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Show PASSENGER FARES JILL- BEI1EASED Interstate Commerce Com mission Acts Upon Request Re-quest of Western Roads LITTLE EFFECT HERE Rates for Mileage Tickets Practically the Same as 5$, at Present WVHINGTON Dec U General increases in paenger fares on western mlroajs were authorised, today by the V""votrstate omroerca con miss on Nn ' ot th wcr ases for which the roads asked Viere d sappro ed bat such as ere allowed will result in an increase in revenue Proposed increases in Ulino s Wis cons n4 the Mi hian upper peninsula Mlnntsota Iowa Nebraska Missouri north of the Missouri n er and in IXan as on and north of the main 1 ne ot the Union Pa ifi from h.an as O ty to the Colorado state 1 ne were d sap proved,, but the coram aion held that an interstate ba is of 2 1 tents per mile was justiried Vn Missouri so th of the Missouri mer and in ansa south of the main line of the Union Pacific proposed in creases were disapproved but an inter state basis of 2.6 cents per mile was allow ed Proposed incrtases from po nts with in which new r'ates were authorized to po"nts on the mam lines in California Arizona Utah Nevada Colorado Vyo mm" "New Maxi o Arkansas Oklahoma aodTe:xas were prondunced unreason able where the fare would be higher than that constructed on the rate tab ne existing to the east 4. bas ng rate of H cents a mile in North and faouth Dakota and 3 cents in the states south and west was approved. Alileage Tickets Increases on mileage t ckets to make hem W cents a m3e north of the M souri river in Missouri and on and north of the Union Pacific main line in Kansas were approved. A mileage ticket rate of -V cents a m le south of the same dividing lines was pro nounced justified Increases in fare to the east of Mich gan 111 no s Iowa Minnesota, V iscon in, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas baed on rates newly authorized in that ""vJemtory were pronounced reasonable The commission held that the ev dence m the case in which nearly fiftv roads were involved and which was part of the whole western advance rate eae showed substantially the follow miThat since 1900 the railroads have madeisubstant al improvements n pas sengr service for convenience and safety at a great expense. That passenger service cond Uons do not permit of econom es poss ble n the fre-ht service and the increased cost not offset br those economies -which ex st are ent tied to considerat on Some Justification That passenger service n the western territory is less profitable than fre ght service-and that the existing rates are lower than those in the south east and we t but that there is some justifies tion for that The decision repeats the holdings of the recent advance freight rate cases that the railroads have felt the in greased cost of living and rec tes that toe public has the right to expect ado quate comfortable and sale service The commiss on said For such services and fac 1 1 es the carriers should be allowed under reason J able fares to earn a reasonable return upon the property used in that service e ther compet t on nor the unreason able demands of the publ c however, mut be made the excuse for waste and extravagance m the passenger service To avo d con f us on of practice the commission d ssed all the ncreases the railroads proposed and ordered the films of new tariffs embody ng such in creases as were allowed to become ef feet ve The nTeases in passenger rates as anthon ed by the nterstate commerce SV eoom SB on w 11 have 1 ttle effect on ra Iroads centering n Salt Lake ac cord n to the op n on of local passen ger ofiic als "No change n local pas senger fares has been asked for and the general increase was covered in a blanket request .cover ng through rates as applied on all western roads The 3 cents a mile On nterstate bus ness t s sa d, s si ghtly h gher than the rates now n effect but the 2y cents a mile for m leage t ckets s pract cally the same as at present |