The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-02-24
FREIGHT RATES
NOT TO ADVANCE
Interstate Commerce Commission De-
cides Against The Railroads in
Both Eastern and West
ern Cases.
NO HoLDUP is ALLOWED
Shippers viii Pay the Old Charges
and Not be Called Upon for
Any Extra Ex-
pense.

WASHINGTON, FEB. 24.-The in
terstate commerce commission de-
cides against the railroads in both
eastern" and western cases. The
decision, eagerly awaited by roads
and shippers alike, was handed down
late yesterday.
Proposed advances in class freight
rates in official classification territory.
aggregating among all the railways
in the territory approximately s27,
100000 year, were disproved by the
commission.
In the case involving the increases
by the railroads in western trunk line
territory the commission also declined
to approve the proposed advances in
commodity rates. The carriers in
both cases are required to cancel on
or before March 10 their advanced
i tariff rates and restore their former
! rates, which are the rates now in ef
4 feet. II this requirement be not com
! piled with, the commission will issue
a formal order suspending the pro.
posed advances and putting into effect
/ the existing rates for at least two
! years.
The commission comedies that, in
4 the case of some of the roads, an in
/ creased revenue is needed In the
4 eastern case, the commission was en-
barrassed by the admitted fact that
i several of the lines were passing good
! dividends upon existing rates, while
others were barely able to make both
ends meet. In the western case the
carriers entered a powerful plea for in
creased revenue for money to put in
to improvements which would enable
them to handle the constantly increas
I ing traffic.
Il In his opinion in the western case
Commissioner Franklin X. Lane
:. points out that the western roads have
increased their surplus over one hun
: dred per cent in 10 years. The opin
ion holds that the carriers do no
need larger revenues for purposes o
maintaining their creult.'
The position is taken that the rea
sonable rate as defined by the rail
road men makes the traffic manage
control the economic conditions il
the country, setting lat gough
: tariff laws and artifically creatin
t markets and centers of industry"
Railway materials are found not t
: have increased; fuel has increase
slightly and wages considerably
However, the last six months of th
year of 1910 show for the carriers th
!. largest operating income they hav
i ever enjoyed In any half year.
y Commissioners Harlan finds that th
d carriers in the southwest have nc
prospered as have many in other part
OF the country and declines to di
turb the advanced first-class rates
The opinion fixes the second-clas
, rate at $l.25 instead of $1.29 and o
ders the old rates on the remainin
classes. As the lower class rates a
" feet an inconsiderable volume of ira
fic the contentious of the carriers
substantially sustained.
The decision of the interstate cor
merce commission was q comple'
surprise to Wall street. which ha
looked forward confidently to the a
proval or at least part Of the il
creases. The decision was not a
nounced until after the stock mark
had closed.
Since the first of the year stool
of most of the railroads have a
- vanced ten points or more, the b
lief that the roads would
permitted to increase their rat
S, being to an extent responsible.