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Show !FID0I-1F , PERCENT RETURN 01 IK DEC!!! ! ' i Agreement Paves Way for the Early Enactment of Railroad ! Legislation WORTH OF PROPERTY ; TO BE DETERMINED j Distribution of Earnings In Ex-, cess of Guarantee Provided For In Measure ! WASHINGTON. Feb. 7. A return jof per cent on the aggregate value of the railroads would be guaranteed by the government for a period of two years under an agreement reached today to-day by the senate and house conferees on the railroad bill. In announcing the agreement, Chairman Chair-man Cummins of the senate managers. I said the re-written section provided that after the two year period the per- contage of return would be fixed by the interstate commerce commission, 'rates so as loyTeId that rehirnr -Agreement Paves Way With Ihe agreement on this section leaders hope to complete final enactment enact-ment of the bill before March 1. The aggregate value of the properties proper-ties used in transportation would be determined by the interstate com-. com-. merce commission, according to the , bill, the determination being by traffic traf-fic districts. These districts would be used as groups for rate-making and in territories where the roads earned an equivalent of the guaranteed return, no incrsease in rates would be necessary. neces-sary. Similarly the rates would be praised to make up a deficit in districts where the roads failed to earn the B1, , per cent. j Figures on the probable aggregate i value of the roads are not available 'yet. The commission completed the final physical valuation of 23 roads :and the tentative valuations of only 50. I the largest being the Kansas City Southern. The outstanding capitalization capitaliza-tion and bonded indebtedness of all t the roads amount to approximately I 19.000.000.000 of which 5 per cent I return would be $1,045,00000. i i Guaranteed Return The guaranteed return to the roads j under government control has been about .$900,000,000 annually, based on the three year period just prior to the 1 time the government took charge, in-: in-: dividual railroads receiving varying j returns. Distribution of earnings in excess of I the guaranteed return also is provided i in the tailL One-half of one per cent would be available for unproductive j improvements. Fifty per cent of the excess over six per cent would go to i the roads earning such excess, while 'the remaining half would be put into a contingent fund administered by the : commission and used to purchase equipment for rental to the weaker roads, which also could obtain loans from the fund. |