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Objections to Car^Spotting Charges ^ 



I 'n February 27, and continuing several days thereafter, the 

 iiTstate Coramcrco Commission in session at Washington, D. C, 

 ;ird testimony on the complaint of certain interests which ob- 

 ted to the railroads' practice of charging for spotting cars. A 

 u-f was fileil by the National Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Asso- 

 itior ill whifh the members declared themselves opposed to any 

 Halation that will add a charge to shippers or consignees for 

 icing cars upon spur tracks for loading or unloading, and stated 

 :;sons why such services should be continued as at present without 

 I'litional charges. 



They say it has been the policy for many years for the roads of 

 this country and Canada to encourage the building of spurs, and this 

 lias enabled the carriers to develop their traffic enormously with 

 little or no expense to them. The railroad rate has always been 

 recognized as covering not only the conveyance of a shipment but 

 the full service, which includes furnishing a car, a proper place to 

 load it, the conveyance of the shipment and its terminal delivery. 

 Where there are no spur tracks the present rate includes placing 

 the car at the public team track at destination in an accessible posi- 

 tion for unloading. 



"This,'' says the brief, "constitutes a service which is not ob- 

 tained liy the industries having spur tracks. The delivery on an 

 industry spur is not supplemental to any other delivery. Freight 

 cars arriving at break-up yards are there segregated and switched 

 to the various tracks to which they are ordered; some are placed 

 on industry spurs while others are placed on public team tracks. 

 In either event there is a switching movement and, if a shipper or 

 receiver pays for a team track delivery and does not receive it, 

 but receives a spur track delivery, which costs the carrier no more 

 and in the majority of cases less, he should not be compelled to pay 

 a charge for a service which has not been rendered, but on the 

 contrary, it may well be argued that he should be required to pay 

 less for accepting delivery at a point which is less expensive to the 

 carrier. These industrj- spurs form a part of the carriers' terminal 

 facilities and should be so considered." 



The brief also discusses the advantages of spur tracks to the car- 

 riers. A spur track insures to the carrier both inbound and out- 

 bound traffic, a condition which does not obtain in the case of publio. 

 team tracks. This fact is recognized by the carrier and is generally 

 made a part of any contract or agreement between the carrier and 

 the industry prior to the installation of the spur. These spurs in- 

 crease the terminal facilities of the carriers with little or no ex- 

 pense to themselves, and so save them insurance, taxes, mainte- 

 nance, operation, etc., and also reduces their liability. 



"In the lumber business," says the brief, "cars are generally 

 loaded or unloaded from the industry tracks within a few hours after 

 placement, the average being less than 24 hours, and it is seldom 

 that cars are detained beyond the free time. This gives the car- 

 rier the use of the car full 24 hours in advance of what could pos- 

 sibly be obtained by public team track delivery. It puts the car 

 back into railroad service and saves the carrier at least one day's 

 |ier diem. ' ' 



The Michigan Uardwood Manufacturers' Association, consisting 

 of about seventy-five firms of sawmill men of Michigan, was repre- 

 sented at the hearing in Washington by its secretary, J. C. Knox, 

 but as he was unable to remain over to the adjourned meeting on 

 Monday, March 2, he was advised by Mr. Brandcis to present the 

 views of his members in writing. Therefore the following state- 

 ments were filed: 



Lumber as handled by nil of our members Is strlctlj- a carload com- 

 modltv, fully one-balf of it movins in open cars, usually loaded to near 

 tbe carrying capacity of the equipment used, at hlRh rules as compared 

 with other commodities similarly handled, and furnishes a constant volume 

 of tonnage to the railroads. Each of the Industries Is located on or adja- 

 cent to one or more railroads and the railroad side tracks, usually not of 

 -rcat length, extend Into the yards and property of the shipper and lu 

 many cases the shipper has given up very valuable property for the use of 



these tracks and furnished at least some part of the cost of their con- 

 struction by furnishing ties, grading and other equipment. 



Many of our members have tliclr logs hauled in train loads from side 

 tracks In the timber to tbe sawmill, where the timber is manufactured, the 

 log haul ranging from a few miles to 100 to :i,">0 miles, for which a 

 specllic rate is charged from poliir of shipment to destination. 



