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Show WILL ID HEARING 1 ClittE LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 3. As a result re-sult of developments today in the informal in-formal hearing being held here on the alleged car shortage on the railroads of the country, C. C. McChord, member of the interstate commission, who is presiding, pre-siding, announced tonight that he had telegraphed to the commission at Washington Wash-ington recommending that an order for a formal hearing be entered immediately. immedi-ately. The formal hearing, if ordered, he said, will be merged with the present informal inquiry. A reply to the recommendations recom-mendations is expected tomorrow. Tho testimony given under oath aU today's informal inquiry will be introduced at the proposed formal hearing, it is understood, un-derstood, and so made a basis for action by the interstate commerce commission. WASHINGTON, Nov. 3. Virtually all the railroads in the country have filed tariffs setting aside the present flat rate of one dollar a day demurrage charge on cars not loaded or unloaded within fortv-eight hours after they are ready for the shipper or consignee, and substituting a graduated scale of demurrage de-murrage in an effort to combat the present nation-wide car shortage. This new demurrage scale, effective December 1, will permit the railroads after tho forty-eight-hour period to charge two dollars the first day, three dollars the second, four dollars the third, and five dollars for the fourth day and each subsequent day. The new schedule is subject to protest pro-test and several complaints already have been filed. Various reasons for car shortages were assigned by other witnesses. Chief among them were the large volume of munition shipments to the seaboard, the increased output of ore in the lake regions re-gions and the removal of many colliers col-liers from the coal-carrying trade along the Atlantic coast. These causes, it was asserted, had operated to draw cars from the south and west to tho north and east, which had then been held there. Each of the railroad representatives ! testifying today recommended the as- j sumption of control by the interstate ! commerce commission of the distribu- I tion of cars. They also recommended j that demurrage chargeB assessed against I shippers, and the per diem charge paid by railroads holding foreign cars, be increased. |