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the service of transportation, without enabling some of such carriers to receive a net railway operating income substantially and unreasonably in excess of a fair return upon the value of their railway property held for and used in the service of transportation, it is hereby declared that any carrier which receives such an income so in excess of a fair return, shall hold such part of the excess, as hereinafter prescribed, as trustee for, and shall pay it to, the United States.

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(6) If, under the provisions of this section, any carrier receives for any year a net railway operating income in excess of 6 per centum of the value of the railway property held for and used by it in the service of transportation, one-half of such excess shall be placed in a reserve fund established and maintained by such carrier, and the remaining one-half thereof shall, within the first four months following the close of the period for which such computation is made, be recoverable by and paid to the Commission for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a general railroad contingent fund as hereinafter described. For the purposes of this paragraph the value of the railway property and the net railway operating income of a group of carriers, which the Commission finds are under common control and management and are operated as a single system, shall be computed for the system as a whole irrespective of the separate ownership and accounting returns of the various parts of such system. In the case of any carrier which has accepted the provisions of section 209 of this amendatory Act the provisions of this paragraph shall not be applicable to the income for any period prior to September 1, 1920. The value of such railway property shall be determined by the Commission in the manner provided in paragraph (4).

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(7) For the purpose of paying dividends or interest on its stocks, bonds, or other securities, or rent for leased roads, a carrier may draw from the reserve fund established and maintained by it under the provisions of this section to the extent that its net railway operat ing income for any year is less than a sum equal to 6 per centum of the value of the railway property held for and used by it in the service of transportation, determined as provided in paragraph (6); but such fund shall not be drawn upon for any other purpose.

"(8) Such reserve fund need not be accumulated and maintained by any carrier beyond a sum equal to 5 per centum of the value of its railway property determined as herein provided, and when such fund is so accumulated and maintained the portion of its excess income which the carrier is permitted to retain under paragraph (6) may be used by it for any lawful purpose.

"(9) The Commission shall prescribe rules and regulations for the determination and recovery of the excess income payable to it under this section, and may require such security and prescribe such reasonable terms and conditions in connection therewith as it may find necessary. The Commission shall make proper adjustments to provide for the computation of excess income for a portion of a year, and for a year in which a change in the percentage constituting a fair return or in the value of a carrier's railway property becomes effective.

"(10) The general railroad contingent fund so to be recoverable by and paid to the Commission and all accretions thereof shall be a revolving fund and shall be administered by the Commission. It shall be used by the Commission in furtherance of the public interest in railway transportation either by making loans to carriers to meet

general steam railroad system of transportation or engaged in the general transportation of freight, and (d) any belt-line railroad, ter minal switching railroad, or other terminal facility, owned exclusively and maintained, operated, and controlled by any State or political subdivision thereof; and the term "net railway operating income" means railway operating income, including in the computation thereof debits and credits arising from equipment rents and joint facility rents. "(2) In the exercise of its power to prescribe just and reasonable rates the Commission shall initiate, modify, establish or adjust such rates so that carriers as a whole (or as a whole in each of such rate groups or territories as the Commission may from time to time desig nate) will, under honest, efficient and economical management and reasonable expenditures for maintenance of way, structures and equip ment, earn an aggregate annual net railway operating income equal, as nearly as may be, to a fair return upon the aggregate value of the railway property of such carriers held for and used in the service of transportation: Provided, That the Commission shall have reasonable latitude to modify or adjust any particular rate which it may find to be unjust or unreasonable, and to prescribe different rates for different sections of the country.

"(3) The Commission shall from time to time determine and make public what percentage of such aggregate property value constitutes a fair return thereon, and such percentage shall be uniform for all rate groups or territories which may be designated by the Commission In making such determination it shall give due consideration, among other things, to the transportation needs of the country and the necessity (under honest, efficient and economical management of existing transportation facilities) of enlarging such facilities in order to provide the people of the United States with adequate transportation: Provided, That during the two years beginning March 1, 1920, the Comnussion shall take as such fair return a sum equal to 5 per centum of such aggregate value, but may, in its discretion, add thereto a sum not exceeding one-half of one per centum of such aggregate value to make provision in whole or in part for improvements, betterments or equipment, which, according to the accounting system prescribed by the Commission, are chargeable to capital account.

"(4) For the purposes of this section, such aggregate value of property of the carriers shall be determined by the Commission time to time and as often as may be necessary. The Commissi utilize the results of its investigation under section 19a of th so far as deemed by it available, and shall give due consi all the elements of value recognized by the law of the making purposes, and shall give to the property inve of the carriers only that consideration which und entitled to in establishing values for rate-making ever pursuant to section 19a of this Act the valu erty of any carrier held for and ed in the s has been finally ascertained

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expenditures for capital account or to refund maturing securities originally issued for capital account, or by purchasing transportation equipment and facilities and leasing the same to carriers, as hereinafter provided. Any moneys in the fund not so employed shall be invested in obligations of the United States or deposited in authorized depositaries of the United States subject to the rules promulgated from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury relating to Government deposits.