It Is customary and has been the practice of the carriers to place these 

 cars on such sldUi;; for loading or unloading and this service has always 

 been Included as a part of the through rate. Many of our members 

 located In the larger cities have given up valuable property for the use 

 of the railroad tracks. We realize that this Is mutually advantageous to 

 both the railroad and the shipper, but it the railroads were compelled to 

 buy property adjacent to the mill of the shipper for said track purposes, 

 it would cost them a large amount. These tracks save warehouse and 

 team expense to the carriers and the switching Is done as quickly on the 

 tracks In the yards of the carriers as could possibly be done at the car- 

 riers' warehouse or team tracks and at no greater expense. 



We wish to state that it Is our view that no charge should be made for 

 what is called tbe spotting of cars at the tracks of the shipper, as we con- 

 sider ihat the railroads when making the rates contemplated their covering 

 this very important part of the work. 



This association has gone on record as in favor of a 5 per cent advance 

 in freight charges, providing this 5 per cent is equally distributed and 

 covers its competitors in other territory outside of the OtBclal Classltlca- 

 tion territory. The shippers In the lower peninsula of Michigan being 

 located at the northwestern edge of the Official Classification territory 

 come in sharp competition with manufacturers in the upper peninsula of 

 Michigan, also in Wisconsin and Illinois located in Western Classification 

 territory, where no advance in rates to the West has been contemplated, 

 although the railroads serving tlic territory described at the request of the 

 Official Classification railroads, filed their tariffs for a D per cent advance 

 covering Central Freight Association and Trunk Line territory. 



On account of the railroads cutting off various commodity rates, both 

 state and interstate, and filing no commodity tariffs at a 5 per cent ad- 

 vance, thus throwing the commodity rate on a classification basis, this 

 association has been compelled to enter complaint with the Michigan Kail- 

 road Commission at Lansing and the Interstate Commerce Commission at 

 Washington, against advances in excess of 5 per cent, and we have 

 recently been advised by the carriers that it is their intention to correct 

 such discrepancies, making only an advance of approximately 5 per cent. 

 Many lumbermen feel that the present rates on lumber throughout the 

 country are on too high a basis at present as compared with other low 

 commodity rates, and there should be no advance whatever in lumber 

 rates. Nevertheless, if after the commissions investigations, it is decided 

 that the carriers are entitled to an advance in rates, the members of our 

 association will not oppose such an advance, providing such advance was 

 fullY equalized. 



The understanding that prevails among shippers and receivers of lumber 

 is that the present rates include something to cover the acceptance and 

 delivery of shipments at terminals, especially in all Official Classification 

 territory. Many important cases decided by tbe commission, since its cre- 

 ation bj- the act of 18S7, have involved lumber rates and in such proceed- 

 ings the carriers, in defense of rates attacked, have filled thousands of 

 pages of record with testimony about the terminal expense which they 

 assume iu connection with the rates, or in other words, many rates 

 attacked as being excessive, unreasonable or otherwise in violation of the 

 statute, have been explained and defended by the carriers and frequently 

 adjudicated by the commission as being predicated upon, not only the line 

 haul but some extraordinary c-tpense iu connection with the acceptance 

 or delivery of the traffic .tt the terminal. 



Unless the commission should make a very thorough and complete inves- 

 tigation of all the circumstances and conditions at each terminal, any 

 charge of teru^nal service added to the present rate must be eutlrely 

 arbitrary and It does not seem that any substantial benefit or justice can 

 be accomplished by such method. We fear that the establishment of such 

 an arbitrary charge for terminal service in addition to present or future 

 rates would amount to an admission that present rates included nothing 

 but the line haul. 



We appreciate that present transportation conditions Imposed upon the 

 country at hu-.-e are a burden which must be lifted or lightened, but surely 

 that burden need not entirely rest upon shippers or receivers of freight 

 who load or unload on private side tracks. Such shippers, we think, have 

 contributed loss to the burden of the carriers than have the shippers who 

 demand and have received the fielght house and public team track service 

 In congested terminals where the cost of maintenance and operation must 

 be greatest. 



To endeavor to meet the present necessities of the carriers by an arbi- 

 trary addition to present rates of any amount per car for terminal service 

 would seem not only completely to destroy every existing theory and prin- 

 ciple of rate making but also to be entirely opposed to the conservative 

 policy which has so successfully guided the commission during Its exist- 

 ence. Should tbe commission, after careful Investigation and a complete 



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