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the results of such tests. Notwithstanding this action by the Commission, however, we find that neither one of these cars has since been operated, but both have been allowed to remain unused in storage.

Upon inquiry we are informed by the vice-president in charge of operation, that he is dissatisfied with the new car and thinks it too complicated; but no effort has been made to test its operation in actual service, and it appears that it is precisely the same type of one-man car which is being operated with apparent success in other parts of the country. We are informed also that the old car has been remodeled again, along lines more nearly in accordance with the vice-president's views; but no petition for the approval of the car so altered has been presented to the Commission, nor has even the right been sought to test it in actual operation. It seems to the Commission from this record that the management is trifling with a matter of very vital importance. We have done what we could to encourage the use of one-man cars of proper design, not only by the Bay State company but by other companies in the state, not because such operation is any pet theory of the Commission, but because it is coming to be recognized very generally in practical street railway circles as one means of helping to solve the street railway problem. From such knowledge as the Commission has, it is led to believe that the Bay State company has many lines which are suitable for the operation of such cars, and upon which they would lead to a very desirable measure of economy. The management will, in our judgment, be open to very justifiable criticism if it does not take steps to test, in the immediate future, this form of operation.

Criticism may also be made of the car mileage obtained per car hour of operation. This figure is still as low as it was in 1916 when the company's record in this respect was criticized by the experts employed by the Commission, notwithstanding the reduction of stopping places and the rerouting of cars which have since taken place. We realize that it is difficult to secure good results with much of the equipment in poor condition, with low voltage on many lines and with a substantial percentage of poor track, but the question of obtaining greater car mileage per car hour is certainly one which calls for further study.

Finally we desire to direct attention to the necessity of keeping a close tally of receipts and operating results on the various lines. and divisions of the property. In consideration of the present

schedule the Commission has been greatly handicapped by the lack of adequate information as to the effect, in different sections and upon different routes, of the rates introduced last June. Some data were furnished in regard to the comparative results in the city zones and upon country lines, but upon analysis this proved of doubtful value. Having in mind the results shown by the careful segregation of receipts and expenses made in 1916, the large increase in expense since then and the comparatively small gain in revenue, it is not the opinion of the Commission that the new fares will impose any undue burden upon the city districts. The simplification of the rate structure, however, will make it possible to keep records of earnings more accurately divided than any which are now available, and the company will be expected to be prepared to furnish this information.

It is the desire of the Commission that the new rates which are proposed be made effective as soon as possible. It may be necessary for the company to file an entirely new schedule, but it is probable that a supplement to the tariff now under suspension will suffice. In order that either plan may be followed, this tariff will be further suspended until January 1, 1919, and the company may at once submit to the Commission a supplement or a new schedule, as it sees fit. Upon approval by the Commission of the form of such supplement or schedule, it will be allowed to become effective on short notice.

For the Commission,

DECEMBER 12, 1918.

ANDREW A. HIGHLANDS, [P. S. C. 2300]

Secretary.

ORDER.

Notice of the Bay State Street Railway Company (Wallace B. Donham, Receiver) of proposed changes in fares for passengers upon its railway.

It appearing that by successive orders of the Commission dated November 8, 1918, December 9, 1918, and December 12, 1918, respectively, the rates and charges described in tariff M. P. S. C. No. 88 of the Bay State Street Railway Company (Wallace B. Donham, Receiver) have been suspended until January 1, 1919, unless otherwise ordered;

It further appearing that a full investigation of the matters and things involved in said tariff has been made and that the Commission, on December 12, 1918, made and filed a report containing its findings of fact and conclusions thereon, which said. report is herein referred to and made a part hereof, it is

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Ordered, That the Bay State Street Railway Company (Wallace B. Donham, Receiver) be and is hereby notified and required to cancel the rates and charges stated in the tariff specified in said orders of suspension, and to file a schedule or schedules of tariffs in substantial compliance with the rates, fares and charges which were fixed by the Commission in the findings of facts and the conclusions thereon in said report, as the just and reasonable rates, fares and charges to be charged and collected by said company during the period specified in said report. And it is

Further ordered, That a copy of this order be filed with said tariff at the office of the Commission, and that a copy hereof be forthwith served upon the Bay State Street Railway Company (Wallace B. Donham, Receiver).

