New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-19

Washington, Dec. 10 nc i"'1
of the majority report OF the my
state Commerce Commission o" '''
Eastern rate case follows: lit
These cases we're originally suom Ior
ted in May, 1914, and decided ui oSi
date Of July 20, 1914, 81 l. =. -, e. g..
Upon petition Of the carriers, i5eu o.P
TENDER 10, the commission, OH "eP'
Der 10, 1914. ordered: -,
That further hearing in SAID cases
be and is hereby granted; said hesrlnE
40 be limited to presentation OF iacts
disclosed and occurrences originating
subsequently 10 the date upon "hlen
the records previously made IN these
cases were closed.
Under these limitations nearing was
had before the commission continuous
ly for five days, ending octOVeI 80
1914. Evidence was introduced oy car
r;ors investment bankers and various
nrotestants. Some of the exhibits sup,
nlemented those offered at the origihal
hearing The cases were argued Delore
Tho commission on October 20 and ~
and thereupon submitted.
n is not necessary TO make any eX-
tended summary of the conclusions
contained in the commissions original
report. Among other things, II louhu
that . Al
mjnishing net operating income as
shown by the facts described, we are
Of opinion that the net operating III
come Of the railroads in othcial ciassl-
fication territory, taken as whole' 10
smaller than is demanded IN tne lhIei
-ests OF both the general puolic ah9
the railroads, and it is our duty anu
our purpose TO aid, so far as we iegally
NAV. in the solution of the problem as
10 the course that the carriers may
pursue to meet the situation.
The commission did not acquiesce 1T
the carriers proposal Of general IN,
crease as indicated in the tariffs hleed
nv them. but suggested various meth
ODDS by which they might properly con
serve their revenue Opp. 4O7-4l4(. In
Central Freight Association territory,
however. by reason Of the low general
leyel of rates there found TO preVai
and also bv reason Of the financial
necessities of the carriers in that Ter.
r;torv. intra-terri tOrial increases OF
approximately . per cent were per
mitted. except on certain articles mani
lv,-heavy. low grade commodities. IL
Tas SUGGESTED in view of the modlh-
cations required in the tarhs that tne
Carnival Freight Association lines might
find IL more desirable to undertake az
once the tariff readjustment asserted
nv them 10 be necessary. save as
above indicated, the proposed increases
we're denied. and the tariffs carrying
them were ordered cancelled.
New Facts Submitted.
Tho "facts disclosed and occur
rences originating" subsequent 70 May
%. 1914, as presented at the IurtneI
hearing. NAV be summarized under
thrac beadsEfrst, completed returns
for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1914
and returns for succeeding montns'
second. the war in Europe, and thlru'
results of the original order. II
When these cases were orig nally
submitted. as also when the Original
report was prepared, the revenue anu
expenditure account Tor june I9It' gu
the property investment account ioi
that 6ecai wear were not available. the
war was unforeseen and the results Oh
our order were. of course, yet TO come
Collectively they present a new sltua-
ton.
The carriers offered further evidence
of their financial condition during the
fiscal wear ended June 80, 1914, lneiud-
inr returns for that year completed oy
addition of the revenue and eXpendl-
trre account for the month OF june
and the capital investment account 1or
he year. They also introduce9 reNe-
ne and expenditure accounts TOT Ihe
monts Of July and August OF the cur
rent fiscal year. Reports TO the com
nission for the month of September,
Iaia have since made possible a sim
liar statistical statement Tor thaV
month also.
These figures serve 10 emphasize our
nrevious finding of the need of car
riers in official classification territory
taken as a whole, for increased net rev.
enue.
For the fiscal year just ended the net
operating revenues as shown by inc
carriers are lower than was estimated
or anticipated when the original report
was issued.
Not since 1908 have the net operat-
inc revenues of the carriers been so
low as in the fiscal year ended June
,sst In 1908. moreover, the property
;nvcs,ment account of the carriers was
81 .3O9 600 900 less than In this last
6scal wear. The surplus for 1908, after
deducting si02 100000 paid in divi-
dends. was S47, OO0,0 900, whereas for the
Last fscal year the dividends paid,
amounting to Sl1S.000,000, drew on the
accrued surplus TO the extent OF
SIS, 2OO. 900. OF this amount the New
England roads contributed more than
$4,000 900.
n is not to be inferred from these
figures that the total surplus IN
yef3-I4 decreased by the amount OF
\ Y 200 900. From reports made by the
arriers 10 this commission the ap-
propriated surplus for Class ! roads
Eastern District, was $343,5OS,2Ol on
June 30. 1914. This was an increase
over appropriated surplus existing on
June go. 1913. Of S19,37S,945. During
the same year there was. however, a
shrinkage in the excess Of credit over
debit balances 20 profit and loss OF
S53 .957 ,233, indicating for the last
fiscal year a shrinkagc IN total sur
illus of s34,57S,2SS.
Net Operating Revenues Too Low.
From whatever comparative stand
roint viewed, the net operating reve-
cues of the last fiscal year must be
REGARDED as unduly low. Operating
costs and operating revenues fail TO
show the tendency 20 such concomi-
tsnt variation as should prevail in the
Transportation industry. While the
cross revenue in that year declined
only about 3.4 per cent. the net reve-
nue. shrank approximately III per cent
as against the previous fiscal year.
The Indication Is that some important