"(11) A carrier may at any time make application to the Commission for a loan from the general railroad contingent fund, setting forth the amount of the loan and the term for which it is desired, the purpose of the loan and the uses to which it will be applied, the present and prospective ability of the applicant to repay the loan and meet the requirements of its obligations in that regard, the character and value of the security offered, and the extent to which the public convenience and necessity will be served. The application shall be accompanied by statements showing such facts and details as the Commission may require with respect to the physical situation, ownership, capitalization, indebtedness, contract obligations, operations, and earning power of the applicant, together with such other facts relating to the propriety and expediency of granting the loan applied for and the ability of the applicant to make good the obligation, as the Commission may deem pertinent to the inquiry. "(12) If the Commission, after such hearing and investigation, with or without notice, as it may direct, finds that the making, in whole or in part, of the proposed loan from the general railroad contingent fund is necessary to enable the applicant properly to meet the transportation needs of the public, and that the prospective earning power of the applicant and the character and value of the security offered are such as to furnish reasonable assurance of the applicant's ability to repay the loan within the time fixed therefor, and to meet its other obligations in connection with such loan, the Commission may make a loan to the applicant from such railroad contingent fund, in such amount, for such length of time, and under such terms and conditions as it may deem proper. The Commission shall also prescribe the security to be furnished, which shall be adequate to secure the loan. All such loans shall bear interest at the rate of 6 per centum per annum, payable semiannually to the Commission. Such loans when repaid, and all interest paid thereon, shall be placed in the general railroad contingent fund.

"(13) A carrier may at any time make application to the Commission for the lease to it of transportation equipment or facilities, purchased from the general railroad contingent fund, setting forth the kind and amount of such equipment or facilities and the term for which it is desired to be leased, the uses to which it is proposed to put such equipment or facilities, the present and prospective ability of the applicant to pay the rental charges thereon and to meet the requirements of its obligations under the lease, and the extent to which the public convenience and necessity will be served. The application shall be accompanied by statements showing such facts and details as the Commission may require with respect to the physical situation, ownership, capitalization, indebtedness, contract obligations, operation, and earning power of the applicant, together with such other facts relating to the propriety and expediency of leasing such equipment or facilities to the applicant as the Commission may deem pertiner to the inquiry.

"(14) If the Commission, after such hearing and investigation, with or without notice, as it may direct, finds that the leasing to the applicant of such equipment or facilities, in whole or in part, is necessary to enable the applicant properly to meet the transportation needs of the public, and that the prospective earning power of the applicant is such as to furnish reasonable assurance of the applicant's ability to pay promptly the rental charges and meet its other obligations under such lease, the Commission may lease such equipment or facilities purchased by it from the general railroad contingent fund, to the applicant for such length of time, and under such terms and conditions as it may deem proper. The rental charges provided in every such lease shall be at least sufficient to pay a return of 6 per centum per annum, plus allowance for depreciation determined as provided in paragraph (5) of section 20 of this Act, upon the value of the equipment or facilities leased thereunder. All rental charges and other payments received by the Commission in connection with such equipment and facilities, including amounts received under any sale thereof, shall be placed in the general railroad contingent fund.

"(15) The Commission may from time to time purchase, contract for the construction, repair and replacement of, and sell, equipment and facilities, and enter into and carry out contracts and other obligations in connection therewith, to the extent that moneys included in the general railroad contingent fund are available therefor, and in so far as necessary to enable it to secure and supply equipment and facilities to carriers whose applications therefor are approved under the provisions of this section, and to maintain and dispose of such equipment and facilities.

(16) The Commission may from time to time prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section respecting the making of loans and the lease of equipment and facilities.

"(17) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as depriving shippers of their right to reparation in case of overcharges, unlawfully excessive or discriminatory rates, or rates excessive in their relation to other rates, but no shipper shall be entitled to recover upon the sole ground that any particular rate may reflect a proportion of excess income to be paid by the carrier to the Commission in the public interest under the provisions of this section.

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(18) Any carrier, or any corporation organized to construct and operate a railroad, proposing to undertake the construction and operation of a new line of railroad may apply to the Commission for permission to retain for a period not to exceed ten years all or any part of its earnings derived from such new construction in excess of the amount heretofore in this section provided, for such disposition as it may lawfully make of the same, and the Commission may, in its discretion, grant such permission, conditioned, however, upon the completion of the work of construction within a period to be designated by the Commission in its order granting such permission."

SEC. 423. The first paragraph of section 16 of the Interstate Commerce Act is hereby amended by inserting "(1)" after the section number at the beginning of such paragraph.

SEC. 424. The second paragraph of section 16 of the Interstate Commerce Act is hereby amended by inserting "(2)" at the beginning of such paragraph, and by striking out the last sentence thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following as a new paragraph:

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