The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1920-08-12

The new passenger fares will be-
come effective August 26, and Che
advanced freight rates August %
according to a program announced
August by railroad officials, says
Washington dispatch.
simultaneously with the effective
ness Of passenger fares, the increases
in the charges for Pullman travel and
the new rates on excess baggage and
milk also will be put in force.
Railroad rate experts have begun
the preparation Of blanket rate sched-
ules increasing the transportation
costs on a percentage basis.
These will be presented to the
Interstate Commerce Commission
five days prior to the proposed eff
fective dates. The rate sheets will
be supplemented by printed tariffs
containing rates for all territories
and on all commodities as soon as the
physical task of working out the
multitudinous details can be accomp-
lished. Until this work is done, rail
officials will compute the new rates
and charges for their respective ter
ritories on the basis of the existing
rates plus the percentage increase
authorized by the commission.
While this method of putting new
rates into effect would be unusual,
railroad officials pointed to the sug-
gestion of the commission that the
higher charges be put in force "at as
early a date as practicable"
By putting the increased rates into
effect prior to September l the drain
on the treasury under the guarantee
provisions of the transportation act
likely will be ended before the expir-
alton of the governments guarantee
of earnings to the roads. Officials
estimated Monday that by September
| the guarantee provisions would
have cost the government approx
mately $650,0O0,O00 for the six
months since the passage of the pres
ent railroad law.
The government has been obliged
to continue the $75,000,000 monthly
rental payment which was in effect
during federal control, as well as to
meet deficits, not covered by the
rental amount, sustained by the in
dividual carriers. Included in the
charges which will fall on the treas
ury in these deficits, is thai portion
Of the $6OO,OOO,OOO wage award COW
ering labor costs from May ! to Sep
TENDER /, when the guarantee expires.
This was officially estimated at $780,
100000. Thus, the American people
will pay one-third of the increased
wages for railroad employees this
year in taxes.
With the amount granted the car
riers this year and the claims of the
lines for compensation under their
contracts with the railroad admins
tration. the roads have cost the gov
eminent approximately a billion and
a half dollars since the president took
over the properties, December 70,
1917.
Operation of the roads after Sep
TENDER /, under the new rates will
yield, according to accountants and
tariff experts of the carriers, an an
nual return Of about 81 $780, 900.
While these were preliminary fig
ures, the railroad experts believed
the freight revenues to be derived
under the new charges would amount
to $1,000 100000, and the income
from passenger rattle S283,00O
000.. Their estimates, it was
explained, were based upon the
assumption that interstate rates
would be increased correspondingly
with the advance authorized by the
federal commission on interstate
rates.
Under the commissions order
charges on freight moving from one
territory to another will be 33h per
cent. higher.
Creation by The commission on its
own motion of the mountain-Pacifi
territory was unexpected, The West
ern roads as whole had joined in
asking for an increase of 1928 per
cent, but the Southwestern lines
later at the public hearing asked that
they be given separate treatment and
a freight increase of approximately
80 per cent. The commission did not
Grant this request saying that it had
been opposed by many shippers and
by other carriers in the Wes1ern
group.
The surcharge Of so per cent. on
sleeping and parlor car space is to
accrue wholly to the railroads. This
charge was opposed by the Pullman
Company on the ground that it would
reduce the travel in cars of tina tvpe.
The commission held, however, that
a charge of this character "has much
in its favor" as "unouestionably the
service is more valuable to the pass