The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-06-30
RAILROADS LOSE
CASE TO BOOST
FREIGHT RATES.
-. "h Hn
Interstate Commerce Commission
Denies Fifteen Per Cent In
crease in Tariffs ~,
ALL RATES SUSPENDED
UNTIL NEXT SEPTEMBER
Carriers Based Appeal Upon In
crease in Wages and Cost
of Materials '-. $50. a.4

f. Of Materials ,..- -
Washington, June 3O.-The inter.
state commerce commission today de.
MED the plea of railroads. Of the Uni
ted States for a horizontal increase of
Is per cent in freight rates. &.
In its decision the commission lindi-
Gated willingness to increase class
rates in; the eastern district approx
mately IA per cent Since about one.
fourth of the freight handled is moved
under class rates, the decision vir-
tually allows the eastern lines about
four per cent increase In gross freight
revenue. Increases sought in rates on
coal, coke and iron ore will be grant.
ed. The commission found, as re.
suit of extended hearings, that the
carriers generally show q substantial
and increasing prosperity and that
they have ample resources with which
to conduct transportation. 'N,s*lia'
{StNo Rehearins Probable. "
Little sympathy was given the argu-
ments of the roads that they were
victims of war prices, the commission
holding that the carriers have profited
by the mobilization Of troops. -.
The commission suspended the
proposed tariffs until Oct. %, but
1t indicated that no rehearins OF
the case will be of value at this
time, and suggested cancellation
Of the tariffs.
The rate advance cases were born
of the threatened nationwide railroad
workers strike in the summer of 1916.
The first mention of an advance In
rates was made in connection with
the passage of the AdamsOn law,
which averted the impending strike.
january 1, 1917, found the railroads
in position unparalleled in their his
tory. They were hauling freight and
passengers at the top of their driving
power, working their plants at speed
and capacity exceeding what experts
previously had believed the maximum
So much freight had been poured in
that they could not handle It all;
rails, sidings, terminals. yards were
congested with burden of loaded
cars. Tremendous congestion ensued
especially at:leastern seap0rts twhere
ocean.carrying vessels were not suffi'
ciently plentiful and an acute car
shortage resulted. ,.s,,''A' ..
Money was pouring in to the rail
roads too, faster than ever before
Receiptsgfor the IL months nearly
reached the $4,O0,O00,0O0 mark; net
revenues approximated 00,O0O,00O
1t seemed as If the railroads were at
the dawn of a new days prosperity
Then another factor, more potent than
the AdamsOn law and more unexpect'
ed than the threatened strike, came
into the situation. 1t was the rising
cost of necessities.
Coal Prices Rose.
Coal prices rose-ini some cases
more than 100 per cent. Steel rails,
steel cars, structural steel, everything
of iron and steel that entered into the
operation of railroads went up in
price. Oil, used by some western
roads as fuel, went UP, supplies and
equipment d of all sorts 'mounted to
new high price levels. Unskilled Ia!
Dor threatenedatod 90 into other mar
kets where pay was better and the
roads claimed they had to advance
wages in order to keep men. Operat'
ing costs continued to 60 up. The
vision of q day of prosperity faded.
In its place there soon came a time
when the roads, though taking In
more money than ever before, said
they were not receiving as large a
net return as they had received IL
months before! The increase in oper-
ating costs, they contended, grew out
of all proportion to the increased busi-
ness. Instead of making money, the
roads claimed they were on the verge
of losing millions at day when they
were operating at maximum capacity.
The new moneys paid out under the
AdamsOn law were out a small per-
centage, the railroads claimed, of the
totals paid out in higher operating
costs. A general movement looking
toward relief was begun.
start machinery.
Within 4S hours after the supreme
court upheld the Adamson law the
machinery for rate increase was put
in motion. Relief, the railroads
claimed, was imperatively necessary.
and as time was of the essence OF the
situation they sought to obtain 1t with
all possible speed. Dividing into three
groups, the railroads sought the inter-
state commerce commissions aid in
meeting their difficulties.
The percentage of the advance had
not been determined upon at the first
conference. Finally all three groups
decided that a Is per cent advance
was needed to enable them to meet
new conditions. This, it was various
ly estimated, would yield from
5000, 900, 900 to $4O0. 100000 annual rev.
enue.
.TndSe's Son Would