Such a pulverization of the prior course of conduct changes its basic characteristics.

It is not my purpose to delve into the question of whether the majority in pulverizing the operations of Keller and Hawkins as to the commodities carried and points served and then comparing them commodity by commodity, origin by origin, and destination by destination with applicant's operations has correctly reflected the evidence, or into the question of whether the granted authority is substantially on a parity of the bona fide operations of Keller and Hawkins as continued by applicant. My position is that the limited authority granted in this proceeding, together with that which applicant now has, results in an incoordinated service tending to create disorder and confusion among shippers and applicant's drivers and instability in the motor-carrier industry generally. I believe the evidence is sufficient to justify granting such authority under the "grandfather” clause as will round out applicant's operations and remove such anomalies as are instanced above, but, even if the evidence were not entirely satisfactory, I would exercise the discretion which rests in us to accomplish that purpose in the public interest.

I am authorized to state that COMMISSIONER PORTER joins in this dissent.

APPENDIX

Points served by Keller

Origins.—Points in Hudson, Essex, Union, Mercer, Camden, and Gloucester Counties, N. J.; points in Lehigh, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and York Counties, Pa.; New York, N. Y.; Baltimore, Md.; Washington, D. C.; and Winchester, Richmond, and Norfolk, Va.

Destinations.-Points in Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Lincoln, McDowell, Wilkes, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Durham, Guilford, and Rowan Counties, N. C.

Points served by Hawkins

Origins.-Points in Hudson, Essex, Union, Middlesex, Monmouth, Mercer, Gloucester, and Cumberland Counties, N. J.; points in Northampton, Philadelphia, Delaware, Lebanon, Lancaster, and York Counties, Pa.; New York, N. Y.; Wilmington, Del.; Baltimore and Hagerstown, Md.; Washington, D. C.; and Winchester, Richmond, and Norfolk, Va.

Destinations.-Points in Guilford, Rockingham, Alamance, Durham, Person, Forsyth, Davidson, Randolph, Chatham, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Montgomery, Robeson, Cumberland, Wake, and Vance Counties, N. C.

Points served by applicant

Origins.-Points in New Jersey in Hudson, Essex, Union, Middlesex, Gloucester, and Salem Counties; points in the Philadelphia commercial zone as defined in Philadelphia, Pa., Commercial Zone, 17 M. C. C. 533; New York, N. Y.; Lebanon, Pa.; and Baltimore, Md.

Destinations.-Points in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Guilford, Rowan, and Rockingham Counties, N. C.

42 M. C. C.

INVESTIGATION AND SUSPENSION DOCKET No. M-2222 INCREASED COMMON CARRIER TRUCK RATES IN THE

EAST

Submitted June 30, 1943. Decided August 5, 1943

1. Increased rates and charges of respondent common carriers by motor vehicle within trunk-line territory and between trunk-line and New England territories found just and reasonable, but not to extent proposed by respondents. 2. Proposed cancelation of so-called "breakdown" rates subject to minimum weights less than the normal truckload minima found just and reasonable. 3. Suspended schedules ordered canceled without prejudice to the establishment of rates and charges in conformity with the findings, and proceeding discontinued.

Charles E. Cotterill, Dabney T. Waring, T. C. Crouch, and John E. Ackerman for respondents.

David F. Cavers, Robert A. Nixon, John H. Eisenhart, Jr., Dewey C. Wayne, William M. Carney, and Warren Price, Jr., for Director of Economic Stabilization and Price Administrator; James K. Knudson and John S. Griffin for the Secretary of Agriculture and War Foods Administration; Lt. Col. Thomas E. Sands, Jr., for the Secretary of War; and Lt. Col. George A. Brace for the Navy Department.

G. H. Dilla and Francis E. Barrett for carriers in support of respondents.

Edgar Watkins, Jr., and Ralph H. Cahouet for motor-carrier associations.

Charles J. Fagg, William H. Ott, Jr., W. G. Burnette, John S. Burchmore, H. V. C. Wade, E. G. Siedle, R. W. Bennington, George E. Miller, H. D. Musica, Warren J. Sullivan, Frank I. McDonough, Edward F. Lacey, Joseph J. Scully, A. A. Stanley, T. W. Mackey, H. R. Lowe, Nicholas J. Edwards, Robert DeKroyft, Jack M. Carter, John J. Delaney, and B. H. Taylor for shippers and shippers' associations. Frederick E. Brown and W. L. Thornton, Jr., for the Port of New York Authority, and H. J. Wagner for Norfolk Port Traffic Commission.

Henry F. Casey for labor union.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

DIVISION 2, COMMISSIONERS AITCHISON, SPLAWN, AND ALLDREDGE BY DIVISION 2:

Exceptions were filed by respondents and a shipper to the report proposed by the examiners, and the parties were heard in oral

argument. Our conclusions differ from those proposed by the examiners.

By schedules filed to become effective April 12 and 28, 1943, respondents, common carriers of property by motor vehicle, proposed a general increase in their rates and charges between points in trunkline territory, and between points in trunk-line territory, on the one hand, and points in New England, on the other. Upon the protest of the Director of Economic Stabilization and the Price Administrator, the operation of the proposed schedules was suspended until November 12, 1943.

By the suspended schedules, respondents' class and commodity rates and charges would be increased by 10 percent and, in general, their minimum charges for single shipments would be increased by 25 cents. The respondents also propose to cancel their so-called "break-down" rates which are class and commodity rates subject to a minimum weight of 16,000 pounds and class rates subject to a minimum weight of 10,000 pounds in the so-called New York, N. Y., and Philadelphia, Pa., short-haul areas. At the hearing, respondents asked that their proposal be considered as amended to an increase of 10 percent in less-than-truckload rates and an increase of 4 percent only in truckload rates. The proceeding was heard jointly with one pending before the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission in which similar increases are proposed in intrastate rates.