DECEMBER 20, 1918.

Attest:
[P. S. C. 2300]

ALLAN BROOKS,

Assistant Secretary.

BOSTON AND ALBANY SWITCHING CHARGES.

Petition of National Dock and Storage Warehouse Company relative to certain rates charged by the Boston and Albany Railroad Company.

ROBERT HOMANS

EDMUND D. CODMAN

G. R. SIZER

for National Dock and Storage Warehouse Company.

GEORGE H. FERNALD, JR., for Boston and Albany Railroad

RICHARD VAN UMMERSEN

FRANK L. MARTIN

Company.

The petitioner is a Massachusetts corporation owning and operating wharves and warehouses on the East Boston water front, adjacent to similar wharves and warehouses owned and operated by the Boston and Albany Railroad Company. The rails of the latter company reach both its own piers and warehouses and those of the petitioner, and provide a means of transportation between them. The National Dock and Storage Warehouse Company has direct rail connections with no other carrier.

In substance, the petitioner complains that the Boston and Albany Railroad Company makes a switching charge on freight moving from its own piers to the petitioner's warehouses, but in effect makes no similar charge on freight moving from its own or the petitioner's piers to its own warehouses. This practice, the petitioner claims, is unjust and unreasonable, unjustly discriminatory against the warehouses of the National Dock and Storage Warehouse Company, and unduly preferential to the warehouses of the Boston and Albany Railroad Company. It therefore prays that the Commission determine the just and reasonable rates and charges to be charged for the transportation service performed by the Boston and Albany Railroad Company, as set forth in the petition, and fix the same by order.

At the time of the public hearing the switching charges in question were governed by Boston and Albany Railroad tariff M. P. S. C. No. 907, I. C. C. No. 7430, and were stated in the following clause:

4. On import freight handled at the Boston and Albany Railroad and National Dock and Storage Warehouse Company's docks for delivery to

warehouses and industries with which the Boston and Albany Railroad has track connections at East Boston and to the Grain Elevator at East Boston, the charge from ship's side will be 50 cents per net ton (2,000 pounds), minimum charge, $5.00 per car.

Since the hearing, this tariff has been superseded by another, I. C. C. No. 8206, "initiated by the President of the United States through the Director-General, United States Railroad Administration." This latter tariff has been filed with this Commission "for information only" and was made effective, under a claim of paramount authority, without compliance with the statutes of Massachusetts. For convenience in reference, it has been numbered by the Commission "M. P. S. C. No. 1296." It contains a provision identical with the one above quoted, except that the rate is advanced to "60 cents per net ton (2,000 pounds), minimum charge $6.50 per car."

While this tariff, on its face, applies this switching charge from the Boston and Albany docks and the petitioner's docks to the Boston and Albany warehouses, as well as from the Boston and Albany docks to the petitioner's warehouses, it is the contention of the latter that this is not the real situation, because of a provision in Boston and Albany Railroad tariff M. P. S. C. No. 955, I. C. C. No. 7514, naming rates for storage on property stored in Boston and Albany Railroad warehouses at East Boston. This tariff fixes storage rates on the various commodities handled for the "first month or part thereof," and other rates for "each succeeding month or part thereof," and further provides:

The rates for the first month or part thereof include the cost of moving the property from Boston & Albany Railroad piers or other East Boston piers into the warehouse and the cost of loading into cars from the warehouse.

The petitioner urges that it is illegal for the Boston and Albany Railroad Company thus to include a transportation charge in its charges for other and distinct services, but also claims that, if the Commission should find that the railroad company is really making a switching charge to its own warehouses, and to that extent reducing its storage charge for the first month, then the storage charge or the whole practice of the railroad company is illegal, because "it thereby for the sake of unjustly preferring itself in one kind of business, makes its rates lower than the total cost to it of all the services it performs."

The Boston and Albany Railroad Company is licensed in Massachusetts as a public warehouseman, but under the statutes

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