LONG AND SHORT HAUL CHARGES COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Tuesday, January 20, 1925. The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Samuel E. Winslow (chairman), presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. We shall proceed with the consideration of Senate bill 2327, which reads as follows: [S. 2327, Sixty-eighth Congress, first session] AN ACT To amend section 4 of the interstate commerce act Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph (1) of section 4 of the interstate commerce act, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "(1) That it shall be unlawful for any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act to charge or receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the transporation of passengers, or of a like kind of property, for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line or route in the same direction, the shorter being included within the longer distance, or to charge any greater compensation as a through rate than the aggregate of the intermediate rates subject to the provisions of this act, but this shall not be construed as authorizing any common carrier within the terms of this act to charge or receive as great compensation for a shorter as for a longer distance: Provided, That upon application to the commission a common carrier may, after public hearing, be authorized by the commission to charge less for longer than for shorter distances for the transportation of passengers or property only in a case where the route via the applicant carrier or carriers is longer than via the route of some rail carrier or rail carriers between the same points; but in exercising the authority conferred upon it in this proviso the commission shall not permit the establishment of any charge to or from the more distant point that is not reasonably compensatory for the service performed; and if a circuitous rail line or route is granted authority to meet the charges of a more direct rail line or rail route to or from competitive points and to maintain higher charges to or from intermediate points on its line, the authority shall not include intermediate points as to which the haul of the petitioning line or route is not longer than that of the direct line or route between the competitive points: Provided further, That the commission may, with or without hearing, upon its own motion or upon application of carriers or shippers, in cases of emergency such as drought or disaster, authorize during the continuance of said emergency any common carrier or carriers to charge or receive a greater compensation for a shorter than for a longer distance. "Where any common carrier has, or common carriers have, in effect any rate, fare, or charge which is less for the longer than for the shorter distance between two points (the shorter being included within the longer distance), and which has been authorized by the commission or as to which application was filed with the commission on or before February 17, 1911, and not yet acted upon by it, such rate, fare, or charge shall not become unlawful (except by order of the commission) until after twelve months following the passage of this amendatory act; nor shall such rate, fare, or charge in effect via a circuitous rail carrier or rail carriers become unlawful if it shall have been authorized by order of the commission, after public hearing, based on no less a showing than that upon which the commission is herein authorized to grant relief: And provided further, That nothing in this section contained shall prevent the commission from authorizing or approving departures from the provisions of this section in so far as 1 applicable to import or export rates, including rates applicable to traffic coming from or destined to a possession or dependency of the United States or to a block system of express rates established by order or with the approval of the commission or permitted by it to be filed." Paragraph 2 of section 4 is hereby repealed. GEORGE A. SANDERSON, Secretary The committee voted to establish two groups of dates for the consideration of this bill, and set aside Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week for the proponents, and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week for the opponents. There seems to be considerable interest in the bill, as represented by the opinions of people, and also by the number who wish to be heard. The committee realize that if satisfactory consideration is to be given to the subject, it will have to be given as much expedition as is consistent with fair deliberation, with a particular view to the shortness of this session of Congress. The witnesses are so many that it is apparent to the chairman, and would be, I am sure, to the members of the committee and the witnesses if they were to know all the facts, that condensation of presentation is a very important element. The sense of the committee is, as expressed, that we are to ask those who represent any particular line of thought, or any particular angle of approach, to get together wherever they can and appoint some one or more to represent the interests in question, for the reason that we shall not have time to hear everybody who has expressed a desire to be heard. After the meeting to-day the chairman will remain here for the purpose of consulting with those who wish to enter an appearance, and with a view to working out a schedule for the appearances of witnesses. This morning we ask Mr. French, who has been active in the support of this bill, to present the witnesses whom he has under his care and direction particularly-he himself, may be, making some statement. After this morning's session, which undoubtedly will be consumed by those who Mr. French may present, we will undertake, by the arrangement as suggested, to do as well as we can toward completing the program. But three days this week will be given to those who are proponents. The witnesses, by rule of the committee, will be afforded an opportunity in each instance to express their desire with respect to being interrupted or being allowed to proceed without interruption, and the chairman in each instance will ask the witness whether that is his preference. I think the chairman, acting for the committee, can to a considerable extent facilitate the proceedings in the way of witnesses and their presentations, but he must say to those present and to the committee that it seems to be out of his power, as a matter of experience, to limit the questions of the committee; so, while he would not undertake to curtail the committee's privileges at all, he would suggest, for the sake of promptness of consideration that each witness expressing the desire to proceed without interruption be allowed to do so, and let questions follow. |