The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-14
NEW FREIGHT RATE
 ON HIGHER CLASS
 GOODS INCREASED
ReadiuSted Rates Which ,Will Go Into Effect on June 30 Will Cover the En-
 tire Southeast
By Associated Press

Washington, April 13.-frelght rates on higher classes of merchandise through out the southeast were completely read justed and generally increased by an order issued by the interstate commerce commission today, to go into effect June 3G The commission at the same time cancelled schedules proposed by the rail- roads which would have increased rates considerably more than does the elap- crate scheme prescribed today.
 The proposed schedules set aside were in two parts, one part having been sus- pended by the commission until May H and the other until May 25, pending in vestigation. The commission found that in all instances the proposed schedules to importants were higher than present rates and found other objections. me plan which it set up instead generally reduced the proposed schedules, and went into detail in revising present rates' generally upward
 Rates on commodities, including coal, lumber, cotton and iron and other prod ,ucts, were not affected, in that the com mission ordered that in no case are com modity rates to exceed those prescrlped under the classification of higher grade merohandise
 PLAN WIDE IN RANGE
 Traffic experts here are as yet unaole to determine what percentage Of ln- crease will result from the new rates, on account of the wide range of the plan. In some cases there was re duction from present rates.
 In reviewing the schedules proposed py the carriers, the commission found that it's orders to roads to cease practlccs that resulted in prejudice to certain io- calities had been complied with by Wlae increases from the lower rates to the maximum The commission had dehleo consideration of water competition III previous cases and found that as re- sult the roads had made their schedules with inc idea that the commissions s policy was to exclude all consideration of such competition.
 In it's analysis of the schedules pro posed by the roads, the commission said'
 .'The schedules for the most part are said to be filed in compliance with our order in connection with the Murfrees- boro Board of Trade against the Louls- vile and Nashville Railroad company, We there found on complaint made on behalf of Murfreesboro, Columoia lleA son. GaIlatin, Lebanon and Watertown' Tenn that the rates thereto through Nashville from various points of origin were unduly prejudicial to the six com plainants and unduly preferential to Nashville, to the extent that the throush rates to those points exceeded the rates contemporaneously maintained to Nash vile, plus 75 per cent of the conten,- poraneous local rates beyond.
 "InRalmost all instances the suspenoeo rates to important points are higher than inc present rates To many intermediate and noncompetitive points they are lower than the present rates. The rail- roads say that the proposed increases vvould bring rates that are now sup- normal and depressed up to oasls which is normal and not higher than IS reasonable.
 ..In order to remove the undue preJu- dice and preference found to exist in the Murfreesboro case, the railroads Tn all l,l- stances propose to increase the rates U Nashville. Where one of the six com nlainants is intermediate to Nashviiis inc proposed schedules carry in most ln stances the same rates to both poines' out that the company has no protec- tion against any disclosures maoe ps an employe of the commission or the commission itself, and said there IS no section of the revenue act which reouires that disclosures from the company's records be withheld from the public.
 MT. Benners also insisted that the law has made no provision for any nearing of an tappeal from any order of the commission after the books have been examined, and that no mo- f tice has been required of date when person might appear in protest against the findings of the commis- sion. despite the fact that no assess ment may become final until the per son involved has had the opportunity to be heard.
 Several hundreds of thousands of dollars are Involved Tn the case. The assessme of more than 30 large cor porations have been set aside to await decision on the right of the commis sion to send auditors and accountants into their offices for the purposes of determining what should be the basis for their tax assessments.