New Britain herald., 1921-07-28
Interstate Commerce
Commission Advises
Carriers To Submit
More Consistent Argu-
ments
Disapproves of Request to
Take Money From One
Road and Give it to Less
Prospe-' us Company.

WASHINGTON, July 28.-The Inter
siate commerce commission refused
today to prescribe divisions of joint
freight rates to go to New England
-o,,ds, but declared that fair divisions
cannot "how from existing arrange
i.ients." ~
Data furnished by the New England
roads in the case, while ''voluminous"
the commission said, were limited in
character and were not sufficient to
afford a valid prescription of divi-
sion.
The commission commented on the
failure of the roads to submit data
on divisions of rates which they OBJ
tanned from the joint transportation
with other roads of coal, high explo-
sives, milk. fresh meats and certain
other products
The roads were ordered TO submit
promptly proposed readjustment
that will remove inconsistencies
which they portrayed.
Hearings Last Winter.
New England carriers applied for
"A re-division of joint rates between
carriers east and west of the Hudson
river seeking a greater share of the
revenues and protracted hearings
were held by the commission last
winter.
The committee agrees with <the
! roads outside New England that the
effort Of New England roads was ito
augment their revenue from traffic
which they Interchange with their
connections without regard to the
question of whether the present divi-
sions are fair and reasonable and
without consideration of the probable
s@ects supSff revenues of the other
roads
The commission also said that to
exclude certain, roads in New England
which were opposed to the proposal
of the majority would not be treat
ing the New England roads as a
whole
In reply to the request that a bIan-
ket increase be given New England
roads and allotted among them by the
commission. the decision said:
Would Be Unfair.
This would be taking from one
road and giving to a less prosperous
!. road, thus doing by indirection what
the congress deliberately and speci-
ficaliy refused to authorize us to do
The financial condition of New
England roads is not measurab1y worse
than that of some Of the defendant
roads, the commission said in reply
to the claim that roads in that terri
tory were not adequately compensat-
ed for their service which they de-
clared was more expensive than thai
OF other roads.
mo evidence of the reasonable and
equitable measure Of divisions other
than as whole have been offered
the commission said. mo method by
which the apparently incongruous
plan Of divisions now in force might
be readjusted has been submitted ano
we are thus left to deal with the
. situation in the light of generaliza.
tions which can lead only to specula
! tive ventures when in an unknown
feld. The various methods which
have been suggested to alleviate the
financial ends of the New England
lines and assure them just, reason
able and equitable division indicate
in themselves the uncertainty o.
their application and it is apparen
that if adopted that they would no
' only perpetuate the inconsistencies
to which complainants refer, bu
would create new preferences ant
prejudices.''
The commission said it had NJ
evidence upon which to base al
opinion as to whether the defcienc,
is or is not met from the revenue
on coal"
ITO treat the complainants' as
whole or as a group" the opinion
added would disregard the differ
4. e,ces which obtain between the com
y oinants individually. Much of tn
'ence abducted was solely in be
of the New Haven and mani
y has no application to condi
on the Bangor and AroostooF
Central Vermont or the Rutland.
Dissenting from the opinion wer
| ,mmissioners Campbell, Potter an
/. Eastman