Norwich bulletin., 1916-12-29
An all Day Hearing
 on Gar Shortage
BY THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE
 COMMISSION
R. R. MAGNATES PRESENT
Vice President w. w. Atterbury of the Pennsylvania Road Opposed Order of Other Lines to Their Owners Im- mediately Upon Unloading.

Washington, Dec. 28.-After an all- day hearings the Interstate Commerce Commission tonight took under ad- visement the question of whether it shall seek to solve the car shortage problem by ordering all railroads to return cars of other lines to their owners immediately upon unloading.
 Say Roads Are Doing Their Best.
 Railroad representatives, headed by w. w. Atterbury, vice president of the Pennsylvania. and president of the American Railway Association, ap- bearing in response to a summons to show cause why such an order should not be issued, earnestly urged against the action. They declared that most Of the roads were doing their best now to deal fairly with the public and argued that hard and fast rule by the cofmission would interfere with operations and make the situation worse.
 Violated Agreements. Commissioner McChord said the railroads seemed to pay no attention ! to the orders of the railway associa- 1 ton, which has adopted various dras- l tic measures to relieve car shortage. ''The railroads" he said, mot only have violated their written and verbal agreements but they have deliberately ] been engaged in the pastime of steal l ing cars from each other.'
 When MT. Atterbury objected. say | ing that statement could not be ac- cepted as true, Mr McChord said he | stating that other executives were not l going to heed the orders of the asso- | ciaticn's car service committee. l No Time for an Arbitrary Order. | Don't blame the whole system of l railroads because the present intricate plan is not working as smoothly as we would like to see it." replied Mir, Atterbury. He contended further that the present was no tlfe for an arbl- | trary order by the commission; that 1 January, February. March and possi- | bly, April were months in which rail- | road operation would be mist dln- Ecult particularly as the railroads had
 not time to work out@zthe new cal service distribution plans.
 No Car Shortage for Normal Traffic There is no car shortage for nor nal traffic MT. Atterbury insisted, and there should be no hard and fast com mission order based on an abnorma situation, which, for instance, had | transformed the Pennsylvania from g car creditor business originator, to z
 distributing system. for other lines l originating traffic.
 Refusal of Grand Trunk to Pay. MT. Atterbury said the railroads die not know what might be done a5ou
 the refusal of the Grand Trunk sys- ! tenn to pay the 1o cents per diem in creased rate for foreign cars on it: line. We might" he added, refuse
 to load cars into SCanada over the
 Grand Trunk but that fight shut of
 the coal supply of Canada, whicl
 comes entirely from the United States He said some action migh
 be evolved in Canada to deal with th'
 situation.
 Praise for New Haven Road.
 New England the witness said, al
 ready had straightene dout it's trafh
 and conditions never had been bet
 ter there. He pointed out particular. what had been accomplished by tn New Haven.
 All the railroad men scented dange
 in any commission order because o
 the law imposing a $5.000 fine for vio l lations of interstate commerce com l mission orders. W. A. Worthingtor vice president of the Southern Pacific } said the western lines have @ larg excess of open cars and deficiency o box car equipment and that the pro , posed order, if rigidly enforced, migh
 subject his line to an accumulatten o S2S ,000, ,000 in fines.