Evening star., 1921-12-02
FURTHER RAIL RATE.
CUT WILL Be ASKED
Executives File Brief With
Commission Preparatory
to Hearing.

Executives of the principal railroads
of the United States, when they appear
before the Interstate Commerce Com
mission in the hearing on the whole
matter of rates. which opens December
IA. will ask the commission to ascertain
whether. until substantial reduction
can be secured in labor and other costs
of operation. any further reduction in
rates than that which becomes effective
on hay and grain on December 27 can
portation industry. In petition filed
with the commission this question Is
asked by the executives.
Operating Income.
For the first nine months of the
calendar year 1921 the net railway
operating income of the class roads.
taken as a whole, the roads will
plead, amounted to 1891. .3S4,719. this
being but % per cent of the value
of their properties as set forth in the
order raising rates generally last
August. The result of operations for
the class l roads for the calendar
year 1920. notwithstanding four
months at the increased rates. was a
net railway operating income of about
S62. 900. against a normal in other
years of more than $90.000,000. Even
this amount of S62.O80,000. the roads
will show, included back mail pay
received from the government for
that when the operations for 1920
alone are considered, there was an
actual deficit before making any
allowance for either interest or
dividends.
There was and is an insstent de-
mand from many sources for reduc
tion in rates. the petition said. THE
demand is for general reduction and
embraces not only the rates on agricul-
tural products and products of animals
but on practically all other commodities.
In considering this demand and desiring
to deal with it in sympathetic and
helpful manner. it was necessary for
the carriers to consider the conditions
which bear substantial and in many
respects controlling relation to the
subject
Revenue Conditions.
1T was necessary to consider care
fully the revenue conditions of the
carriers themselves. because. entirely
aside from the rights and interest of
the owners of the properties, the car
riers sustain so important a relation
ship to the public welfare and are so
essential to the service of the public
that it was necessary for them to con-
slider how far anything that might be
proposed would impair their capacity
u tHelT service. II
was accordingly necessary for them to
give careful consideration to the effect
of any proposal upon their operating
revenues"
In addition to the dropping off in
returns for this year, the roads will
attempt to show that during Septem-
ber more than 16 per cent of 374, ,431
freight cars were in bad order, need
ing repairs, as against a normal of
bad order cars of 10000. They will
claim that under these circumstances,
the rate of return of 5t2 or per cent
fixed by the transportation act for the
first two years after March /, 1920.
has not even been approximated. the
actual result being less than one
half the prescribed return.
Difference in Wages,
The roads will further attempt to
show that on January l. 1917, when
the government took charge of wages,
under the Adamson act. the labor cost
of class one carriers had not in any
year exceeded the sum of about ST.
46S.000,000. In 1920, when govern
mental authority made the last wage
increase. the labor cost of the car
riers was about $685., 900. 900 for the
year, or if continued throughout the
year would have been in excess of
$500. 100000.
The roads claim in their petition
that the recent reduction by the Rail-
road Labor Board of wages, estimated
at from 10 to II per cent. lin no sense
meets or solves the problem of labor
costs and in no way makes it possible