 1 or unremunerative
 The case is dismissed and the petition | denied. CHAS. HENDERSON. President.
 I hereby certify that the above is true and correct copy of order as issued, this the 9th day of December, 1910
 L. P. KENNEDY, Secretary.
 Woman Suicides With Fire
 New Iberia, La, December 10.-Satu- rating her clothing with kerosene, Mrs.