The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1913-10-16
HIGHER FREIGHT RATES
CAMPAIGN
Boston 4 Maine Now Seeking TO Raise
Upon Freight Carried

It is generally conceded that Bos-
ton & Maine is blazing the way IT.
test campaign for higher freight
rates of much significance to other
carriers, and in the event that il is
not defeated by the public authori-
ties, its rate advances will be re
flected in similar action by the other
New England lines and will consti-
tute a certain precedent for action
by the other Eastern railroads 20
similar basis of rate making has ever
before been brought forward by an
American railroad.
Boston & Names proposed in
creases in class tariffs provide for
radical advances in transportation
costs to shippers and receivers of
freight. As illustrating this, il is
stated that in two compilations just
prepared by the Boston Chamber Of
Commerce in this connection, 2S2 OF
its proposed rates have been taken at
random. Among these 2S2 rates there
are Is reduced and q unchanged
rates, the balance of PAS rates being
advances running from 10 to over Ia
per cent, and averaging about 80 per
cent.
Here are a few typical changes
The rates from Boston to Portland
have been advanced all the way
from a minimum of 3S per cent TO a
maximum of 116 per cent; to Law
renee and Lowell, from % to ~ per
cent; to Lynn, from 25 to 116 per
cent; to Fitchburg from 29 to 10 per
cent; to Manchester, y. H., from Il
to AZ per cent; to Concord, y. 4.
i from 10 to 80 per cent; to Nashua
from IA to 81 per cent; while TO Nor
thern New Hampshire. some of the
reductions referred to above apply. the
rates thereto being already on quit
high scale.
About 16 per cent of the local New
! England tonnage of the railroad is
subject TO class rates, and less thar
one-t third of their freight revenue
comes from class rates These chang.
es constitute merely one step in Bos.
ton & Names plan to advance al
rates, and are a necessary prelimin-
airy to advancing commodity rates
Commodity rates cannot exceed class
rates, and before all the commodity
rates could be raised, Boston & Maine
argues. it is desirable to get the class
rates on such a high plane that ad-
yances in Commodity rates cannot be
checked by existence of class rates.
The class tariffs now proposed are
not only between distributing cent
ers and adjacent territory. but are
intended to apply as the basis between
every two stations on Boston & Maine
In other words density of traffic and
other conditions are apparently g-
nored and the rate between two small
stations where only a few shipments
move in the course of a month is to
be the same as that between two sIa-
tons similar distance apart where
/ there may be tens of thousands OF
shipments moving every month.
Third-class rates are taken as the
standard on which this uniform scale
of rates is constructed, the other
classes being reckoned on a fixed per-
centage of the third class. For exam
pie, the third-class rate being 100 per
cent the first class is always 140 per
cent of the third-class rate and the
second-class rate 30 per cent. etc.
Rates from 100 to 300 miles run from
| 81 to 81 cents. an advance of 10 cents
each IS miles.
Boston & Maine intends to proceed
at once to file revised class tariffs on
this basis, and will probably complete
its filing of these tariffs within three
months In the subsequent commod-
ity-tariff revision it hopes to reduce
its present commodity rates, published
at present to cover probably over
l 900 commodities, to less than 100
commodities While the road esti-
mates that immediate operation of
the new class rates would increase
its revenues by only about $4,000, the
subsequent Transformation in its eom-
modify schedules is expected to SHIFT
much of the traffic now moving under
commodity rates over to the class
rates and to aid in a large way to-
wards furnishing the $5,000,o0o higher
earnings per annum which the road $
management claims is needed proper
ly to protect investors in the property.
4 LARGE CONTRACT