The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-10-08
lO INCREASE IN FREIGHT BEFORE
 RETURN OF ROADS
Impossible for Government to Establish Any General Readjustment, Declares
 Director General
By Associated Prsss


 Washington, October 7.-The railroad administration will make no increase in freight rates before return of the railroads to private operation January 1. Director General Hines wrote to T Dewitt Cuyler. chairman of the rail way executives, today that it would be impossible for the government to es- tablish any general readjustment of rates" because earnings of the roads uncer the abnormal conditions prevail ing in the early part of this year did not afford fair test of income
 The manifest desire of the public to have the I. c. c. exercise full authority in any readjustment of rates to be ef- fcctive under private control also was cited by the director general as an ob- Jection to the railroad administration s undertaking such readjustmenr
 My view" wrote the director gen era1, "has been and Is that this impor- tant matter must be handled in accord ance with the two following consider at;ons:
 First The question of an increase in rates could not properly be consid- cred on the exclusive basis of the un- favorable showing which the railroad administration as making in the early part of this year, because that showing was very largely due to an abnormally
  suits of that period could not fairly be taken as a test for making increases in ratesS Necessarily, therefore, il seemed to me that the formulation of any proposal for general increase Tn rates would have to await better op- poreunity for making an estimate as what the earning capacity would be under normal conditions. I have been N increasingly confirmed in this opinion xx-t tstr h hC a taken place.
 "Second It has seemed to me that the public would not be satisfied under existing condit tions to have any general increase in rates put into effect wtthou. the concurrence of the Interstate com merce Commission"
 The public sentiment to this eftect has been manifested in many ways throughout the year. and has been em- phasized by the recent passage by ths two houses of Congress of bills pro- viding that there shall be an oppor- tunity to review any rates proposed by the railroad administration before those rates shall go into effect. It follows. therefore. that time and oppor- tunity must be provided for public con- siders ton by the regular rate-making authority of any rate proposals now made.
 "Since the foregoing controlling fac- tors must be respected, 1t is evident that it would be impossible for the government to establish any general readiustment of rat. prior to Janu- ary 1. 1920. It is also evident that any new basis to be established for the future should naturally be con sidered, not from the standpoint of unified operation of all the railroads, but to greater extent from the stand point of the necessities of the sepa- rate railroads. A rate adjustment which might fully protect the govern ment when operating all the railroads as unit might wholly fail to protect equally or fairly the different railroads when separately operated.
 'T therefore, see no escape from the conclusion that If the corporations de- sire to make progress at this time with this matter. they enter themselves upon a study of the problem to detarmine what tariffs they think ought to be proposed. with view to filling tariffs accordingly with the appropriate pub- lie authority" xsg