Evening star., 1924-04-27
RAIL RATE CHANGES
MAY BE ADOPTED
No Repeal of Transportation Laws
Expected at This Con-
gress Session.
HEARINGS OVER TUESDAY
Several Bills Before Committee
Planning Final Draft.

Amendment, but not repeal of the
rate-making section OF the trans
por, alton act of 1920, known as sec
ton 15a, is practically the only rail
road legislation that may be expect ed
at the present session of Congre So
in tho opinion Of influential mem
hers of the Senate, committee on in
.tcrstate commerce. it was learned
last night. The committee will con
clude Tuesday its hearings on the
various proposals to repeal or amend
the rate making section.
Railroad legislation. which, it was
declared before the present session
OF Congress convened last Decem m
ber, would be a major issue in the
present Congress. has TO a large ex
tent been lost sight of during the
period of sensational congressional
Investigations. The Senate inters tate
commerce committee. however, mas
Been working on the problem, and
this week will begin in executive
session the actual work of drafting
proposed Legislation. The committee
has before il bills by Senator'S cap
per of Kansas, Fletcher OF Florida,
La Toilette of Wisconsin, Gooding OF
Idaho. and Dill Of Washington. all
looking to repeal or anne endment OF
section 1Jd.
smith Favors Change.
Senator Smith Of South Carolina,
chairman of the Senate committee, is
known to favor proposal to amend
section 15a so that total revenues in
excess of a fair returns per cent,
for example-for any given group
system designated by the Interstate
Commerce Commission. shall be
equitahly distributed over that sys-
TEN so that the weaker roads may
valuation as we'll as the strong. In
other words, the excess earnings OF
the roads would go back TO the ter
ritory from which they were received
and eventually would result in more
prosperous roads all through that
territoy, and in lower freight rates
and better service. Senator smith
believes this could be accomplished
through Il re-arrangement OF the
percentage of freight receipts al
lowd the feeder roads apd the trunk
lines, so that "A greater percentage
would go to the weaker roads.
The present So-czLlled recapture
clause of the transportation act, by
which one half of the receipts of the
roads in excess of : per cent of the
value of the railroad property is
turned over TO the Interstate Com
rnerca Comm isSsiOn to tie placed In
general railroad contingent fund,
from which loans may he made to the
less prosperous roads. II is declared
does not bring about the relief 1t was
de signed TO bring The borrowing
roads. it is pointed out, must pay
per cent for such loans and must give
collateral for the loans These re-
tr;1 LTa the a lid 0ffp red
tically impossible of acceptance with
any beneficial results, it is said
Fnrmers Demand Repeal.
The demand for a repeal of section
l5a comes particularly from the agri-
cultural sections of the country. SEN
ators representing those sections in
sist that 1T works hardship partlc-
ularlv on the farmers. who are com
pelled to pay high freight charges OF
their produce, much of which they
are now compelled TO sell at very low
prices.
Senator Capper of Kansas, chair
man of the farm bloc, author of one
of the bills providing for the repeal
of section 15a, appeared at the hear
ing yesterday before the Senate In
terState commerce committee in favor
of such repeal.
The Senate interstate commerce
committee is pretty evenly divided
between those who are believed to
hold conservative views on railroad
legislation and the more radical
group, but with the preponderance of
power lodg ID with the conservatives.
OF course. if the committee reports
out a measure to amend section 15a,
and the majority sentiment in the
Senate itself is for repeal of that sec
tion of the transportation act, the re-
peal would go through, provided a
vote was reached before adjournmen mt
of the session.
Senator Capper at the hearing yes
terday told the committee that the
farmers as a whole are not inimical to
the railroads, but that they believed
the time had come when rates on ag-
ricuItural products should be mater
tally reduced.
Hardship to Shippers.
II am asking the repeal of section
15a" said Senator Capper. because
of my conviction that four years of
operation of the law have established
the fact that this provision not only
works a hardship upon shippers, but
is fundamentally unsound. The ex-
perience of four years, in my opinion,
reveals that the practice of the In
terstate Commerce Commission in