Parties.-Appearances were entered, and witnesses testified for respondents, the Director of Economic Stabilization, the Price Administrator, the Secretary of War, the Navy Department, the Secretary of Agriculture, War Foods Administration, Middle Atlantic Shippers' Motor Carrier Committee, other shippers' associations, and individual shippers. These parties other than the respondents will be referred to as protestants. Appearances were entered for other parties who took no active part in the proceeding.

The Director of Economic Stabilization and the Price Administrator adduced considerable evidence respecting the operations and financial position of the respondents and presented expert witnesses having knowledge of the supplies and prices of motor-carrier equipment, parts, and other materials. They do not oppose any increase in motor-carrier rates and charges which may be necessary to aid in the effective prosecution of the war or to correct gross inequities and which is consistent with the price stabilization program of the Government. It is their position that the respondents' proposals have not been justified. The Secretary of War and the Navy Department are not interested in the minimum-charge shipments and

1 Trunk-line territory, as used in this report, is described in appendix A to the report in Trunk Line Territory Motor Carrier Rates, 24 M. C. C. 501.

take no position with respect to the proposed increase in the minimum charges. It is their position that the proposals with respect to truckload and less-than-truckload rates have not been justified. The Secretary of Agriculture and War Foods Administration are opposed to any increase in rates, especially on unprocessed agricultural commodities, unless an increase is necessary to keep the carriers in a sound operating condition. They do not consider that the carriers which generally transport unprocessed agricultural commodities have shown any need for an increase. The Port of New York Authority and certain groups of shippers oppose any change in rates which would disturb the existing rate relations between areas within the Port of New York and between the Port of New York and other ports. The shippers generally contend that the respondents have not justified any change in their present rates and express the view that, if respondents' proposals were to be approved, considerable traffic now moving by truck would be diverted to the railroads.

The schedules under suspension are published in agency tariffs of the Middle Atlantic States Motor Carrier Conference, Inc., hereinafter called the Conference. The Conference is a nonprofit corporation composed of approximately 100 class I and 650 class II and III common carriers by motor vehicle. Nonmembers as well as members are parties to the suspended schedules, and there are approximately 1,200 respondents. Of the class I motor common carriers assigned to the Middle Atlantic and New England regions,2 186 and 87, respectively, are respondents. Not all the class I trunk-line and New England motor common carriers are respondents. Many of them conduct specialized operations such as the transportation of household goods or petroleum products; some of the general-commodity transporters publish their own tariffs or are parties to the tariffs of other agents; and some of the New England carriers do not participate in joint rates between trunkline and New England territories. The record does not show the percentage which the class II and III respondents are of all class II and III motor common carriers of general commodities in trunk-line and New England territories. Although the class II and III respondents greatly exceed the class I respondents in number, of the traffic transported by the respondents the greater portion in tonnage is transported by the class I carriers.

Rate history. Prior to the Federal regulation of motor carriers, the rates for truck transportation of shipments moving in interstate

For the purpose of compiling statistics, motor carriers are grouped into nine regions. Each carrier is assigned to the region in which its principal operations are conducted. The Middle Atlantic region comprises the District of Columbia and the States of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia, and in general corresponds to trunk-line territory. The New England statistical region comprises the six New England States.

and foreign commerce were rates agreed upon between the truck lines and the shippers. Few motor carriers knew the rates collected by their competitors, and there was little uniformity in the rates of the different carriers. Such uniformity as existed was brought about by the policy of many truck lines of using railroad rates as a measure of the value of their services. The Conference was formed for the purpose of publishing tariffs under section 217 of the Interstate Commerce Act and for other purposes. The agency tariffs of the Conference contain rates applying within trunk-line territory and between trunk-line territory and other territories, including New England. The rates which became effective April 1, 1936, were in general the same as the competitive railroad rates, and the class rates were governed by the national motor freight classification in which the ratings and minimum weights were the same generally as those in the railroad classification. By exceptions to the motor classification, the Conference established truckload minimum weights lower than the minimum weights in the motor classification, and rates higher than the truckload rates but lower than the less-than-truckload rates were established subject to minimum weights lower than the truckload minimum weights.

Shortly after their initial rates became effective, motor carriers instituted a practice of competitive rate cutting which is described in the report of division 5 in Trunk Line Territory Motor Carrier Rates, 24 M. C. C. 501, referred to hereinafter as the Trunk Line case. As a result of a general investigation in Rates Over Freight Forwarders, Inc., 4 M. C. C. 68, which embraced Ex Parte No. MC-14, Middle Atlantic States Motor Carrier Rates, decided December 30, 1937, division 5 prescribed minimum reasonable class and commodity rates for application between points in a territory centering on New York and Philadelphia, on the north, and a territory centering on Washington, D. C., and Baltimore, Md., on the south.

Most of the larger motor carriers, and some of the smaller carriers, increased their rates by 10 percent in March 1938, when the rail carriers increased their rates by a like amount, as then authorized by the Commission. In the Trunk Line case, decided August 14, 1940, division 5 prescribed reasonable minimum class and commodity rates throughout trunk-line territory generally. The order entered in the proceeding, as subsequently amended upon petitions for modification, has not been set aside, but on June 5, 1942, its effectiveness was suspended from July 1 to November 2, 1942, and later its effectiveness was suspended further to November 1, 1943. The findings in the proceeding with respect to reasonable minimum rates, however, are still outstanding.