The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-09

firms and corporations may be complain.
ants before the commission.
Carriers shall be given power TO ex-
change passenger transportation for ad-
vertising in periodicals. The practice OF
barter Shall be recognized to be as legiti-
mate as are cash or credit transactions
To provide for immediate judicial review
Of findings under the Valuation act the
law provides for such review, but does
not clearly provide that. II may be OBJ
tanned Immediately. and unless this 10
possible II might not be obtainable until
much>ot the evidence had disappeared.
To repeal tho commodities clause, the
anti-pooling clause and Section 10 OF
the Clayton Act and that the Sherman
antitrust law shall be made inapplica-
BILE to carriers subject to the Inter
state Commerce law.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall
be authorized to settle and pay claims
on account Of acts or omissions Of Fed
eral officers during Federal control and
on account OF just compensation for the
use of propertiea Many such matters
will be left open at the end Of Federal
control and there should be an expedi-
tious method of obtaining Just settle
ment without litigation, similar to that
under which the War Department Is en-
powered to settle claims growing out
of orders for munitions, &C. Appeal
to the Court OF Claims should be al
lowed In cases In which agreement Is
found to be impracticabie. Provision
should be made for funding balances
due the United States on account of
additions and betterments TO the prop
critics during Federal control Accept
ance OF serial notes payable within fif-
teen years and bearing interest at q
! rate slightly above that which the Gov
eminent paid on the Victory loan would
| appear to be reasonable.
In outlining his plan, in common with
the suggestions of many other railroad
| men on the same subject, President
Loree said: MY fear is that the multi
plicity OF plans, mono OF which has been
reduced to the form OF a bill but are
still in the untranslated shape OF theor-
les, may prove so confusing as to act to
prevent legislation. ! have, therefore,
prepared concrete presentation NOV
ing, hope, along the lines of least re-
sistance to an irreducible minimum of
helpful enactment 49,
| The vice of the situation Is, OF
course, that with the rapidly rising price
OF everything the railroads must buy,
they have been unable to proportionately
advance the price OF what they sell. Con-
| slider the financial situation Of the rail-
roads X their rate schedules, instead OF
being stated in money. were stated In
| rracuonS OF tne Value or the comm odi-
ties carried. For example, when wheat
sold at Is cents per bushel at the At
lantic seaboard the rate from Chicago
to New York was rs cents per 100
pounds, or. IL measured in the COM
modify, one bushel in every i've. With
wheat selling at S2.25. a freight rate OF
one bushel in every five would amount
TO rs cents per 100 pounds. but the rate
actually in force in 1917 was about 1913
cents per 100 pounds.
The cure OF the situation Is, of course,
the recognition that In all their variety
the railroad problems hang on the one
fundamental condition--the credit Of the
properties. There must be such a basis
Of rates as will yield q return adequate
to command the confidence OF the inves-
tor, whose capital Is solicited for new en-
terprises. or for the expansion and i'm
provement OF old ones. Capital as we'll
as labor must be paid the going rate II
the public Is to be supplied with the
quality OF transportation to which II is
entitled and which is essential to meet
the needs OF growing country"