The New York herald., 1922-09-24
TRUNK LINE RATES J;
ARE TO BE REVISED
To Change to Basis Of Class
Charges to Conform With
Other Territories.

A change to a basis of class rates In
trunk line territory to conform with
Central freight and New England ter
ritories has been suggested by the Trunk
Line Association which gives shippers
the usual thirty days notice of a heSr-
Ing on the subject to take place October
23 in Room 500, Pennsylvania station.
Letters which are being mailed to ship
pers by r. N. Collyer. chairman, and
w. S. Curlett. secretary of the Trunk
Line Association, bespeak constructive
criticism by shippers Of the plan which
calls for a systematic scheme of rates
based on distance.
The change has been suggested be-
cause of the increasing insistence" with
which shippers have sought corrective
measures to cover class rates within
Trunk, Line territory from competitive
communities to common destinations.
The hearing will be on a suggested
scale of freight rates and mileages which.
1t is explained. is not IAN announcement
that the railroads as q whole or indi-
vidually will publish tariffs making
these rates effective"
In explaining the aims of the associa-
tion. the letter says: sre
MANY important factors In the freight
rate structure in Trunk Line territory
are the result Of free play OF carrier COM
petition for the traffic of industrial COM
munities which these railroads have built
up during nearly century. The rates
thus evolved reflect the effort Of the
carriers to keep competing communities
and industries in a transportation rela-
tionship and the element of distance, in
many important adjustments has not
been regarded as controlling. although
distance Is an important factor in the
cost of transportation. Consequently any
substitution of a rate scheme in which
mileage is completely controlling for
the relationships which are now con-
trolling In the most important traffic
situations Of Trunk Line territory, will
result In changes which in some in
stances may measurably and adversely
affect the interest Of some industries"
The docket. which includes suggested
revisions In the rates of more than four
hundred commodities. >points out that
after the attitude of the public is ascer-
tanned 1t viii be necessary to place be-
lore the public the interterritorial or
overhead rate adjustment. The rate
scales which are suggested are built on
the Disque relationship of classes now
used in other territories in which the
hrst class represents 100 per cent and
the other classes as percentages Of the
first class, as follows: Second class, S5
per cent third class. 81 per cent:
fourth class SO per cent. fifth class. 35
Ter cent. and sixth class 28 per cent
This level, 1t is explained, properly
D. Ses from the lower level Of the Gen.
tral freight territory to. the higher rate
obtaining in New England
The relationship of the question to
the situation in Central freight and New
England territories is explained as fol-
lows:
I'm Central freight and New England
territories 1t was found that a complete
of the class rate structure
was necessary to obtain the higher leve!
OF those rates needed to meet the car
riers' impoverishment and to obtain q
consistent scheme of rates, uniform as
between the several States and on inter-
state traffic, to remove prejudice or dis
advantage. Uniform scales within each
Of these territories were established with
the consent and assistance of State and
Interstate Commerce commissions.
THE projection of these uniform
scales up to the borders Of trunk line
territory produced rate situations that
are open to much criticism and that can
only be removed by some revision of
rates within trunk line territory con-
sistent with those approved and made
effective within Central freight and New
England territories. The removal OF
those Inconsistencies created by the con-
junction of rate schemes that are nor
adjusted to each other can be accom-
plished by the adoption of similar rate
plan for the trunk line territory TO that
now operative in Central freight and
New England territories
"In the construction of rates between
the New EnglandTrunk Line territories
on the one hand and Central freight ter
ritory on the other the plan successfully
for many years has been that
of group points of origin and points of
destination. The principal of group rate
making is not consistent with that of
rate making, and when the rates
in so intimately related territories as the
Central freight. Trunk Line and New
England are based on the mileage prin-
ciple intraterritorially and on the group
Internationally inconsistencies
arise that are most difficult to remove"