The Sidney herald., 1955-12-01
Montana This Week.


cars and, in general, in improv-
ing their facilities. But eastern
It roads r apparently lax in max
e ing requirements, finding it
n cheaper simply to pay rental on
T cars that do not belong to them
and keeping these cars much
S longer than they should.
despite recent assurances from
the interstate commerce COM
l mission that orders were issued
to divert the cars back to their
own territory, the situation has
! not improved" Senator Mans
field continued, and he empha-
sized that "the time for excuses
IS past and the need for action
now becomes almost mandatory"
The senate interstate and for
eign commerce commission re-
Gently held hearings on the box
car situation. From these hear
ings may come legislation long
overdue.
Over the years there has been
much to indicate that the trans
continental railroads operating in
Montana are not their own mas
ters within the larger railroad
empire but are controlled by fl
nancial interests which, through t
freight rate structures, have set
barriers against the fuller eco
nomic development of states such
as ours.
At a recent meeting of the
Montana Citizens Freight Rate
association in Helena, a speaker
averred that industrial develop {
ment cannot come to Montana l
unless we have uniform freight I
rates" President c. M. Wall I
(Helena) said: !,
Montana is a real revenue pro .
Queer for the railroads. We are
not just a bridge between the p
east and the west. We believe the 4
railroads have been getting rate ?
increases that they are not en- .
titled to-" a
A few days after Mr.. Wall ex- NJ
pressed these views, the ICC an f.
bounced denial of the ~associa-
ions contention, sustained by =
state supreme court, that an -
Increase already in effect. was IL
Invalid. The issue was drawn in
n injunction proceeding in the Al
cascade county district court in RI
which the complaining freight LIZ
ate group was victorious. &C
AS the situation now appears
0 stand, the railroads are order at
d by the ICC to collect the in ag
rease rate on shipments within
ne state but the Montana rail- MI
Dad commission, which had D SUI
roved the increase in class rates. Tu
restrained by the state courts Al
'om putting the increase into me
fleet. The state supreme court
ould dissolve its injunction or ter
U. S. supreme court could Tn
'rce it to, but meanwhile it Ar
GEMS that the railroad commits div
on is hobbled. Fri
This confusing situation points La
3 again the conflict between T
deral and state transportation gro
.gulatory authority, a conflict in Al
men, piecemeal perhaps, the fab
ate IS being shorn of Jurisdiction sen
freight rate matters. me.
The Montana railroad COM sen
lssion, through its secretary n
unset, James B. Patten, was fan
presented in Washington a few .Jen
9eks ago at an ICC hearing N
Id on application of eastern fam
llroads asking a redivision of at
eight rate collections where Koc
ore than n rail carrier is in Tba
lved in the haul. The amount T
by the shipper would be Siol
affected. If the formula is NOR
anged, the western ~transconti- M
ntal roads will get less of the and
al receipts from an interline que,
and the eastern roads will TI
more. This would adversely at t
ect the revenue of the North Mr..
FacLlc, Great Northern and Joh1
lWaukee systems. TT
All of which makes n won the
where the real financial in and
est in u western railroads Dorc
:, How
hose who dominate the ma new.
rail transportation network Al {
now asking congress to relax FIR
"Hberalize" control over rate at Il
King historically exercised bv Mr..
Interstate cOmuarco 49, boyve