Imperial Valley press., 1914-02-03
Chairman Clark
On Express Tariff

washington, Feb. o.-lne HlooI
sweeping reduction in express rates
ever inaugurated went into effect this
week. Before issuing the new rates
the interstate commerce commission
spent nearly four years in investigat-
ing the express business and Chair
man Edgar E. Clark, head of the COM
mission, today described the events
which eliminated in the order which
has just become effective.
1T was on June 8, 1872" said Chair
man Clark, "that the commission,
through Commissioner Lane, now sec
retary of the interior, issued its first
report in the investigation which has
been conducted into the matter of eX-
press rates, practices, accounts and
revenues. This investigation was
prompted by a large number of COM
plants against charges, practices and
regulations of express companies, and
it was perhaps the most exhaustive
and searching investigation the COM
mission has ever undertaken.
Full investigation was had and
consideration given to the financial af
fairs of the express companies, char
acter of their organization, relation
ships they had with the railroads, the
extent and nature Of their property,
the character of their service, basis of
their rate systems, cost of their opera F.!
tion, manner in which their rates were
stated, the relation of the service
given by the express companies to
that given by the railroads in the car
riage of freight, the relationship be- T
tween the rates Of the express COM
panies in different sections of the coun
try for the same service, similarities
and dissimilarities as between the ex-
press service in the United States and
similar service in foreign countries +,
etc. +
Thirteen defendant express CON-
panies in 1911 transported more than
300,000,O00 packages. They operated
over 21S,013 miles of steam railroad
in the United States, over 1906 miles
of steamship and stage lines, and over
66G5 miles of electric lines They paid
to the rail, steamship and electric
lines during that year 500, 9,73O,895, and
their expenses were something over
$64,000,000. The express companies
affairs and interests were interviewer
through ownership of each others
stock.
aside from the complaints of ex-
cesslve charges, the complaints then
before the commission referred more
particularly to double collections of
lawful charges, over charges and un-
der charges effecting determinations
between shippers, arising out of an
obscure rate system and Ineffective ac
counting, indirect routing of ship
mentS, etc, etc.
Briefly, the commission required a
sweeping reduction in express charges
q new system of stating rates in tar
ifs, new classification, use of pre-
scribed labels for packages to avoid
double collection Of the lawful charges,
routing arrangements which in effect
make all of the express companies one
and insuring routing via the more di-
rect junction points and lines, the es-
tablishment and reduction of insur-
ance charges on shipments exceeding
$50 in value and revision of regula-
tions governing the transportation of
shipments.
"On the matter of reduction in
rates, the express companies naturally
made every effort to convince the COM
mission that the reductions proposed
were too far reaching, but at the end
while still expressing the view that
as matter of law the reductions were
not proper, they announced their ac-
ceptance of the rates prescribed by
VII NNA4AAAii2oAOh anu W give
them full and fair trial.
The new plan necessitated an en-
tire revision of the classifcations and
tariffs, which was a work of such mag
nitude and which must be carefully
done, and in order to provide time in
which to do that work, the effective
date Of the commissions order was
postponed to February 1, 1914, upon
which date the new system of rates
would become effective.
"The commission prescribed the
lower level of rates with the firm
conviction that it afforded the express
companies reasonable and just COM
pensation for the service performed
and reasonable return upon the full