Arizona republican., 1922-03-09
RAILROADS OPEN
DEF ENSE
Of FREIGHT AND
PASSENGER RATE
[RspubIIean A. ?. Lsased WIrel

IRepuhlican A. p. Leased WireJ
WASHINGTON. March S. Rail
roads began their final defense today
OF existing levels of freight and pas
Senger rates before the interstate
commerce commission when attorneys
gave oral arguments which will con-
clude the hearings that have con-
tinued for several months
Henry Wolf Bike OF the Pcnnsyi-
vania system; Fred II. Wood. general
counsel OF the Southern Pacific. and
Frank Gwathney for the Southern
Railroad, insisted that neither on
legal or economic grounds had the
mass OF testimony taken disclosed
ground for the commission to make
general reductions Of rates.
The railroads gave way to their op-
ponerats just before the DAYS sessions
concluded. and Fred w. Putnam of
the Minnesota railroad commission,
speaking for all state regulative
bodies, associated IN the hearings
entered upon the prelirninariss Of an
argument which will be continued to-
morrow. state commissions are ask
ing first, he said, for passenger fare
reductions on the ground they are too
high for the traffic to bear. and that
no portion OF the railroad charges, if
reduced would be more quickly re-
Elected in the actual cost to the ulti-
mate consumer" Mr.. Bike used
railroad earnings statistics. exhaus-
lively placed in the record. to forrnu-
late his conclusion that no reduc-
tions can be granted. Railroads are
entitled to six per cent return on
the value of property used in trans
portation, he contended whether this
figure is fixed in the future by law
or set by the commission as a STAN
dard and the latest earnings reports
indicate they are now making but
4 40 per cent.
Mr.. Wood took the same position,
asserting that no greater blow could
be dealt the credit OF carriers" than
that involved in a general rate reduc-
tion. Mr.. Gwathmey added that mo
grounds exist for the assumption that
there can be any immediate stinlula-
tion OF business by rate reductions.
State commissions, shippers and
business and industrial representa-
tives will have the next two days to
elaborate their arguments in the case.
and railroad attorneys will conclude
the entire hearings Saturday with
their rebuttal.
Commissioner Lewis interrupted
Mr.. Woods argument today to ask
how railroads intended to proceed
under "the promise Of lower rates
which they made to tie country by
the resolution of their executives in
instituting complaints before the rail-
way labor board asking for further
general reductions in wages"
''We propose to bring the reduc-
tions given with estimates of the
amount of money they mean to rail-
roads before the commission" Mr..
Wood replied, land with the informa-
ton you have gathered in this long
proceedings we are now engaged in
you can determine how the rate de-
creases should be apportioned."
1--WE want to get that correctly"
Mr.. Lewis resumed. "Is it the inten-
tion Of the railroads to make all those
wage reductions tranSlatable in re-
duced freight rates."
Mr.. Wood replied that that was the
intention but after a nnomentary
conference with Alfred P. Thorn,
counsel for the railway executives, he
added that the roads would ask to
be given credit for reductions al
ready, made" in applying the amounts
which they expected to receive.