Oppose Continuation of Railway Freight Surcharge

Washington, Feb. 12.-The National Lumber Manufacturers Association has filed with the Interstate Commer'ce Commission a brief signed by Wilson Compton, its manager, protesting against a continuation of the freight rate surcharge on lumber and timber products. The protest is made on behalf of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association as well as the various regional associations of lumber manufacturers.

The opposition of the lumbermen to continuation of the surcharge is based on allegations that they do not provide the railroads with increased revenue, that they are in fact, destroying lumber rail traffic, that manufacturers are unable to pass on added costs and have to meet them out of capital assets, not having any net income at this time. It is pointed out that lumber production during the past year has been less than ZS per cent of normal capacity; that prices have declined 45 per cent in four years and the volume of the lumber movement by approximately 70 per cent. Under these circumstances "the lumber industry should not be ,called upon further", says the brief, "to subsidize the operations of the railroad, notwithstanding that these operations also may be unprofitable."

An Alternative Contention

The petition of the lumbermen asks, in the event that the Commission shall not grant its request, that the surcharges shall not be continued beyond December 31, 1933. Furthermore, it is asked that the railways shall not be permitted to retain the sur,charges without reference to any pooling plan. It is specifically requested that the pooling plan be continued. It is pointed out that if the railways are allolved to follow their program the temporary emergency 'charges, which were authorized for the relief of the needy carriers, will become a part of the permanent rate structure of the country.

The lumber position is supported by numerous citations of statistics of various kinds tending to show that the lumber industry is in a relatively more precarious condition than the railways themselves, and cannot therefore be reasonably expe,cted to be taxed for the relief of the latter. For instance, it is shown that from 1928 to 1931 lumber freight costs increased relative to the total value of lumber production by 45 per cent. On the basis of 1923 commodity prices, all commodities have declined 36 per cent, whereas lumber, alone, has gone down 49 per cent. The data supplementing the petition also strikingly demonstrates that lumber consumption is closely controlled by rail transportation costs. It is also emphasized that as railway rates have gone up the volume of forest products transported has steadily declined.

A. Riley

William A. Riley, of Los Angeles, father of Miss Ella Riley of the California Panel & Veneer Co., died on February 14. He is also survived by another daughter, Miss Lena B. Riley, and a son, George A. Riley. Funeral services were held at Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, Februarv 16.

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