No. MC-88861

COMPTON BROTHERS TRANSFER COMMON CARRIER APPLICATION

Decided August 19, 1938

Public convenience and necessity found not to require operation by applicants as a common carrier, of special commodities, between points in Warren County, Va., and points in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Certificate denied.

H. S. Compton for applicants.

H. P. Thrasher for protestants.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

DIVISION 5, COMMISSIONERS MEYER, SPLAWN, AND ROGERS

BY DIVISION 5:

On July 20, 1938, the following recommended report and a recommended order appended thereto, filed with us by the examiner, were served on the parties. No exceptions to the order have been filed, and, not having been stayed or postponed by us, it has become effective as our order.

REPORT AND ORDER RECOMMENDED BY THE EXAMINER

By application filed March 3, 1938, J. D. Compton and H. S. Compton, of Front Royal, Va., copartners, doing business as Compton Brothers Transfer, seek a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing operation as a common carrier by motor vehicle, of rock wool, lime, wood products, livestock, fertilizer, and coal, in interstate or foreign commerce, over irregular routes, between points in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

In accordance with the provisions of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935, the application was referred to the examiner for hearing and the recommendation of an appropriate order thereon. Hearing has been held. Rail carriers in trunk-line and southern territories opposed the granting of the application.

At the hearing it developed that applicants do not desire to serve all points in the territory named, but desire to transport from Warren County, in Virginia, to Washington, D. C., and Baltimore, Md.,

including areas within a radius of 10 miles of these cities, and to Charleston, W. Va., and Hagerstown, Md. They also desire to transport coal from Barton, Md., and fertilizer from Baltimore to Warren County.

Applicants have been in partnership since May 25, 1936. During the latter half of that year they were employed in hauling for the Virginia Highway Department. Since the early part of 1937 they have done general hauling within Virginia only, on a Virginia permit. They own one 1937-model stake-body truck.

H. S. Compton was the only witness for applicants. He does not drive the truck or propose to drive it. He is now, and has been continuously since August 2, 1934, employed in a business wholly unrelated to trucking, working eight hours per day. He manages the truck business on the side. His brother has been doing all the driving until recently when they employed an experienced driver.

Though applying as a common carrier, applicants admitted that four shippers were practically the only ones for whom they would transport in interstate commerce. The bulk of these companies" products, estimated as 75 percent, moves by railroad. Applicants propose to handle only small rush orders that the railroad is not equipped to handle. H. S. Compton could not give any idea of the quantities that are being shipped interstate, and admitted that several motor carriers, some of which he named, were now serving the companies that applicants propose to serve.

The one truck which they possess has been used in intrastate hauling on the average of five days a week, and there is no indication that this business is to be abandoned or that applicants are able or intend to acquire more equipment.

Protestants showed that, in addition to service by rail, Front Royal is served by nine motor carriers whose headquarters are elsewhere, and that, by the official records on file with the Commission, eight more motor carriers with headquarters in Front Royal have filed applications. Compliance orders have already been issued to five of these. Applicants contended that these carriers were not authorized to haul the particular commodities here considered, but gave no proof in support thereof. An inspection of the applications discloses that several are common carriers of general commodities.

Upon this record there is nothing to show that there is any public necessity for the proposed operation, or that existing facilities are inadequate. The most that can be said in applicants' favor is that, according to the testimony of one of them, a few shippers would occasionally desire their service. This desire can scarcely be deemed

to be evidence of an existing demand therefor. Bourn Common Carrier Application, 3 M. C. C. 765, and cases there cited.

The examiner finds that public convenience and necessity do not require the proposed service, and that the application should be denied.

It is recommended that the appended order be entered.

9 M. C. C.

No. MC-39553 1

CRIPPS OVERLAND EXPRESS, INCORPORATED, COMMON

CARRIER APPLICATION

Decided August 20, 1938

Applicant, and applicant as successor in interest to Jack Cripps, found entitled to continue operation as a common carrier by motor vehicle, of general commodities, between Chicago, Ill., on the one hand and Milwaukee and Sheboygan, Wis., on the other, over regular routes, and of certain commodities in truckloads only, between Chicago and points in Wisconsin over regular routes, by reason of having been engaged in such operation on June 1, 1935, and because said predecessor and applicant have been so engaged continuously since that time. Certificate granted. Application in all other respects denied.

Earl Girard and Meyer S. Miller for applicant.

P. F. Gault, Carson L. Taylor, S. E. Gregory, F. J. Knaack, Glen W. Stephens, Weldon A. Dayton, and Earl N. Cannon for protestants. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

DIVISION 5, COMMISSIONERS MEYER, SPLAWN, AND ROGERS

BY DIVISION 5:

On July 21, 1938, the following recommended report and a recommended order appended thereto, filed with us by joint board No. 13, were served on the parties. No exceptions to the order were filed, but on August 10, 1938, we postponed to August 20, 1938, the date on which the said order should become the order of the Commission and become effective. Not having been stayed or further postponed by it has become effective as our order.

us,

REPORT AND ORDER RECOMMENDED BY JOINT BOARD NO. 13, COMPOSED OF LOUIS J. FREEHOF OF ILLINOIS AND WILLIAM A. ANDERSON OF

WISCONSIN

By application 2 filed February 10, 1936, Cripps Overland Express, Incorporated, of Chicago, Ill., seeks a certificate of public convenience and necessity as a common carrier by motor vehicle, of

1 This report also embraces No. MC-43682, Cripps Overland Express, Incorporated, Contract Carrier Application.

Under the "grandfather" clause provision of section 206 (a) of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935.

8

general commodities, between Chicago and certain points in Wisconsin, over regular routes. By application filed on the same date, Jack Cripps seeks a certificate of public convenience and necessity as a common carrier or permit as a contract carrier by motor vehicle, of canned goods, beer, and empty containers, between Chicago and certain points in Wisconsin. The routes and the points between which applicants seek authority to operate are shown in appendix A. As hereinafter explained, no attempt has been made by the board to show the separate operations of the two applicants.

In accordance with the provisions of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935, the application was referred to the board for hearing and the recommendation of an appropriate order thereon. Hearing has been held. The Northern Transportation Company, Olson Transportation Company, Yellow Truck Lines, Incorporated, Pope Brothers, Red Top Cab Company, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company, and the Chicago and North Western Railway Company opposed the granting of the application.

At the hearing applicant amended the application in No. MC-39553 by withdrawing from the application any point to which service was begun between June 1 and October 15, 1935. In view of this amendment, those points and routes have not been set forth in the report or the appendix.

Applicant also amended the application in No. MC-43682 for a certificate as a common carrier and further amended the applications as to commodities and routes as set forth in appendix A.

By certificates dated April 1, 1935, and September 6, 1935, Jack Cripps was authorized by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to transport general commodities as a common carrier by motor vehicle between numerous points in Wisconsin. On December 7, 1933, Jack Cripps was granted a permit, amended July 26 and September 17, 1934, and April 12, 1935, to transport beer and empty containers over certain routes between the Illinois-Wisconsin State line, on one hand, and Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Madison, Wis., on the other. Owing to the difficulty the authorities of the State of Wisconsin had in keeping the two operations separate, the common-carrier operation was incorporated under the name of Jack Cripps Overland Express, and on April 1, 1936, the contract-carrier operation was conducted under the name of Skokie Valley Transfer.

On September 1, 1936, the stock of Cripps Overland Express and the assets and liabilities of Jack Cripps operating as Skokie Valley

Under the "grandfather" clause provision of sections 206 (a) and 209 (a) of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935.